Page 77 of Vicious Redemption

And his death would be devastating for my family. My mother and sisters would have no man to protect them—not unless Leo chose to help them. And I doubt he would be inclined to help the family of a traitor, even if that family happens to be mine.

My lips part as if to offer up some defense, some new reason why Leo should show my father mercy, but the ice in my chest seems to have frozen my lungs—and my voice right along with them.

“Well, Don Guerra?” Leo asks, his deep voice strong, unwavering. “Your time is up. I think I’ve given you more than enough, and I will have your final answer. Are we allies? Or are we enemies?”

After a moment of confusion, I realize Leo must be carrying on with the ceremony I so boldly interrupted. He does it with a casual comfort that would suggest he didn’t just kill a man in cold blood. Crimson-stained knife still in hand, he looks closer to a butcher than the head of a prominent Piovosa family.

And yet, he’s entirely calm, poised even, his authority infusing every line of his body.

He’s never looked more regal than he does now.

Broad shoulders back, his head held high, Leo wears his dark curls like a crown as he peers down at my father with easy indifference. Though it’s the reason I snuck out of our bedroom in the first place, I can scarcely believe it—Leo’s giving my father another chance.

And if my father’s self-righteous enough to reject him now, then nothing I can say or do will save him from his own stupidity.

“We’re allies, Don Moretti,” my father says solemnly, and my breath escapes me in a rush as my heart jump-starts to life once again. “I have learned to respect your authority, your ability to rule, and I’m honored to have my daughter married to such a man as you. If I could give you a greater treasure than my Tia, I would do it in a heartbeat. But if I have anything more valuable, I can’t name it. So request anything of me, any gift you deem more worthy, and it’s yours.”

Tears sting my eyes, and a knot forms in my throat at my father’s heartfelt words. They strike me to my very core. And I can scarcely dare to believe he means them. Except we all just witnessed what happens to men who try to lie to Leo. So I can’t imagine my father would say anything but the truth right now.

I wait with bated breath for Leo’s response, any kind of confirmation that I’m a worthy gift, that he sees the value in me my father described.

But Leo doesn’t look back at me. In fact, he doesn’t acknowledge my father’s gift at all. And it cuts me to the core as I realize that he still might not have forgiven me for hiding Maria’s phone. I swallow hard, fighting back the tears as I try not to let the slight crush me beneath its weight.

Instead, I focus on Leo’s commanding voice.

He presses forward with a formality that makes me realize the gravity of this occasion. “Will you pledge your loyalty to me, Don Guerra? Will you swear an oath that you will live and die by the gun and knife to protect the Moretti name?”

“I will,” my father says, stepping forward and around Don Fiore’s body to kneel before Leo.

My heart leaps into my throat at the sight of my father on his knee for anyone. And it strikes me then just what this ceremony is about—this is Leo’s initiation to don. Whenever a new don is named, all the men from that family gather to pledge their loyalty and swear an oath.

But that’s not quite right. Because it’s not just Leo’s men in the ballroom. No, Leo’s not just becoming a don. Only a capo dei capi would receive pledges of loyalty from other dons. That’s never happened in Piovosa before.

And I’m saddened because I know what this cost Leo to achieve, but I’m also immensely proud of him. Because he’s managed to form an empire not by annihilating my family but by finding a way to truly unite us.

I wonder what might come of Don Fiore’s death. I can’t imagine his family will take the news lightly. But it fills me with relief and joy to see my father has finally given up his fight. And if it took one man dying to save my family, I suppose I can thank Elena and her uncle for that.

Luigi appears beside Leo, offering him a clean towel in exchange for the blood-slicked knife still clasped in his palm. And as my father pricks his thumb with a needle, Leo wipes Don Fiore’s blood from his hands.

“May I burn in hell if I betray any members of the Moretti family,” my father says as he presses his bloodied thumb to a white paper, staining it red. Then he lights the paper on fire.

My stomach knots nervously as he cups the burning sheaf in his hands. Seeming unperturbed by the heat of the flame, he lets it wither into nothingness before lowering his arms.

Leo grasps my father’s shoulders, guiding him to his feet, and a poignant moment transfers between them. They clasp hands, breaking the tension, and the room bursts into riotous applause. Shrill whistles cut through the space as Leo’s men celebrate openly.

And in a flash, the formality vanishes, replaced by palpable relief as the ceremony ends.

Don Fiore’s lifeless body remains on the floor as the guests gradually file out. And Leo exchanges words with anyone who stops to congratulate him or shake his hand. No one seems bothered by the dead traitor, or the subtle pink hue of his blood still clinging to Leo’s hand as they shake it.

Feeling out of place and invisible, I watch as the large, boisterous men filter out around me. They give me a wide berth, and on the rare occasion that they meet my eyes, they nod respectfully or acknowledge me with a polite “Signora Moretti.”

Still, I feel lost at sea, cast adrift in a world where I don’t belong—even my father departs with only the briefest of nods in my direction. Leo is my one anchor here, the grounding force that keeps me rooted to the spot.

And his attention is focused on accepting congratulations and addressing his men, who just spent the afternoon swearing loyalty to him.

I have half a mind to slip away, and at the same time, I don’t dare. Because now that I’ve so boldly defied him, I feel like I might lose my mind if I don’t face Leo before he tries to leave.

Finally, the mass exodus ends, leaving only me, Leo, Luigi, and a few of Leo’s men I’ve come to recognize as his most loyal.

---