Page 3 of Destruction

“What the fuck? Why did he call me Boss?” I whisper to Benjamin, who is taking this all in silently.

Swallowing, Benjamin eyes me like I’m a wild animal—fair point right now. “You’re Allesandro’s Second. You know how it goes in this Family. When he’s unavailable, you’re in charge.”

I make it back to my desk on shaky legs, dropping into my chair as I try to adjust to that news. I cradle my head in my hands, trying to block out Benjamin and every fucking thing. “I can’t do that. There’s no way.”

“You were picked as his Second for a reason. Or are you telling me that Luca should still be here?”

Snapping my head up, I glare at my friend, who merely raises his eyebrow at me. Muttering a few curse words, I can’t ignore his accusation.

Sighing, I stand and gesture for him to follow. Leaving my office, I head towards Master’s instead. Entering without him feels wrong, like an invasion of his trust.

Grinding my teeth, I sit in his chair, the Martelli Family Crest proudly displayed behind me. Benjamin’s nod of approvalhelps loosen the tension in my shoulders slightly. Still, my hand shakes as I reach for the phone.

“What are you doing?” Benjamin asks before I can grab it, and part of me is relieved.

“I need to make two calls. One to Luca. If, for some reason, Master’s cousin found out Luca is a plant, it would let us know who is behind this. And if that isn’t the case…I need to call the Amatos.”

Before I go any further, I make sure it’s recording as I put it on speaker. It only rings a few times before it’s picked up.

“Hello?”

“Luca. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“Lio? What the fuck?! Why are you calling me right now? You know you’re supposed to wait.”

“Yeah, well, I’d do that if Master wasn’t missing. I’m wondering if that means you fucked up and Sergio put a hit out on him.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course not. But what do you mean Il Padrone’s missing? For how long? What’s being done to track him?”

“It’s recent. And we’re working on everything. Which is why I’m checking on you first. Since I have more duties to get through, we’re done.”

“Wait! I’ll be in as soon as I can get a flight.”

“Don’t bother. You know Master would want you to keep in place. I’ve got this.”

“Fuck you. You haven’t been Second for long. You need me. I’m working for his cousin anyway, so I’m sure he’d understand if I need to come back.”

“Don’t you dare tell him Master’s missing. You know better! We will not look weak.”

“Of course I’m not going to tell him. I’ll think of something. I’ll send you a message for when to pick me up.”

The line goes dead and my jaw drops in disbelief. What. The. Fuck?

Exchanging incredulous glances with Benjamin, I tap out a message to Antonio. I want it confirmed where Luca is and when he comes in. There’s too much that I don’t know. I need to make sure that Luca isn’t actually lying. And I hope to fuck he comes up with a good enough excuse to leave Sergio, considering he’s supposed to be “learning” under him, even if it is a ruse.

“Well, that was lovely. Let’s hope the next call goes better.”

“Why are you calling them? We have a truce.” Benjamin leans back, getting more comfortable in the chair I usually sit in. It’s the traditional Second’s chair, and it feels so fucking weird to be on this side and see him there.

“I need to know if there’s been any odd movements going on. Whoever took Il Padrone wouldn’t stay in our territory.”

“Do you really expect them to know? I mean, it would fuck the truce completely.”

“They may not know of a plan to take Il Padrone, but it doesn’t mean they haven’t noticed anything unusual.”

“And if they have?” Benjamin leans forward, bracing himself. “You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”

“What? Like burn their lives down? Would I do that?”

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