Twenty-two:Niccolo Capaldi After the moment I had with Daniela on the couch, I couldn’t stop touching her. I didn’t want to. I had told her that we were going to take things slow though. Really, I just wanted to savor her. Giuseppe had been talking about me starting to take on more responsibility after graduation and I knew then, I wouldn’t get to be with Daniela. I also knew that I probably wouldn’t see Daniela again. I’d seen her looking through college brochures the previous year and I knew she was going to graduate top of our class. Money would be the only thing that she struggled with but I’d overheard Giuseppe talking with Augusta, saying he would help Dani if she wanted him to. “That girl is practically my family,” he said.I think he was holding out hope that we would get married. And the longer I spent with Daniela, the more that idea didn’t sound so terrible. If she were my wife, I could protect her. Of course, I had no idea what Daniela wanted. What I did know was that I

Twenty-fourNiccolo Capaldi The first time I remember I shot something, I was fifteen years-old. It was my birthday. My father let me and my brother skip school that day. Luca and me weren’t twins, but we were born a year apart. We’d started school at the same time because my mom hadn’t wanted Luca or me to be lonely. “Where are you taking us, Pop?” Luca asked. We were in the back of a black sedan. “Maybe we could catch a movie,” said Luca, “or go to that diner Mom used to take us to after church.” Giuseppe shook his head. “No. Today, you’re going to work with me. You know our family owns much of Boston. We’re trying to buy a particular borough of the city. There’s another family that would like to have that same part. We’re meeting to give them. I think you’re old enough to see what the family business is up close.” I glanced at my brother. Luca’s face fell. I knew he’d been hoping for a normal afternoon with Pop, but that wasn’t the k

Twenty-six:Niccolo Capaldi There were some things that I could never tell Daniela. It was one of the many reasons that I had pushed her away in the beginning. I hated the idea of lying to her. We’d been in the thick of things though, and she showed no signs of running. I wouldn’t have blamed her. Of course, we were both in shock over seeing my father dead on the ground. Luca was missing. And Audrina had disappeared.I had a theory about that, but I wanted it to be wrong.Daniela had so few people that she could count on. I hated the idea that now, there was one person less in her circle. She would always have me but I wouldn’t blame her if this was the last straw. If once she got somewhere safe, that was when she decided to leave and get the hell out on her own. Plenty of people would do the same thing and never think twice about it. Daniela said she was ride or die for me, and I had to believe her.I never told her about what happened the day that we saw the man we’d thought was Da

Twenty-eight:Niccolo Capaldi The summer before I graduated was the summer that I had to swear allegiance to the Cosa nostra. There were different factions in different cities all with different families running it. It was an intense system, built on loyalty, secrets, and bloodshed. At the end of August, on my eighteenth birthday, I would take what was called an omerta. A vow of silence swearing my allegiance to it. And then I would have to kill someone for them to prove my worth. All summer long, even as I lost myself in Daniela, I kept on waking up in sweat, breathing hard, having nightmares about it. I still remembered finding Audrina’s dad in the hotel, half-dead from a bullet wound and he barely survived. At night, Daniela would slip into my room, and sleep with me. When I woke up, the only thing I could do to get my mind off of the nightmares I had was to lose myself in her. I started by kissing her neck, which always woke her up.Daniela rol

Thirty:Niccolo Capaldi There was a field outside of Milan where, when we got there, the private jet had arrived for us. My pilot was waiting outside of it along with the flight crew. “Mr. Capaldi,” he said, “what the hell happened? Why are you covered in blood? Where’s the old man?” “Giuseppe’s dead. My brothers been kidnapped. And Audrina Bianchi is a traitor I just don’t know to who or how.” “Fuck.” The pilot ran a hand through his hair. “Well, that’s quite the way to start a Monday morning. Where to?” “New York. Make sure it’s a private airport, if you know what I mean.” I had hold of Daniela’s hand as I led her onto the plane. She’d been quiet for the whole drive. So had I. It wasn’t easy to be able to drive when you were constantly looking over your shoulder every five seconds to see if someone was following us. But it seemed that Audrina and her people were long gone. The blood from my father had dried on