Chapter 22

The music played in the background, a classic of Italian opera that set the tone perfectly for the restaurant. Luca wasn't an expert in opera by any means, but he knew that every time he came to Damian's Den, he would be in for an aural treat.

The wine at Damian's Den was never anything less than the finest, most traditionally sourced and aged red wine in the whole city. Luca was more of a whiskey drinker, but he couldn't deny that his brother Damian had a brilliant selection of wine to choose from.

Luca was at Damian's Den along with Damian and Antonio too. The three brothers were sitting at the back of the restaurant on Damian's personal table, its slightly raised position offering them a view across the dining area and providing a perfect vantage point to spot any sudden threats.

Of course, no one was expecting anything to go down.

Damian had excellent security on the door, and round the back too. Plus there had always been an understanding between the crime families that any feuds should be dealt with away from the public eye.

‘See, I'll make a wine convert of you yet,' Damian said, noticing how much Luca was enjoying his glass of 1973 red. ‘But we're not here to talk about fine wine, are we?'

Damian, Antonio, and Luca exchanged a knowing look.

‘No, we're not,' Luca said, a gravely serious tone in his voice. ‘What we're talking about is pretty much as serious as it gets. We're talking about going against the elders.'

Even speaking this out loud was enough to make Luca take a deep intake of breath. He could see on the faces of Antonio and Damian that this was a huge deal for them too.

It was important to Luca that neither one of his brothers were doing this for the wrong reasons, simply out of loyalty to him. They had their own boys to look after, and Luca wanted to ensure that they were fully committed.

‘I'll say this one more time, guys,' Luca said, looking at Antonio and Damian in turn as he spoke. ‘If you want to back out and protect yourselves and your boys, I understand without reservation. This is dangerous. It's about as dangerous a move as you can make in our business.'

Luca paused. He wanted to give Antonio and Damian a moment to think. But it turned out that neither of Luca's friends needed any time at all to consider their response…

‘We've got your back,' Damian said, smiling. ‘Sorrentos fight together, side by side. Always.'

‘Always,' Antonio added. ‘Thank you for asking, but don't worry about us old sonsofbitches. We came into this game together, near enough. And if we have to, we'll go out together.'

Luca nodded. He felt a deep connection to his brothers, and to hear them speak like this was significant. Having lost their parents so young, Luca had never really experienced what family felt like in a traditional sense. But in Antonio and Damian, Luca felt like he had two true brothers who would fight to the death alongside him.

‘And now that's settled, let's talk business,' Damian said, taking a sip of his wine. ‘I think we can do this in a way without the elder bosses finding out. That won't be easy, but it's not impossible.'

‘They'll know it's me,' Luca said. ‘Whatever we do, they'll see through the play. You don't get to become one of the untouchable higher-ups by not being able to read any play.'

‘Maybe, maybe not,' Antonio said. ‘We've been through enough situations together where the odds were stacked against us. Let's get real, we're probably more on top of our game than our bosses are. They're old. We're… mature. There's a difference.'

Luca could see what Antonio was saying.

If I can plan a complex bank heist, I can work this puzzle.

There has to be a way.

I just need time to see the right play…

But before Luca and his friends could spend any time mapping out a possible solution to the problem, they were suddenly joined at the table by Cal, one of their most reliable spies.

‘Cal, to what do we owe this honor?' Luca said, thinking this was perhaps to do with the bank heist he had been planning. ‘Any updates on the insider we've been working at the bank?'

‘Luca, you may want to take a big drink first,' Cal said, a nervous look on his face. ‘This is to do with Xane Troppo.'

The three Mafia men were immediately in high-alert mode.

Cal was a reliable and highly skilled spy. If he was bringing news of Xane, then it was almost certainly not going to be good news, and it was without doubt going to be accurate.

‘Talk,' Luca said, his body stiffening with tension.

‘Xane was seen over on Duke Avenue,' Cal said, his voice clear and calm. ‘We trailed him. He was rolling with a couple of other guys, known associates. He goes down Duke, then over onto Malpas, then onto-'

‘Fuck, he was headed for the Velvet Iron,' Luca said, immediately standing up from the table. ‘I need to move and fucking move right now.'

‘Wait, there's more,' Cal said, putting his arm on Luca's shoulder. ‘Xane went into the Velvet Iron and came out with a boy. Sandy blonde, dangly earring, a strawberry or something similar.'

‘That's Tommy,' Luca said, his jaw clenching and a look of intense focus coming over him. ‘That motherfucker has got Tommy.'

‘Xane put him in his car, and we lost him,' Cal said. ‘But… we know where Xane's new hideout is over on this side of town. I'll message you the location now.'

Luca's mind was racing with possibilities.

Xane was a thug and a killer. He had none of the loyalty or honor that came with being a real Mafia man. Xane was an outsider looking to become a face in the criminal underworld.

Worse, Xane also seemed to take a delight in tormenting and hurting people. Just because Tommy was connected to the Mafia via Luca, it wouldn't stop Xane from hurting the boy.

Luca knew that he had to move, and he had to move quickly.

Suddenly, the idea of planning out some kind of operation to take Xane out without the elder bosses finding out was out of the window. This situation needed resolving now, no matter the cost.

Fortunately for Luca, he had his brothers with him.

‘Luca, you go and kill that sonofabitch,' Antonio said. ‘Damian and I will give you an alibi should you need one.'

‘And you can count me in on that too, friend,' Cal said, his square jaw clenching and his green eyes complimenting his short, strawberry blonde hair. ‘I may not be official Mafia, and I'm not Italian blood, but I've got you on this all the fucking way, Luca.'

‘Take my Porsche,' Antonio said, tossing Luca his keys. ‘All black, turbo charged. You know the one.'

Luca nodded.

There was no time for any pleasantries. Luca left the restaurant and hopped into Antonio's Porsche.

It was time to find Xane and put this whole sorry affair to bed once and for all. Luca knew there was a chance that he might not make it out alive, but that was a chance he was more than willing to take.

As Luca fired up the Porsche's turbo charged engine, he pulled away onto the New York city streets and felt his brain engage into Mafia business mode. Yes, Luca loved Tommy with all of his heart. But Luca couldn't allow himself to become wrapped up in emotion. What Luca needed was to treat this as any other piece of work.

Clear your thoughts.

Fix on the objective.

You're shooting to kill.

As Luca weaved in and out of the traffic with precision and skill, he felt his body relaxing into the moment. Many people crumbled under pressure, but Luca had been in far too many high octane moments during bank heists to allow that to happen.

A situation like this was part of Luca's bread and butter. Not many men climbed as high or lasted as long in the Mafia as Luca had. His success wasn't down to luck either.

Just as he had defeated Olex in the MMA octagon, Luca was going to utilize every drop of his personal experience to take Xane on. Xane was young, fearless, and acted like he had nothing to lose. In many ways, these were Xane's strengths. But Luca was going to use these so-called strengths against Xane and turn them into weaknesses, just like he had done with Olex.

The mission was clear, and Luca knew he had no room to maneuver. It was now or never, and failure simply was not an option on the table.

Tommy was in danger. His life was potentially on the line that very second as Luca swung the Porsche around another corner that took him closer to Xane's new hideout.

Luca knew what he needed to do.

It was time to make sure that Xane could never, ever hurt anyone again.