Page 45 of One Savage Union

He slams a fist on my antique mahogany desk. I flick my eyes up to meet the fire in Matteo’s, and my guards inch closer. I raise my hand to stop their encroachment and look my enemy in the eye.

“Well, don’t you have anything to say to me, Romano?”

Finally!

“Yes. I want to begin by stating that my uncle and cousin are Romanos, and I serve as the former’s consigliere. My father was Alberto Fieri, and I wear his name proudly.

A name that your daughter now shares as my wife, so you should learn to use it.”

Silence and an unreadable mask fall over Ricci. He takes a moment to speak. Before he does, he slips into the seat in front of my desk. I nod to Mario, and he pours Matteo a glass of Macallan. He knocks the drink back in seconds and clears his throat.

“I never trusted your uncle, but I respected him. There’s a code men live by. We don’t fuck with each other’s children. I hope he knows what he’s done by taking my child and forcing her into his family, because there’s no way in hell Luciawent willingly. She knows nothing about this life, and he will pay for dragging her into it. You will die a slow and painful death if any harm comes to her.”

“Hmmm. Who says I want any harm to come to her? She’s my wife and a beautiful woman. There are many more creative things I can do with her than kill her. Unlike the Riccis, we’re not in the habit of destroying beautiful things or killing innocent women.”

The last words were a low blow, but I don’t care. I know he ordered the murder of my mother and father, and according to the code, I should have killed him already.

I’ve wanted to so many times. Sometimes, at night, I find myself parked down the street from his home. I even snuck into his bedroom once,to watch him. The fucker sleeps like the dead.

His security is shit. Given enough time, Enzo can hack any system. When he looked at Matteo Ricci’s system, he laughed and asked if I wanted the murder done in the next five minutes. The only reason he is alive is that I promised my uncle no more bloodshed. We’ve had peace for the past nineteen years, and I won’t jeopardize the health of the family over my vendetta.

It’s taken a considerable amount of self-awareness to refrain from projecting my hate of Matteo Ricci onto his daughter. She doesn’t deserve it. Earlier, she tapped into my darker side by asking me to play for her. She has no idea that her father’smachinations are why I stopped playing. I may be stern with her, but

I’ll never intentionally hurt her. There’s no need.

However, I can fuck with her father’s head. I’m sure he’s imagining all the many ways I’m debauching his only daughter.

“What does Romano want? More territory? Money? Weapons. What’s his price?” He hisses.

I laugh and drop my spinner on the desk in front of me. “Old man, you think you have all the answers, but you know nothing. My uncle has no malicious intent, and anything you can offer, he already has. Didn’t you wonder why he would marry your daughter off to me and not his son? Wasn’t that odd to you?”

“Nothing about you bloodsuckers surprises me. Cut the shit Fieri. Either prepare to die where you sit or give me my daughter back. I don’t have time for riddles.”

I scoff.

“Give her back? When did you ever have her? She’s never even met you. In twenty-four years, not so much as a phone call from you. You’re not exactly daddy dearest in her eyes. She hates you.”

Ok, that’s a stretch, but he doesn’t know that.

“Fuck you.”

He yells as he stands and pulls his gun. His mask has slipped again, but he quickly regains his composure. He continues with asofter tone that is tinged with regret, but he doesn’t lower his weapon. He also doesn’t flinch at the four now directly pointed at him.

“Don’t you dare tell me anything about my relationship with my daughter. It wasn’t my choice to stay out of her life; it was her mother’s. She thought she would be safer that way. I thought so too, at first, but I quickly realized that was a mistake. I sent a letter every year on her birthday, asking to see her. But her mother never showed her any of them.”

I contemplate his words quietly... and never take my eyes off the barrel of his gun.

He won’t kill me. There’s no advantage to that.

I don’t buy his claim that he wanted a relationship with Lucia all along, but was stopped from pursuing it.

Men like us don’t let many things get in our way. I’ve only known my wife for a short while, but it’s clear she’s vulnerable in this relationship. I will not allow him to hurt her to feed his possessiveness. In this thing of ours, we take what we want, whether it is things or people. There is no difference. And we don’t take kindly to losing our possessions. He thinks I took something away from him. That’s the real violation. This has nothing to do with love for his daughter.

“Ricci, I couldn't care less about your newly discovered parental instincts. I won’t allow you to hurt Lucia with the false hope of a meaningful relationship with you. However, I care about what these instincts can do to help my family take down a thorn in both of our sides.”

“Hmph,” he huffs, lowers his gun, and drops back into his seat. “I’m glad we’re back to business, Fieri. For a moment, I thought you cared about Lucia and her well-being. But it’s just as I thought; you only care about leveraging her to support your family. Tell me, does she know how heartless you are? I bet you haven’t even told her I came looking for her, since that doesn’t serve your treacherous ends.”

He’s trying to get under my skin, but I won’t let him. Lucia knows what type of monster she’s married to, and she’s slowly adjusting. She doesn’t expect much from me emotionally, and I plan to keep it that way. But her father is a monster she doesn’t know, and she doesn’t deserve to be swallowed up in his world with no escape. She’s too good for that.

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