Page 26 of Luca

I wake before the sun and head to my shitty little apartment in Boston. The only reason I like this place is because no one asks questions. This isn’t the type of building where anyone is interested in getting to know their neighbors, which suits me fine.

The first thing I do is grab my burner phone from the crawl space I cut into the ceiling of my closet. It’s as good a hiding spot as I could figure out in the small one-bedroom apartment.

It’s early as shit to be calling Finn, but I don’t know the next time I’ll have a chance. I don’t think it’s safe to bring the phone to the estate. It’s not as though there’s reason to believe Carlo is suspicious of me, but on the off chance that he or someone else goes through my things when I’m not around, it’d be pretty damn hard to explain away a phone with only two numbers on it belonging to my cousin and his lieutenant, Cillian.

When I dial Finn’s number, he answers in a groggy voice, “Luca. Everything good?”

“Yeah. Did you see the news yet?”

“Fuck no. I just went to bed two hours ago. What’s going on?”

“Francesco Cataldi has been arrested on RICO charges.”

Finn releases a low whistle. “Well, that’s something. What’s Carlo saying?”

“A lot of talk about him being in charge now and things changing, but he hasn’t told me anything specific. Just said when the time is right he’ll pull me in. He also confided that the old man has cancer and doesn’t expect to make it more than a year.”

“Shit. Well, that’s definitely news. This is the first I’m hearing about it.”

“They didn’t want anyone knowing. Carlo was saying if his father goes to prison, it gets the heat off him, and even if he doesn’t, he’ll be dead soon. So no matter what, Carlo will be running things.”

“Wow, he sounds real broken up about losing his old man,” Finn comments with disgust ringing in his tone. That’s the thing about my cousin. Family means everything to him. Nothing like what I’ve seen from the Cataldis. Especially where Giada is concerned.

“Yeah, here’s the thing, though. He wants me at the house to babysit Giada. I’m keeping my apartment, but the phone is staying here. I wouldn’t put it past him to search his employees' rooms or some shit.”

“Makes sense. Need me to come water your plants or something?”

I bark out a laugh. “No, asshole, you don’t need to water plastic.”

After I moved into my apartment, my cousin thought a little housewarming gift was in order and got me a fake plant to stick in the corner to make the place feel more homey, he said.

“See, it was the perfect gift,” he says, chuckling into the phone.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, if you don’t hear from me for a while, that’s why. I don’t know when I’ll be able to make it to my place or how often.”

“Alright, cousin. Stay safe and keep your ears open. If Carlo starts making moves, I want to know everything you can find out. Sounds like we’ll have you out of there soon.”

“I fucking hope so.”

“If it was getting to be too much, you’d tell me, right?”

“We’ve gone over this shit. Francesco is on his way out no matter what, but the way Carlo makes it sound, they’ll rise from the ashes like a fucking phoenix or some shit. The plan stays the same for now. I stay inside so we can take them out and make their organization nothing more than a cautionary tale.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m fucking sure.” I’m not throwing away years of work.

“Alright. Listen, I need to get a few more hours of shut-eye. You good?”

“Fine, Sleeping Beauty. Get your rest,” I reply.

“Fuck you, asshole.”

“Love you too, cousin.”

I disconnect the call and pack a bag before grabbing the large envelope where I keep the only evidence of my past. Pulling out the stack of pictures, my eyes land on the first one of me and my dad, Frank, taken at the lake we used to camp and fish at. I was eight and had just caught my first “big one.” My dad’s smile is beaming, and I look so damn pleased with myself as I grin into the camera. It was a great day. The one beneath it is of my mother and father holding me when I was just a few weeks old. The look of love and pride was evident on both their faces. They had no idea that less than a month later, they’d lose it all. Both are pictures of families ripped apart by death before their time. Both pictures remind me of why I’m doing this, of why I’ll watch the Cataldi empire burn to ash at my feet.

When I get back to the house, Giada is in the kitchen dressed in a pair of black slacks matched with a green sweater, her amber eyes shining with determination.

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