Page 69 of Brandishing Betrayals
I sighed heavily and lit up my own as I took the chair in front of the desk and turned it toward the couches. I sucked back hard on the joint as I sat down and kicked my feet up. “He answered. He agreed to a meeting Thursday night at 8. I’m to come alone.”
“Fuck,” Stone grunted.
“Yep,” I said and blew out the smoke from my joint. “He said I had to answer to the family first, before he would agree to any sit down with the MC.”
Marcos nodded slowly. “And you think he’s going to demand retribution Thursday night?”
“Definitely. You guys should probably be on stand-by across the street. I don’t think I’ll be walking out of there.” I puffed on my joint.
Marcos grunted and rubbed a hand over his head.
It was fucked up. I prayed to God that I lived through it. We needed the Family’s support when it came to both Vince Carmichael and Dax Hillcrest.
Nico
Thursdaynight,Iwalkedinto Sera’s and gave my name to the hostess. I was immediately led toward the back and down the hallway to Leo’s office. This time, the hostess knocked and waited until it was opened by none other than Giovanni Seratelli, Leo’s younger brother and Underboss.
I paused in the doorway, meeting my cousin’s gaze. “Hey Nic,” Giovanni smiled tightly.
“Hey.” I nodded my head. The hostess left us and Gio opened the door further, showing the full scope of the packed office. All five of the Seratelli brothers were inside, along with anotherfive men that I didn’t know. Or maybe I did, because Fredrico Accardi, Leonardo’s best friend, was standing against the wall.
“Come on in,” Gio said. He stepped out of the way.
I squared my shoulders and steeled my spine as I walked into the Lion’s den. I met the eye of every man in the room, stopping when I reached the center in front of Leo’s desk.
Leo sat like a king on his throne, holding court before his Family. I thought that was an apt description, considering who Leo was to these men.
I met his gaze, as Leo watched my every move, looking for weakness. “Why are you here, Nicolai?” Leo asked, his voice deep and commanding.
Guess they were starting right away, huh?I cleared my throat and spoke clearly. “To apologize and ask for forgiveness from the family.”
Leo’s lips twitched slightly in the corners. Had I not been watching, I would have missed it. “Why are you here, Nicolai?” Leo repeated the question.
“To apologize and ask forgiveness from the family,” I repeated.
Leo nodded, seemingly accepting my response. “Nicolai Gage, you have been disowned by your Don ten years ago. You turned your back on your family and chose to align yourself with another organization. By all rights, you should be dead.”
A muttering of both approval and disapproval went around the room. I took the moment to eye the men that thought I should be dead—thankfully they weren’t family—though Fredrico was one of the few that thought I should be dead.Interesting.
“For the debt you owe the family, your punishment is a stomping, to be carried out tonight, by the men present in this room. You will also give a formal apology at Sunday’s family dinner, and you will work for the Family again.”
“But—”
“You can keep your little biker club,” Leo glared, speaking right over me. “But you will also work for the family. You’ll be given a list of names we need eliminated, and you will do so, without question.”
I swallowed and nodded my head once. It was the last thing I wanted to do. Contract killing was the main reason I wanted nothing to do with the family in the first place. I could kill if I needed to, but I wasn’t a stone-cold killer like some guys—that shit ate me up.
I would do anything I had to at this point. Anything for Maya. Even if it meant selling my soul to the Devil. “My girl—”
“We’ll talk about anything furtherafter—or ratherifyou survive the beating.” Leo stood up and the men along the walls straightened.
“Come.” Leo stepped passed me, gripping my shoulder briefly as he passed by. He led the way out of his office and I had no choice but to follow.
With a wall of muscle behind me, and Maya and Luke’s future in front of me, I followed Leonardo and Giovanni out of the office, across the hall, through another door and down a set of concrete stairs that went deep under the restaurant—like two floors underground.
The large concrete basement was much larger than the restaurant above it, like Leo owned the entire city block beneath the buildings. I swallowed; this was shaping up to be the worst-case scenario. I hoped that Marcos and Jason would be able to get me out of this at the end.
When we reached the center of the open basement, Leo turned around. “Search him.”
