Page 62 of One Savage Union

Lucia's face turns bright red with anger as she rushes over and pushes me. “That was my father trying to rescue me? You let me believe that that was Leo coming to take me away. How could you? “she hisses.

The anger in her voice is only eclipsed by the pain she feels. I allow her to keep hitting my shoulders. I want her to release herrage, but when her hands head toward my face, I grab her wrist. “NO!”

“I never told you that Leo was the one who bombed the safehouse. I told you I suspected it was him. It wasn't until we were back in Italy that I found out it wasn't. Enzo got the Intel and realized it must have been someone else. Then your father called and made demands.”

“I demanded to see my daughter.”

I turn to Matteo with a lethal glare. “You demanded that I return what's yours. But she was never yours… was she? You never gave enough of a damn to call her in twenty-four years. All I did was take a neglected rosebud and nurture it. I watched her bloom more in a month under my care than she ever did with an absentee dad.

Lucia scoffs. Are you trying to act like you’re noble? You lied to me and tricked me into marrying you!”

I crowd her delicious body so she can feel my presence. “I never tricked you. You were in danger. Igot to you before Leo did. Your father wasn't looking for you until he knew I had you. He would have let Leo do the same thing because he was surveilling us, not you. The difference being if Leo captured you, I’m not sure you would have survived.”

Mateo begins a slow clap that turns into a hard chuckle. “Excellent, Rocco. That's quite the story you've spun. However, I’ve been investigating the claims you’ve made about your cousin, and they don’t add up. Sure, Leo's a wayward son. He's a little upset at his father. Who wouldn't be when he gives the second in command to his orphaned nephew instead of his only son? Even that bitch Luna would have been a better choice than you.”

He spits Luna’s name out like she’s a bad taste in his mouth, and I smirk. He’s still pissed that she grazed his left and right knee from five hundred feet away a year ago after he smackedher ass in a restaurant. She didn’t tell Uncle Thomasso because she wasn’t supposed to be in that Bratva-owned bar in the first place, and she wanted her justice.

She took those shots at Matteo and spared his knees to prove that she could. And to avoid a war, of course. She’s a psycho just like her brother, but a lovable one with honor. Now I wish Luna had just taken this bastard out. He’s up to something, and I will find out what it is before he can hurt my Lucia any more than he already has.

He continues his monologue while pouring himself a drink at my bar. He’s touching my shit like he owns it and it’s making my trigger finger itch. “You know what I think, Rocco. I think you want the Romano throne for yourself. How do we know you're not the one trying to remove your uncle from the picture? I want peace in our streets, so you leveraged my daughter to get my ear. Once I realized what your game was, I tracked you down here.”

I walk over and snatch my bourbon from his hands mid-pour. He growls but knows not to push too far. My men have arrived, and they are armed to the teeth.

“You’re full of shit Matteo. You know damn well what Leo’s capable of and you know I have no intentions of overthrowing my uncle. If that were the case, why didn't you contact him before you came here?

“How do you know I didn't?” He bites back.

I smile. “Because I called him the moment I stepped out of my bedroom. The funny thing is, he couldn’t answer, but our capo, Enzo, did. It seems no one has seen him since his house was blown up two days ago.”

Lucia gasps. “The Don’s house was bombed?” Her eyes frantically search mine. “Who did that?”

“Yes, Rocco, who did that?” Her father echoes.

“I assumed it was Leo, but now I’m not so sure.”

He grunts. “Leo is a very convenient excuse for you, isn't he? What else have you blamed on him throughout the years? I’ve seen how close you are to that little bastard Aria, is she yours? Maybe you’re the one that knocked that slut Caterina up.”

I lunge at his throat, and our men prepare for battle. “You keep her name out of your filthy mouth, old man, or I swear to God I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” I snarl.

“No Rocco!” Lucia yells as she points the pistol at me.

Would she do it? Would she shoot me to save her bastard of a father?

“Both of you just STOP!” She screams, and I drop my fingers from Matteo’s neck. He coughs and catches his breath, cursing me the entire time. I turn back to Lucia, and the gun is shaking in her hand. This could go south quickly if I don’t get control of the situation.

“Give me the gun, la mia Lucia palla di fuoco. Just give me the gun, and this can all be cleared up.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t get to call me that anymore, LIAR!” She drops the gun to the floor and begins to sob. “This is all too much. I don't know how I became the center of a blood feud, but I’m done! I’m done with all the lies, violence, and schemes. I just want to go back to my home in Chicago, grieve my mother, and play my fucking piano in peace.”

Matteo shakes his head. “Impossible. The only place that’s safe for you right now is by your father’s side. I tried to come to you as soon as I thought you were in danger. Rocco kept me from you, but now I’m here. Come home with me. I know I haven't been there for most of your life, but I did try to provide for you. The least I can do is provide you with a safe space to think. When all of this is over, and we find out who the true villain is, you can decide if you even want to be married to this liar anymore.”

When Lucia looks at me, I know that I'm losing. This is what she always wanted: to get to know her father. It doesn’t help thatshe also wants to get away from me. But can I let her leave this boat? I could stop her if I wanted to, but I know that would only add fuel to Matteo’s fire. He knows that I care about her, but he might think it's limited to the fact that she's mine. No real Romano man will let you take what’s his. He doesn't know I love her. Shit, I didn’t even know that 24 hours ago. If I go batshit crazy right now; he will know. Then he'll use that to extort me for his end game. Whatever that may be.

“Do you want to go with your father?” I slowly grind out the words. Everything in my body warns me not to let her leave this boat. But what can I do?

Lucia takes a deep breath and wraps her arms around herself. “I need to be away from you. You lied to me, Rocco, something you promised me that you'd never do. I feel like I don't even know who you are anymore.”

I get to her in two steps and press my body against hers. “I am your husband, and that remains true till the day you die. You can go with your father to get over your hard feelings and count all the ways that you think you hate me, but deep down, you know who you belong to.” I press a hard and quick kiss to her mouth. “If you need me, you call me.” I pick up my mother’s gun and press it into her hands.

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