Chapter 18

Whether or not Tommy's sighting of Xane was genuine or not, the cold facts were that Xane didn't appear to be near Luca's building. There was simply no sight of him at all, and that was after several of Luca's security detail scanning the immediate area.

Perhaps it wasn't Xane who Tommy had seen?

Or maybe Xane just happened to be in the area for another reason?

But Luca felt certain that if Xane had been there and with the intention of doing something serious it would be obvious by now.

What this scare had shown though was that the situation had come to a head. It simply couldn't go on any longer, that much was for sure.

It was with this in mind that Luca and Antonio headed to a nearby bar to gather their thoughts and see exactly what could be done in the here and now. But what Luca hadn't banked on was some troubling news from Antonio…

‘Sorry, say that again?' Luca said, a look of disbelief on his face as he gripped his beer bottle so tightly it might have exploded.

Luca waited for Antonio to answer.

The bar was quiet, dimly lit, and had the old-style dive bar vibe that Luca enjoyed. An old classic jukebox played songs from the 1970s, and the small groups of drinkers nodded along as they sipped their drinks. But this wasn't a time for fun as far as Luca was concerned.

‘Antonio?' Luca said, wanting his friend to repeat what he had just said, a rising impatience building in him.

‘I'm sorry, man,' Antonio replied, genuine remorse in his voice. ‘I spoke with the elder bosses, and they said we can't touch Xane. It's a political thing with the rival families. We can't lay a finger on Xane. If we do, it will risk a city-wide war that the top bosses simply don't want right now. We're screwed. There's no other way we can handle this.'

‘Fuck,' Luca replied, briefly burying his head in his hands. ‘But can't we say something to them, try to change their minds somehow?'

‘I tried,' Antonio said. ‘But the message coming back to me was very much along the don't you fucking dare try any covert shit lines. Anything happens to Xane, and the finger will be pointed at us. And if it's us or a full-blown war, we'll be the ones to get taken out. Both of us know that's true.'

Luca knew that Antonio was right.

It wasn't easy to hear this news, and it presented Luca with a real dilemma. Luca knew that Tommy would never feel comfortable in the city again for as long as Xane was wandering the streets. The threat would always be there. And that was without mentioning all the other boys who Xane was no doubt terrorizing and making their lives a living hell.

‘I don't know how I'll tell the boy,' Luca said, sipping on his beer. ‘I just… fucking… can't believe this shit. Can you?'

Antonio sighed.

‘Brother, the elder bosses will always think of the business first,' Antonio said. ‘As high up as we are, or Damian for that matter, none of us are at the top, top level. We can call the shots day to day, but if the orders come from above, then we have no option but to follow them. Rebelling against the elder bosses is suicide, you know that.'

‘You're right,' Luca said, frowning. ‘And if we did make a move against their wishes, we'd be putting our boys in danger too. I just can't see a way around this. It's all messed the fuck up.'

‘I think it's time for another drink, don't you?' Antonio said, signaling over toward the bartender.

Luca nodded, but his mind was elsewhere.

As far as Luca was concerned, the day was going from bad to worse. In some ways, it might have been better had Xane been outside the building for sure and making a play to storm in all guns blazing. At least that way Luca could have taken him out with the justification of self-defense.

But now that Luca had been told by Antonio about the situation involving Xane and the senior bosses, any kind of plausible deniability was gone.

As much as it pained him to think about it in these terms, perhaps his window of opportunity to take Xane out had gone. And maybe even gone for good?

With a pensive, deeply unhappy look on his face, Luca picked his bottle up and took the final sip of crisp, cold beer into his mouth. This situation wasn't going anywhere, and now Luca knew that he had to tell Tommy.

How am I going to tell the boy?

The one thing I promised I'd do… and now I can't do it.

What the hell will Tommy think when I tell him?

The journey from the bar to Antonio and Lyle's house was tense. Both Luca and Antonio knew that this wasn't how they wanted the situation to play out.

