Page 79 of Heartless Union

“Good, you’re awake,” Carlo says, crouching down beside me. I’m on my side and can’t move. “I was waiting for that. I didn’t want to kill you when you were passed out. Where would be the fun in that?” He rips off the duct tape over my mouth. I don’t even flinch. He doesn’t get the satisfaction in seeing my pain. “Now, I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen. I have my men out in the other room. They used to be your father’s men, but now they follow me. Now, most have accepted me as their leader, but I can sense a few of them are not exactly satisfied. Which brings me to you.

“What I need from you,” he continues, “is to go out there and renounce any claim for leadership. I’ll still kill you afterward, but at least then you’ll know I won’t hunt down your brothers or sister or wife. I’ll leave them be as long as they don’t get in my way. That’s a fair deal, isn’t it?”

I don’t have any other choice. I have to save my family, no matter the cost. Even if I have to put aside my ego to do so.

“Deal,” I grit out.

Carlo claps his hands together. “Wonderful.” He nods at Dante. “Take him into the other room.” He leaves.

Dante walks over to me with a stupid, fucking smirk on his face. “I like seeing you like this, Rocco. Submissive for once. Not the big, tough guy you think you are.”

“You think you’re tough, Dante? At least I don’t hide behind my daddy for protection.”

“No, you killed your dad. So, which one of us is the better man?” He flashes me a smile. “I promise I’ll take good care of Gabriella after you’re gone.”

I try tugging at my ties, but I can’t move. “If you touch her; I swear?—”

“You’ll … what? Kill me? You’re not going to get the chance to kill me, Rocco. Because you’ll be fucking dead. Now, come on.” He hoists me up to standing and pushes me forward. I have to shuffle my feet to keep from falling over.

We leave the concrete room behind and end up in a large, warehouse space. My father’s previous men—the more powerful and influential ones—are all seated in a circle. Carlo is standing in the middle of them all.

Dante pushes me next to Carlo. I gaze around at all the men who went against me when they chose Carlo. They’re going to regret doing that.

Because I will find a way out of here, and I will seek my revenge.

“Tell them what you want to say, Rocco,” Carlo says.

A few of them stare at me head on, daring me to challenge them. But a few can’t meet me in the eye. They already regret choosing Carlo. Maybe some of them will be on my side after I become boss. That’s a promising thought.

“I have something to say.” I stand up straighter, squaring my shoulders. “Carlo wants me to renounce any claim to leadership. That will make his measly, little life easier. But I’m not backing down. If you want me as your leader, tell me now. Because I will fight to be on top. I will take our business to an entirely new level. I deserve to be leader, and all of you know it.”

Carlo huffs. “You’re supposed to renounce yourself, not give my men a speech about why you should be leader. If you’re not going to do as I say, I’ll just have to kill you, then hunt down your family and kill them slowly, one by one.” He lifts his gun to my head.

“Wait,” I say. “Carlo, you’re forgetting something. If you want to take over, you’re going to have to fight me for it.”

“That’s preposterous. The Mafia doesn’t work like that. We’re not men with a code. We’re men who kill to get what we want.”

“That may be true. But you would impress my father’s men even more so if you beat me in a fight. They would definitely accept you as a leader after that.” I look Carlo dead in the eye. “So, what do you say? Shall we fight? If you win, you can kill me. And you’ll have gained the respect of every man in this room.” Out of the corner of my eyes, I see a few of them nod.

Carlo notices it, too. His hand clenches around his gun, but he lowers it. “Fine.”

“Dad, you can’t,” Dante says, stepping forward.

Carlo flashes him an annoyed look. “Do you think I can’t win?”

Dante hesitates. That says everything he doesn’t say out loud.

Carlo turns back to me. “Let’s fight. Untie him,” he says, motioning at one of his men. It’s James, one of my father’s most trusted advisers. I can tell by his expression he doesn’t like being bossed around to do Carlo’s dirty work, but he doesn’t object.

After he unties me, James gives my shoulder a subtle squeeze. I look at him more closely. He nods. He’s silently telling me he wants me to beat Carlo, even after he told me he wanted Carlo to be his new boss. I knew everyone would regret that.

Carlo and I face off with each other.

“No weapons,” I say. “Hand to hand combat.”

Carlo shrugs. “Easy for me.” And with that, he throws the first punch. I dodge out of the way. Carlo is surprisingly spry and fast for a man his age.

But I land the first hit.

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