Chapter 60

60

Luca

I let her go. I watch as she walks past the fallen bodies of the men my brothers and I shot down, past the crumpled figure of the man who attempted to take her life, twice. Her footsteps echo around the church as she heads down the aisle and away from me. She slips through the doorway of the church, and leaves without a backward glance.

The door clangs shut. The sound reverberates around the space, and echoes in my head. Somehow, it feels like the door to my coffin slamming shut. I spin around and kick the empty coffin I'd occupied just a few seconds ago. It's so heavy that it takes a second kick, and a third, to dislodge it. It slides to the ground and rolls over.

"Fuck, fuck. FUCK," I yell.

I raise my joined hands and bring them down toward the marble platform that the coffin rested upon. I'd have hurt myself, probably broken a few bones in my palm, too, if it weren't for Massimo grabbing my shoulder and pulling me back.

"Get yourself under control, fratello . Hurting yourself is not going to help anything."

"Oh, and you're an expert on relationships, are you?" I wrench my shoulder from his grasp and turn on him. "The stronzo who couldn't get the woman he fell for to marry him."

His shoulders bunch. The tendons of his throat pop. "Take that back, you pezza di merda ."

"Or what?"

He bares his teeth. "Or I'll smash your face in."

I pull my fist back to do just that, when I'm caught from behind, and so is Massimo. We're pulled apart. Me by Adrian, and Massimo by Seb and Axel. The testa di cazzo is so fucking big, it takes two of them to restrain him.

We stare at each other, our breaths coming in puffs, chests heaving. Sweat beaded across our foreheads. Then Massimo shakes them off. He straightens his cuff and turns to Michael, who walks over to join us.

"The answer is yes."

"Eh?" Michael's forehead furrows.

"I'll marry the Camorra princess."

He steps over Freddie's body, then walks around the other fallen men. "I'll send people to clean this up."

He stalks up the aisle and out of the church, leaving the six of us alone.

"Fuck." I pull out of Adrian's grasp.

"I warned you," Michael says in a hard voice. "I told you this would hurt you."

"And if I hadn't done it, he would have hurt her." I glare at the fallen Freddie. "He's dead. We can all move on now. He's never coming back to hurt any of us or our families. And with Massimo ready to marry the Camorra princess, the feud with them will also be settled."

"You didn't have to take it on yourself to settle this single handedly. You are not responsible for all of our futures," Seb chides as he leans forward on the balls of his feet.

"I am the Capo ." I bend and pick up my gun from where I let it drop after I shot Freddie. "It was up to me to ensure our safety."

"And I am the Don." Michael scans my features. "You've always tried so hard to prove yourself, Luca. You can rest assured that we owe you for this. What you did was difficult and gutsy. You put the welfare of the clan before your own happiness. You went above and beyond your calling." He grips my shoulders. "I'm proud of you, little brother." He pulls me into a hug.

My eyes burn. There is a ball of emotion stuck in my throat, where it has no business being. My chest hurts, and my limbs feel like they belong to someone else. I allow Michael to pat me on the back before he steps back.

"What are you waiting for?" he asks.

"Huh?" I shake my head. "What do you mean?"

"You need to go after her and woo her back," Michael says with a smile on his face.

"She's pissed at me." I rub the back of my neck.

"To be fair, the stunt you pulled was deplorable," Christian murmurs.

I shoot him a glance. "I had no choice."

The door to the back of the church opens and the women stream in. Karma breaks into a run, only for Michael to meet her half way. "I've told you not to exert yourself physically, haven't I?" he scolds her as he pulls her into his side.

Aurora walks over to Christian, and Elsa to Seb, while Axel crosses over to Theresa and kisses her.

I watch as the couples hug each other and speak in low tones, as if they've been separate for days instead of less than an hour.

"As you suggested, I told Penny everything and sent her after Jeanne to make sure she's okay," Karma calls out.

"Thanks." I jerk my chin. At least she won't be alone. That's something.

"What now?" Adrian, the only other single person in the group, turns to me. "You going after her, or what?"

"I don't know." I scuff the toe of my boot against the stone floor. "In case you didn't notice, she wasn't very happy with me. In fact, I distinctly remember her saying she hates me. And she'll never forgive me."

"Didn't take you for a coward." His lips kick up.

I scowl back. "I'm not a coward. I am just saying maybe, uh… I need to give her time to cool off."

"And allow her to stew over how you betrayed her trust?" Karma's voice rings out. "It was thoughtful of you to make sure Penny's with her, but it's not enough. You're aware of that, I assume?"

I wince, then turn to my sister-in-law. Over the past few months, I've seen her work her magic on Michael and come to grips with her role as the senior most female figure within the clan, after Nonna's passing. If there's one woman who knows what she's doing when it comes to affairs of the heart, it's her.

"What are you suggesting?"

"That you get over being a pussy and go after her and find a way to wriggle back into her good graces." Karma sniffs.

"And how do I do that?"

"Grovel." Michael chuckles. "You need to grovel."

"A lot," Christian adds.

"A whole bloody lot." Axel nods sagely.

Seb wraps his arm around Elsa and pulls her into his chest. "And some more." He rests his chin on top of her head. "And when you think it's enough, grovel some more."