Chapter Two

Luciano.

It felt good to finally be out.

I looked around and took a deep breath.

“How does it feel to be back, brother?” I opened my eyes and smiled brightly when they connected with my brother’s.

“Adriano.” I walked forward and pulled him into a hug. My brother was the only person I had.

His arms didn’t come around me as mine did, but I didn’t mind.

“It feels good to be free.” He had been out for about a long time now, taking care of things while I remained inside.

“Let me take you home,” he said, and I nodded.

We walked toward his car—a black Mustang parked on the other side of the street.

“So, what’s going on?” I asked, leaning against the leather seat as I stared at my brother.

“I’ve gotten a few contacts already, and things are working in our favor.” I smiled.

That was exactly what I wanted to hear: things working in our favor.

I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes, the only sound in the car being the humming of the engine.

“What about him?” he asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

I didn’t need him to elaborate; I knew exactly who he was talking about.

“We’ll deal with him, but not yet,” I replied, and he nodded.

Adriano parked the car outside the building—our parents' house. I stared at it, wondering how I was going to stay here with all these haunting memories.

“Mr. Rossi.” I snapped out of my thoughts when I looked down.

My lips pulled into a slight smile, but it wasn’t a real one; I hadn’t been able to smile for a long time.

“Welcome back, Mr. Rossi,” Elena greeted me with a warm, motherly smile.

She looked as she always had, just a bit older.

“Elena, thank you.” She beamed back at me.

“You’re just in time; lunch is ready, and I can run a bath for you if you’d like?” she suggested.

I shook my head. “Thank you, Elena, but I can take care of the bath myself. I’ll come down for lunch once I’m done.” She nodded and walked inside.

I tried to step inside but paused when I noticed Adriano wasn’t making any move to come in.

“Aren’t you coming in?” I asked, frowning when he shook his head.

He really wasn’t going to leave just a few minutes after picking me up.

“I have to leave,” he replied, staring at the house with a distant look.

“We have a lot to talk about, Adriano. I need to hear from you,” I insisted, but again he shook his head.

“Everything has been taken care of. You’ll find the file you need in your room,” he said, and I scowled.

A few minutes later, after my bath, I stepped into the room and picked up the file sitting perfectly on my bed. They had everything we needed to take down the bastard, but first, we had to take it one day at a time.

I went downstairs to the dining room and nodded in approval when I saw Adriano perched on one of the chairs, scowling.

He clearly wasn't pleased about being forced to stay here, but he had to be with me because I missed my brother while I was in prison.

“Elena called this a family get-together. I don’t see it as one,” he grumbled under his breath, and I took my seat beside him.

I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him toward me. He tried to fight it, but I wasn’t letting him go.

“I’ve missed you, kiddo.” He shot a glare at me and pulled back when I wanted him to.

“I thought you’d be in prison for a long time,” he said.

Elena stepped out and served our food, placing a generous amount on my plate and leaving after warning us to finish everything.

“It isn’t always going to last; one way or another, I was going to come out,” I said vaguely.

I didn’t mind taking the longer route while my brother did less. I was ready to do anything to protect him, and having him out here was one of our advantages. He had managed to gather some men who were still loyal to our family.

“You’ve done a great job, Adriano.” He had exceeded my expectations.

Something flashed in his eyes, but before I could comment, it was gone.

We ate in silence.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked once we had finished eating.

I shrugged. I had thought about this for a while while I was still locked up, and nothing could beat the thought of Pedro losing his mind over his daughters.

He protects them from everyone but himself, and I've decided to use his daughter against him.

“The plan is simple. We will propose a marriage between our families, get under his skin, and then kill him when the time is right.” He tensed in his seat.

“You’re suggesting a marriage? What the hell, Luciano?” he exclaimed, clearly shocked, and I understood his reaction.

It was against everything inside me to come up with this plan, but it was necessary.

“You're serious?” he asked after I remained silent for a moment.

“I’m serious.”

“I’m not getting married, especially not to a Rodriguez,” he snapped, and I tried not to roll my eyes.

“You’re not the one getting married, Adriano. I am. I’m not doing this because I want to; it’s to get under his skin.” He let out a breath and calmed down a bit.

“His one weakness is his family, and with this file we have, he would crawl if we asked—" he cut me off.

“So why aren’t we doing that? Why aren’t we making him crawl and beg for what he’s done?” he asked.

“Pedro is quite protective of his daughters—his eldest daughter, to be precise. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight.” I didn’t know why he was so protective, but I was determined to find out.

“Marrying her would drive him mad. He knows how much we want to kill him, and vice versa. The only way he won’t be able to kill both of us is through this marriage.” Yes, I had thought about it too.

My brother and I are still trying to regain everything we lost. Though it wouldn’t take long, it was better to propose this idea before things got out of hand, and Pedro became a ticking time bomb ready to explode.

In the mafia, marriage has been a form of protection against war for centuries, but this wouldn’t stop a war. This marriage could very well be the start of one.

“You realize you’re going to marry his daughter, the one who—" I cut him off before he could continue.

“You don’t have to remind me of the things he has done. We have to do this, and there’s no going back.” He stared at me with a frown before nodding his head, but I could see that he didn’t like this idea one bit.

Neither did I, but as I said, I have to do this.