Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

" P aulie will be there, along with Mickey, Gianni, and Danillo. That gives us four, besides the three of us," I point out, tapping my finger on the desk as I recite each name, as if to emphasize our numbers.

"I'm not convinced that's enough firepower." Luca's relentless pacing in front of my desk is beginning to get annoying. He's wound tighter than a coiled spring ready to snap. The tension radiates off him in waves that pollute the air in my office.

I glance at Nico, who gives a small shrug, his expression calm but weary. Luca's not handling this well—none of us are. Normally, the three of us would be more than enough to take on an entire ‘Ndrangheta army, but now, with the poison still wreaking havoc on our bodies, we have to plan differently. Anger churns inside me, hot and consuming. Whoever did this to us is going to pay the ultimate price.

"I think we should add five more men." Luca comes to a stop beside Nico, his eyes burning with frustration.

"If you think that'll work, we'll do it," Nico concedes, his tone clipped but resigned. "I'll make a few calls. We should leave with extra time since we're driving instead of night running. "

"Agreed," I say firmly, leaning over the blueprint spread across my desk. "I want to get there well before the meeting and scout the area myself. Paulie checked it out earlier this week, and I've been there before." I point to the key spots on the blueprint. "We station men here, here, and here. Cover every entrance."

Nico's brow furrows in concentration. "I also want a couple outside so we know if anyone else approaches the Duomo."

Luca stares hard at the blueprint, his silence heavy and unsettling. Finally, he exhales slowly, meeting my gaze with a troubled look. "I have a bad feeling about this. Why would the ‘Ndrangheta come this far north into our territory to meet?"

He's voicing the very thing that's been gnawing at my gut all day. "You're not the only one with a bad feeling. If the ‘Ndrangheta are going to attack, this is the moment they've been waiting for. That's why I'm taking your suggestion of extra men.

"As to the other, it's not so far north for them. They are showing their willingness to deal." I glance at the blueprints. "I think mostly because they are under serious pressure from Morocco. The leadership is out of Toronto now, which means they're getting incursions all over the place, checking to see if they can withstand it. In the end, Toronto is going to have to have someone very strong in the country if they want to remain on top. And that is a problem because if they are strong over here on their own, what's to stop them from taking over? Capisce?"

"Yes, but that's not the only thing I'm referring to," Luca says, his voice strained. "I think there's something else going on. I feel…" He trails off, his eyes clouded with something I can't quite read.

Nico stands abruptly, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "We all feel it. There are rumblings in the magick realm. Everyone's on edge. Whoever poisoned us is still running free, and none of us—not just our family, but no vampire—is safe until we find the bastard."

"Have either of you heard from Father?" I ask, trying to keep the impatience out of my voice. I had hoped he'd be back by now with some kind of antidote. The longer this goes on, the weaker we become. I don't tell my brothers, but today, when I woke, I was as weak as a kitten. Last night, I spent hours making my wife happy, but I crashed hard afterward, harder than ever before. It took me over thirty minutes to gather the strength to get out of bed. I fed more than usual, enough to stabilize me, but I'm still shaky around the edges.

"No," Luca mutters, and Nico shakes his head, confirming what I already feared.

"We'll feed before we go. That should help," I say, though we all know it's only a temporary fix. I see the discomfort on their faces—mirroring my own unease.

"What if we postpone the meeting?" Nico asks cautiously.

A flash of anger surges through me, and I have to bite back the urge to snap at him. I'm frustrated because he's right—it would be the smart move, at least from the perspective of our survival.

"I can't," I say, my voice hardening. "The ‘Ndrangheta will see it as a sign of weakness if I cancel now. It'll give them the upper hand in negotiations, and we can't afford that. No, it must be tonight. We have to make this happen."

I hear Luca grinding his teeth, the acrid stench of his tension fouling the air again. "Then let's go over everything again. Who are you bringing with you now that Angelo is gone? They're going to expect you to have someone."

"I'll have you two," I say, my voice steady, though the truth is I'm still feeling the weight of Angelo's absence.

Nico shakes his head. "No, you need someone from the families. We'll be there, obviously, but you need someone else. Someone they know. Someone that proves you have the support of all the northern families."