It was always a delicate issue when it came to taking orders from the higher ups in the upper echelons of the Mafia world. Respect for the elders was considered one of the things that separated the Mafia from other kinds of mobster organizations. When the orders came from the top, you were expected to listen and follow. Failure to fall into line would often result in the harshest possible sanctions.

‘I don't know if Tommy is going to understand how hard this is,' Luca said, pausing at the door to Antonio's place.

‘Well, there's only one way to find out,' Antonio replied, patting his good friend on the shoulder. ‘Whatever happens, I've got your back, okay?'

‘Thank you, brother,' Luca said, a steely determination to deliver the news to Tommy in as clear and calm a way as possible coming over him.

As they entered the building, Luca took a deep breath. He knew that this was a big moment, and he wanted to minimize the upset that Tommy would undoubtedly feel. But as much as he tried to feel positive about his prospects of succeeding, Luca felt less than optimistic about his chances of success.

‘Hell yeah!' Tommy said, charging over toward Luca as he entered the kitchen. ‘Did you… you know… make asshole Xane go away forever?'

‘Boy, we need to talk,' Luca said, a serious tone in his voice.

‘Okay, Lyle, come with me,' Antonio said. ‘These two need a moment alone to talk.'

‘Huh? Is everything okay?' Lyle said, a worried look on his face.

‘Boy, come with me right now,' Antonio barked. ‘I'll explain it to you, but Tommy and Luca need a moment to themselves.'

With that, Antonio and Lyle left the kitchen and retired to their bedroom. Luca looked over toward Tommy and could see that the initial look of optimism on his boy's face had been replaced by something else altogether.

‘It's not good news, is it?' Tommy said, a quiver in his voice as he struggled to hold it together.

‘No, it's not,' Luca replied, taking a step toward Tommy but holding back from going any closer. ‘I'm going to say this as clearly as I can. It's not what you want to hear, and it's not what I wanted to hear either.'

‘I don't understand,' Tommy said. ‘I thought…'

‘Very clear instructions have come down to me from my bosses,' Luca said, hating every word that was coming out of his mouth. ‘We can't touch Xane. Not now, maybe not ever. I'm so sorry. But if I move on Xane, all of our lives will be in danger. You have to understand that.'

‘Well I don't understand it!' Tommy said, stomping his feet on the ground as tears began to form in his eyes. ‘You promised! And when Sorrento men promise, they're meant to stick to it!'

‘Yes, but this is complex-'

‘I don't care!' Tommy shouted, his cheeks red and tears running down them like waterfalls. ‘You promised, you promised, you promised!'

‘Enough, boy!' Luca barked. ‘I tried everything. I was close to making the move. We had every intention of wiping Xane out. But when the orders came from above us, we had no other option but to back off. You need to understand that this is about more than just you.'

Luca immediately regretted his choice of words.

Nothingwas worth more than Tommy, certainly not as far as Luca saw it. But whichever way he put it, Luca needed Tommy to understand that he simply didn't have a realistic choice to go after Xane now.

‘Urgh! Whatever!' Tommy said. ‘It makes no difference what you say. You said you'd avenge me, and you didn't. Now how am I ever meant to have a normal life again with that horrible jerk walking around the city?'

Before Luca could say any more, Tommy charged past him and ran into Lyle's bedroom and slammed the door firmly shut behind him.

‘Boy, please!' Luca called out, slamming his fist down on the oak worksurface in sheer frustration.

Luca looked up and saw Antonio.

‘What the hell just happened?' Luca said, shaking his head. ‘I knew he wouldn't react well, but…'

‘The boy needs time,' Antonio said. ‘You did what you could tonight. Why not let him stay over here with us, then I'm sure when he's calmed down a bit you both can work this out. You've got this, brother. I know you'll find a way to make things work.'

‘I hope so,' Luca said, resigned to the fact that Antonio was right. ‘I really fucking hope so.'

With that, Luca turned and walked out of Antonio and Lyle's place.

Luca would be spending the night alone back at his place. His only hope was that this would be a one-off, and not something far more permanent.