Chapter 1

CHAPTERONE

LUCA STRUGGLED TO open his eyes through a blinding pain emanating from the back of his skull.

Damn, what had he done? Had the terror twins come back and knocked him out?

He tried to lift his hand to touch the tender spot, but he couldn’t seem to lift his arm.

What the hell?

He tried again, this time with the other arm, and that was when he realized his hands had been bound together behind him.

Luca’s eyes flew open.

Holy shit. He was in a…trunk?

The sound of rough New York accents assaulted his ears, and he found himself holding his breath as he tried to place who else was in the car with him.

“Fuckin’ Rossetti. You shoulda shot him in the head.”

“Did you miss me tyin’ up the kid? What were you doin’, wiseass?”

Fear struck Luca’s heart at the sound of the unfamiliar men talking about murder and kidnapping as if it were no big deal. He was with the Fiores. He had to be.

Through the pain in his head, he remembered the sound of tires squealing and that he’d jumped into the back seat of Dom’s SUV like he was instructed. But then shots rang out and someone had pulled him out of the car…tied his hands…forced him into the trunk…and all the while, he’d been yelling for Dom.

Oh God, Dom. Apparently he hadn’t been shot in the head, but he couldn’t be in good shape after being so outnumbered. He hadn’t been able to get to Luca, and neither had Joe—though he wouldn’t be such a loss, if Luca was honest.

Shit, where were they taking him?

“Is the kid still out?” he heard one of the men ask, and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut.

“Yeah, he’s out. Frankie knocked him pretty good. Boss’ll be pissed.”

“Well, he wouldn’t shut up. Kept callin’ out for Rossetti like he could help him. The kid’s obviously not too bright if he thinks that guy would do anything other than kill him.”

Luca’s stomach twisted at the mention of Dom and his intentions. How were these guys any better if he was tied up in a fucking trunk?

And why did everyone keep calling him “kid”?

“Shocker he’s still alive at all. Figured the Rossettis would’ve strung him up for the boss to see the second they got their hands on him. Seems they were playing some sorta long game.”

“Yeah.” One of the guys snorted. “One they just fuckin’ lost. Dumb fuckers.”

The Suburban must’ve hit a pothole then, because Luca’s entire body bounced and rolled toward the back seats, and his back now faced the window, the only source of any kind of direction he had. Shit.

He wriggled around, trying to turn himself back in the direction he’d been facing. The last thing he wanted was his back to these animals when they finally got wherever they were going. But at the same time, if they were taking him somewhere to shoot, kill, and bury him, he’d rather not see it coming.

“Boss is gonna be fuckin’ pumped we got him.”

“And right out from under their noses.”

Someone grunted their agreement, then added, “Not sure Mick’ll feel the same. He wants nothin’ to do with the kid. Was more than happy to let Rossetti take him out. He’s gonna be pissed we’re bringin’ him in.”

Luca filed away each piece of information and wondered if they’d be talking so much if they knew he was conscious. Probably not.

“Yeah, well, Mick ain’t in charge, is he? Boss wanted him, so we go get him. End of story.”

“And Vinnie and Diego?”

“Eh, they knew the risks goin’ in. They were out to prove themselves to the boss—guess they failed.”

“Rossetti and his knives, man. Get too close, he’ll always get the upper hand. Probably should’ve warned Vinnie.”

“Wasn’t enough time. No use cryin’ about it now.”

Luca winced, remembering a time when Dom had pulled those knives on him. It seemed Dom’s reputation preceded him when it came to his weapons of choice, and Luca could only imagine the brutal and vicious acts he’d inflicted over the years to earn it.

A shiver skated up his spine. How was it he was lying there, tied up in the back of a trunk, listening to these men describe someone who had kidnapped and—in his own way—tortured Luca, yet he would give anything in that moment for Dom to come and save him?

It was official. He’d gone insane.

“We made good time,” one of the guys said as the Suburban veered to the right. Luca bit down on his lip and rolled himself over so he was again looking out the back window.

As the car sped along, he saw several large signs arching up over the road and was able to ascertain they were now exiting a highway. Which highway, he had no idea. He didn’t know how long he’d been knocked out, and no idea when they’d get wherever they were going, but apparently they were close.

The boss wanted him, they’d said. So he was going to meet the head of the Fiores—oh shit—better known as his father.

