Page 67 of Little Rabbit

Aurelio pulls out his phone and is silent for a moment as he goes back through his messages. After another moment he answers, “Looks like it came out of Giovanni’s section of town. But then the name was brought up not long after in Marco’s. Leonardo also picked up on it, but a day or two later. That also seems to be the reason that Dario got there first, before Giovanni and Marco’s men, because they headed for LA and Dario went to London.”

“But how would Giovanni even know to look for this kind of thing?” I point out, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “It doesn’t make sense. And I highly doubt your guy would let something like this be found, right? So, how did they know?”

“Someone had to have found it and told them,” Alessio agrees. “But who? I doubt the staff would mention it. And if Giovanni knew before then, he wouldn’t have wasted his time trying to marry off Gia and overtake Leonardo. He’d have gone and taken them, hidden them away, and built up his alliances before trying any of it.”

The tension in the room increases, but before anyone can offer any suggestions, Nico’s phone rings. I glance over at it, and freeze when I see the name on the screen.

Marco De Luca.

30

ALESSIO

“Dante, run a trace on the call,” Nico barks. “Everyone else, be quiet.” Gia’s already moving as Dante quickly types away on his computer and then nods at Nico. Nico swipes his thumb over his phone screen and says nothing, waiting.

“I suppose you think you’re clever,” Marco spits. I arch a brow at that. I glance at Sienna, and see her eyes have narrowed as she stares at Nico’s phone; Gia, on the other hand, just looks worried, wringing her hands in front of her as she eases in next to Nico.

“Clever has nothing to do with it. Considering you attacked my home while I was on my honeymoon, did you really think I wouldn’t retaliate? How naive of you, Marco. Surely you learned something from your father, because if not, you’re about to be taken to school.”

“You have no idea the war that you’ve started, Armani,” Marco hisses. His tone surprises me. Marco always struck me as much like his father, though perhaps a bit hot-headed. Even for him, this is over the top. “I’m going to enjoy every second of taking you down.”

“You sound like a wannabe mobster from a stupid movie, Marco,” Nico replies, sounding bored. “What’s the point of this little call? Because I have more pleasurable things I could be doing.”

“Fuck you, Nico. You fucked with the wrong De Luca. That little hit before is nothing compared to what’s coming.”

Nico chuckles humorlessly. “Again with the stupid lines. Do you really think I’m afraid of you, Marco? Do you really think I care you’ve aligned yourself with Seamus Gallo? Or that you’re fucking his daughter? Though I suppose the only reason you’re doing that is because you think it will get you further into his fold so you can take him down and try to take over both his territory and mine, and eventually your father’s.” Silence echoes, and I can’t help but smile smugly. Clearly Marco didn’t realize we have so much intel on him and his plans.

Finally, after a long, tense silence, Marco replies coldly, “You really think you have it all figured out, don’t you? You think because you’re a Don now, Nico, that you’re better than me. Well, I’m a Don now as well and?—”

“You are not a Don now, nor will you ever be, Marco,” Nico interrupts swiftly. “You betrayed your own father, the actual Don. What you are now is misguided, thinking you have what it takes to run an entire empire. You know nothing, Marco. You have always come in second place, and that’s where you’re going to stay until I kill you.”

Marco scoffs. “Kill me? You always were a delusional cunt, Armani. The only one who will be dying is you. And then, I’m going to take back my whore of a sister and I’m going to make her pay for daring to betray our family. And then, when I’m good and finished with her, I’m going to let my men have a turn. And when they’re done, then I’m going to sell her off to the first stupid bastard I can find to take her.”

To hear a man speak about his sister this way is revolting and infuriating. It’s all I can do not to lash out, especially seeing the pain on Gia’s face as she grips Nico’s hand in hers. Nico’s face is murderous, but his tone remains surprisingly calm when he replies, “Is there a point to this call, Marco, because all I’m hearing are more and more reasons to make your death slow and painful. Or do you just like to hear yourself spew bullshit because no one else will listen to you? I’m sure your father got tired of hearing it and never made you his underboss because he didn’t want to listen to it day in and day out.”

“I’m not scared of you, Armani. This is only to tell you that you’re going to fall. So prepare for war.”

Nico lets out a dark chuckle. “You think to intimidate me, Marco? You are barely a blip on my radar. Your uncle and father, sure, I might pay a bit more attention to them, but you, you’re nothing but an afterthought. And even if Seamus Gallo is idiotic enough to back you, there is a reason he has never gone against me. Because he knows he will lose. And now, just because you’re fucking his daughter, you think he’s going to help you take me and the rest of your family down? He will kill you the moment he gets what he wants, and everything you’ve ever planned will go down the drain.”

I can feel the rage coming through the phone. Nico is excellent at pushing hard enough to make him crack, but not so hard that he hangs up the call. I glance at Sienna, who is listening with rapt attention, but her face gives away that she’s feeling just as angry as Nico. Then I see her glance at a distressed Gia, and that expression darkens even more.

“Fuck you, Nico,” Marco hisses. “You think you’re so smart, and yet you can’t even see what’s right under your nose.”

“Oh? Does your little side piece know that you were fucking your father’s wife?” Nico asks. “And does Gallo know that you’re currently trying to find more women to marry off to further your own agenda?”

“Carmen was a hot piece of ass,” Marco replies smugly, confirming what we suspected. I glance at Nico who nods, and when I look at Dante, he makes some more notes silently on the paper in front of him. “That whore was getting it from every man she could spread her legs for, and she loved to brag about it. It was so easy to pump her for information, and once you have it…well, that’s how you win. Just like how I know that you have the other whore with you in your big house. What, you wanted to fuck both my sisters? One isn’t enough for you? Can’t imagine what you’ll do when you learn there are three of the worthless whores. Though I suppose if you go after Giovanni’s two whore daughters too, you’d have the fucking harem you always wanted, huh? Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Nico. Because soon, I’m going to take everything you have, and I’m going to make you watch as I destroy it. And depending on my mood, maybe I’ll make you watch me burn your house to the ground with your precious little whore wife inside. It’s the least she deserves for betraying her family. Your days are numbered, Nico. So you better be ready.”

The line goes dead.

No one moves. “Did he just admit that there is another De Luca daughter and two cousins?” Sienna finally asks, breaking the silence.

“Apparently,” I reply. “Papa, you get all that?”

“I got it. Aurelio is on it now. We need to figure out those names as quickly as we can,” he adds grimly.

“But how can there be another daughter?” Gia asks, confused. “Sienna is twenty-six, and I’m twenty four. Unless she’s older, like Marco’s age, but she had them all so close back to back, that it doesn’t make sense that she could have had another one in between.”

“She did live for five years after you, Gia,” I point out gently. “And you wouldn’t be able to remember anything when you were that little, right? So it’s possible she had another daughter in those four years.”

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