Page 99 of Now and Forever

Father’s eyes sent the daggers his body was no longer capable of hurling. His features twisted in agonizing expressions, giving me hope that hell was welcoming him into the flames.

We waited.

His blood darkened as it pooled near his body and urine saturated his pants. It wasn’t uncommon for a body to release fluids upon death. Seeing our father this way was more satisfying than I’d imagined. A full minute passed before I pressed the tips of my fingers to his neck. “No pulse.”

Standing, I turned to Alesia. “Wait a half hour before calling the police. I want some time before this news gets out. Tell the KCPD what you did, what he’d done, and if they ask about time, say you don’t recall. You were in a stupor or something. Dante and I left before you shot him.”

She nodded.

“Call no one else.” I meant her brother, Tommaso, and she knew it. “Follow my orders and you have my word: you’ll be under our protection. All that he afforded you—the apartment and an allowance—will remain. Betray me, and your wish will not be granted. You’ll suffer.”

Alesia shuddered. “You have my word.” Her bloodshot eyes came my way as her forehead furrowed. “How is it possible to love and hate at the same time?”

The same person?

I didn’t have an answer.

When it came to my father, I couldn’t recall any emotion other than hate. Maybe, just maybe, one person could have those two conflicting emotions within themselves directed at different people.

Hate - love.

Honor - betrayal.

Cruelty - kindness.

The list went on and on…

Leaving Alesia’s question unanswered, Dante and I washed our hands and calmly made our way to the elevators. Once the doors closed, Dante turned to me. “Do you think we can trust her?”

“I do. She could have shot us both. She didn’t.”

He nodded. “Mom will be pissed.”

I scoffed. “That our father is dead? Fuck no.”

“No,” Dante said with a laugh. “That Alesia will be under the famiglia’s protection. She’ll throw a fucking party that Father is no more.”

“They call it a wake.”

“And it will be bigger than your fucking wedding.”

Once the elevator opened, we approached the SUV.

Giovanni rushed around to open our doors. “Mrs. Luciano is trying to reach you.”

Sitting in the back seat, I pulled out my phone. I’d missed two calls from my wife. “We need to find Carmine and Salvatore,” I said to Dante before hitting the call button.

“Are you safe?” my wife asked as the call connected, demonstrating her ability to care and love above all.

“Cat,” I said, using her shortened name, wanting to reassure her of what I wasn’t certain. “There’s a lot…”

Present time~

“You’re capo?”Roríguez questioned.

“You’re the first to know,” I said, looking at Dante. Technically, Jorge wasn’t the first, but the first outside the famiglia. “You and I have an alliance that my father was ready to end. I stand by it, meaning the Luciano famiglia, Catalina, and the Roríguez cartel. If you believe me, I’ll tell you what I know.”

Roríguez sounded skeptical. “Vincent said you wanted out. Wanted to rid yourself of Catalina.”

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