No. No way. If he was going to meet the man responsible for his existence, then surely they could’ve come up with a better way to make the introduction. Being tied up in the back of an SUV wasn’t exactly endearing him to any of these people.

Wait, hadn’t Dom’s father, Vincenzo, said it was safer for Luca to be with the Rossettis? Why would he say that? Especially when they themselves had threatened to kill him? What could the Fiores do that would be worse, especially to their own blood?

It looked like he was about to find out.

God, what had he done to deserve all this? He’d been ping-ponged between two psychotic families that he’d never even heard of until this week, and why? Because they thought he was some long-lost heir to a mob family? Well, not lost—tossed away, more like. Maybe he’d finally get some answers as to why and how he came to live with whom he considered his actual parents.

Or maybe this Fiore boss would be every bit as vague as the Rossettis.

Luca curled himself into a tight ball as the car made several turns. Out of the back window he could see nothing but trees. Great. Watch them take him to the middle of nowhere where, even if he could manage to escape, he wouldn’t be able to find himself out of the woods.

“Back up into the driveway,” one of the guys said. “Don’t want the neighbors to see us haulin’ him outta the trunk.”

So he was in a neighborhood, not in a forest somewhere. Luca filed that away for later.

As the car slowed to a crawl, the top of a sprawling brick house came into view in the back window, giving him a small glimpse of where they were taking him. The place reminded him of some of the more affluent houses near his own in Connecticut…but surely that wasn’t where they were, right? They definitely were not in Manhattan anymore.

The back tires bumped up into the drive, rolling him back a fraction, and the vehicle continued its course toward the house. The size of the thing made Luca’s eyes widen.

This was the last kind of place he’d expected to be brought to, but clearly this Mafia business was lucrative. Dom’s tower in the sky had told him that much, but this house—mansion—was clearly in an expensive area.

As the Suburban came to a halt and the doors to the vehicle were flung open, Luca’s heart began to hammer. He had no idea who these guys were or what they were about to do to him. Yes, they’d mentioned taking him to the “boss,” but in what condition? When he first arrived at Dom’s he’d been thrown in a basement and threatened within an inch of his life. Who was to say that wasn’t going to happen here? There was a very real possibility that there was a hidden dungeon in this place too.

The sound of gravel under heavy feet got closer, and Luca sent up a quick prayer that he somehow made it through whatever was about to happen next and shut his eyes. He stayed as still as possible in the hopes they thought he’d passed out, but then a large hand wrapped around his bicep and hauled him to the edge of the trunk.

“He looks kind of out of it. But I think he’s alive,” his handler said as he dragged Luca from the vehicle.

Luca’s bound feet hit the ground with a hard thump, and as he staggered forward slightly, the guy’s grip got tighter, keeping him steady.

“Good thing,” one of the other guys said. “If you’d killed him from a whack to the head, I don’t think boss would be too happy.”

Luca kept his head low and his eyes on the ground. He didn’t dare look up or even acknowledge his own existence, let alone theirs. The last thing he wanted to do was earn a smack to the other side of his head. He needed his wits about him right now, and to do that, he needed to be conscious.

“Right, let’s get him inside.”

Another hand grabbed Luca’s opposite arm, and as they hauled him forward, Luca’s heart began to hammer. He studied the gravel beneath his feet. It was a pale stone mixed with slate greys, and as they hauled him up onto a pathway, his feet dragged along a brick path that matched the house.

He kept note of every single thing he saw on the off chance he somehow escaped and got to speak to the police. But at the same time, he wondered if it was really worth it. What had Dom told him that one night? That he owned the city and everyone in it that could help him? What made him think that the police out here weren’t on the Fiores’ payroll?

When they came to a stop by a door, one of the men holding him reached out and banged on it several times.

Luca tried to stay as still as possible, wondering how in the world he hadn’t passed out from the fear coursing through his veins.

Then the man to his right leaned in and said by his ear, “I know you’re awake.”

Luca jerked his head up and away from the mouth so close to him, and for the first time since he’d been taken, he saw the face of one of his abductors.

The man was bruised and bloodied, his leathery skin was pitted and scarred all over, and as a disgusting smile curled a broken lip, he grunted. “You look just fuckin’ like her.”

Luca said nothing, already knowing whom he was referring to, but there was no way he was about to acknowledge it. Then the sound of several bolts turning caught his attention, and the door they were standing in front of yawned wide.

“Guess it’s time to go let the boss see you for himself.”