Page 6 of Luca

But what if they don’t?

What if they’re the only line I have to get back what was stolen from me? A family. Safety. A life out from under the shadows. Frank didn’t want me to chase after revenge, but fuck, getting revenge sounds pretty damn good right about now. My dad told me the Cataldis were nearly untouchable. The cops, DEA and FBI have tried to build cases against them for years, yet they’ve never been able to stick charges to the boss, Francesco. But what if the way to take them down isn’t by using the law but by some other means? Some way to get in there and destroy them from the inside. If Francesco was so worried about Elio feeding information to the Monaghans, that meant Elio knew things about the Cataldis that would destroy them. And if he knew then I can find out, too.

I pull the number from my pocket, my eyes blurry from the tears and the whiskey, and dial one of the numbers to a bar the Monaghans own.

“Clovers Tavern,” the voice on the other line answers.

Am I really fucking doing this?

“Hello?” the person who answered asks impatiently.

“Uh, hi. Cormac Monaghan, please.”

“Mr. Monaghan isn’t here.” The voice seems slightly confused. “Who’s this?”

I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, actually.

“My dad was a friend of his and he passed. Thought Mr. Monaghan would like to know.”

That makes no sense. Frank and Cormac weren’t friends. If she asks who it was, what the hell am I supposed to tell her?

“His son is here. Hold on, I’ll get him.” The woman’s voice is sympathetic, and I feel like shit for lying. But again, I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to say. I need to talk to someone. I need to figure out what my next move is, if I have a move at all.

“This is Finn,” a man with a deep voice answers.

I’m stunned speechless.

You called him, dumbass.

“Hi, my name is Luca Bennetti. Our fathers knew each other.” Kind of true.

“My bartender said our dads were friends. What was his name?”

“I may have embellished on that a little,” I answer.

“What the fuck is going on? Who the hell are you?”

Inhaling a deep breath, I decide to answer with the truth.

“I’m your cousin.”

Chapter three

Luca

One Year Later

The house is packed up. The last year has been a whirlwind of getting my ducks in a row to move out to Boston. When I think back on that first drunken phone call I made to Finn the day of my dad’s funeral, I can’t believe it was only twelve months ago.

To say he had a hard time believing me is an understatement. He basically told me to fuck right off and hung up on me. I was defeated, certain my chances of taking Francesco Cataldi down had flown right out the window.

Then, a week later, I got a phone call.

“Hello?” I answer my cell phone hesitantly, recognizing the Boston area code.

“It’s Finn Monaghan. Fuck, I don’t know why I’m calling.”

He’s silent for a beat, and it doesn’t seem like he wants me to answer that for him, so I don’t.

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