I rub my jaw, feeling the pressure building. I've been thinking the same thing. Hell, I even asked Mia's opinion, which was a huge deal, even if she doesn't realize it. I value my wife's insight, and I don't know who's more surprised by that—me or my brothers. Mia seems blissfully unaware of how monumental it is that I consult her. I've been alive for almost half a millennium, and this is the first time I feel confident enough in a woman to ask her about business. After my experience with my first wife turning on me and telling the world my secret, I've avoided human females. I've never trusted them. Now Mia has changed all that. In the past, I've asked them for advice on other things, but never business. Never. Mia has caused a fundamental shift in me.

Now I see the benefits of having a partner who understands what's happening. Someone to bounce ideas off who won't just tell me what I want to hear. Someone with insight and instinct who isn't tied to me by blood. I have big plans for Mia. Big plans for us.

"Luigi is the one, I think," I say finally. He was my first choice and Mia agreed. "He's well-known to them, the meet is in his area, and he has a long history with the family. His loyalty has never been questioned."

"You should reach out to him," Nico suggests. "He'll want to be there early and know the entire setup." He glances at his watch, brows drawn tight. "It's three p.m. now. The meet is set for midnight. He needs to get moving."

I nod, my mind already spinning. "I'll contact him as soon as we're done here. There are a couple more things I want to go over." I tap the blueprint of the Duomo on my desk, my stomach twisting as I brace myself. "Are you two okay with going?" I ask, forcing myself to look at my brothers.

Luca scoffs, impatience flashing in his eyes. "We've already said we'd be there. What's your problem?"

Nico's voice cuts in, sharp and edged with something dark. "He means because of the Duomo itself."

I nod, tension coiling inside me. Luca still hasn't put it together, but Nico has. I can see it in his clenched jaw, the tight line of his lips, the way his hands grip the chair so hard I half expect it to break under the pressure.

"Why the fuck would I care about the Duomo di San Gimignano?" Bewilderment etches Luca's face.

"Because," Nico replies, his voice laced with anger, "it's where our mother was killed."

Luca blinks, sucking in a sharp breath, and I can see the realization hit him hard. He's the youngest and doesn't remember much about our mother. She died shortly after he was born. Nico is different. He remembers her well. They were close—much closer than she and I ever were. I loved my mother, but she was not an easy woman to love. She was ambitious, cruel even. I've often wondered if she was only with our father because he's a vampire king. My father adored her, but I've never been convinced it was mutual.

"Nico?" I ask, keeping my voice steady, though it's laced with concern. If my brother can't handle going back to the site of our mother's murder, I won't force him.

Nico's eyes burn with a mix of rage and pain. "I hate that place, but I won't let you down. She wouldn't want that." He stands abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor, and storms out of my office without a backward glance.

Luca watches him leave, still shaken. "I didn't realize it was the Duomo di San Gimignano."

I sense the surge of emotion in my brother, the storm brewing beneath his calm exterior. "It's okay if you don't want to go," I say, my voice softer now. This is the only time I would ever let my brothers off the hook. We stand together, or we fall apart—it's never been truer than in this moment.

"I… I don't remember her very well, and what I do remember… well, she was…" Luca's voice trails off, the unspoken words hanging heavy in the air.

Mean? Cruel? Not the kind, nurturing figure others assumed she was?

Luca's eyes widen slightly, and he gives a small nod. I always thought it was just me, that I'd somehow offended her.

I snort, bitterness lacing my tone. "No. She was a cruel and devious person. I never got along with her and hated the way she treated our father. I'm sorry she treated you the way she treated me. I thought she would've been kinder to you, like she was to Nico since you're the youngest. I should have been around more."

"I don't blame you for taking off," Luca says, shrugging. "I did the same as soon as I could. But it's all in the past, and I don't have a problem going to the Duomo di San Gimignano. "

"Thanks."

Luca gives me a curt nod. "I'm going to make a few calls and then feed. Do you need anything?"

I shake my head, watching him leave. Vampires have the same family issues as humans—it took me centuries to realize that. My mother was horrible to everyone except Nico. I always assumed she wasn't as bad to Luca as she was to me, but knowing the truth just solidifies my theory. I've always suspected Nico wasn't my father's son, that he was sired by another. I'm equally sure my father knows and doesn't care. He's always treated Nico as his own, and I love my brother—it doesn't matter to me who his father is.

But deep down, I think Nico knows, and it matters to him.

A problem for another day… if we live that long.