Page 51 of Forever Lies
“So, I’ve heard. I’m surprised you’re even talking to me about this over the phone. Aren’t you worried about wiretaps or crap like that?”
She choked on a laugh. “It’s not like the movies—don’t let your imagination run away from you. We’re very cautious—we only use iPhones because they’re encrypted, and not even the feds can get in. We don’t have regular meetings, and the bosses are rarely ever seen at all. Business is often done online and always very discreetly.”
“The movies are the only thing I have to go by. This is all new to me.”
“To some extent, everything can stay exactly as its been. You don’t have to be involved. I know you’re hurt and upset, but it’s not the end of the world.”
She wasn’t entirely wrong. What I’d learned felt life-altering, but it didn’t necessarily have to be. “Alright,” I conceded. “I’ll try to calm down, but I’m still not happy about this.”
“I know, but if it’s any consolation, I’m glad you know now, and I don’t want you to leave.”
“Thanks, Maria,” I could barely get the words out over the lump that formed in my throat. Those had been the nicest words she’d ever spoken to me. Maybe our relationship might be the one silver lining to this whole nasty mess.
We said goodbye, and I went back to moping but feeling far less alone than I had minutes before. I laid down on the couch to lose myself in some mindless television, and the next thing I knew, I was woken by a knock at my door.
Shaking off the confusion of sleep, I rubbed my eyes and stumbled to the door. A glance through the peephole told me Luca had decided my time away was over and had come to talk.
“Go away, I don’t want to see you,” I called through the door.
“I’m not leaving until we talk. You can open the door, or I can break it down.” His deep voice resonated through the thick wood and twisted my insides.
I opened the door a crack, tears of frustration pricking at my eyes. “Please, stop. I don’t want to do this right now.”
Seeing him unruffled was unexpected. His normally perfectly styled hair shot up in all directions. His suit had been abandoned for a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he had bags under his eyes. Why was he so upset? I was just a means to an end for him.
“I was right, wasn’t I? I was right about your dad.”
My momentary sympathy was dashed away. His mentionof my father reminded me of my dad’s warning about Luca using me. Like a metal garage door slamming down into place, I erected a wall between us.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You need to leave.” I started to close the door, but he shot his foot out just in time.
Pushing with all his weight, he thrust the door open and forced his way inside. “Don’t play that fucking game with me. I’ve been nothing but honest with you—telling the truth when no one else in your own family offered you the same courtesy. The least you can do is talk to me.”
“Telling me the truth? Does that include using me for information about my family? All you ever wanted was to get close to my father, so don’t pretend to be some white knight,” I shot back at him.
He ran a hand through his ruffled hair, eyes darting around in frustration. “That was it at first, but then it became more.”
I huffed out a bitter laugh. “And why should I believe you now?”
“Because not one thing I’ve said has been a lie. Yes, I sought you out to get information, but my interest in you has been real. Why else do you think I’m here?”
“To hurt my family?”
“No, I’m trying to save your family. Telling you about your father put my life at risk—why would I do that if I didn’t care about you? You deserve to know the truth, and you need to know because you’re in danger.”
I wrapped my arms around my middle protectively, unsure where this was going. “What are you talking about?”
“For months, tensions have been rising because your family has been double-crossing the other families. Threeweeks ago, a made man was killed the day after he met with your father. It was unsanctioned by the Commission, which is comprised of the heads of each of the New York families, along with the families of the Chicago Outfit. Used to be every family in the country had a seat on the Commission, but the feds hit organized crime so hard in the eighties and nineties, the Commission shrunk. Anyway, an unauthorized killing of a made man in our world gives the right to blood for blood—it keeps order among the families. You don’t kill a made man or his family because you or someone you love can be killed as payback. This man was killed on the orders of someone in your family, the Luccianos. Your father is the boss. Therefore, if he gave the order, his family would be vulnerable to retribution—not just his mafia family, his blood family. That means you, Alessia. You and your sisters or your mother could be a target.”
“I thought the mafia didn’t go after women and children?”
“Normally, we don’t, but the guy who was killed was the Gallo family Consigliere’s son. The Gallos have a number of men who are fresh from Sicily—they’re called Zips—their code far more stringent than ours. They want blood, and they want one of the boss’s children to make up for their loss.”
“Are you in the Gallo family?”
“I’m a part of the Russo outfit.”
“So, how does any of this involve you?”
