Page 27 of Depths of Hunger

“You have to be able to handle this shit on your own,” Luca growls.

I stop. “I’m aware of that. However, I’m not in the mood to deal with his shit at the moment, so chances were excellent that if he rode with me back to the house, one of us would be dead when we arrived, and it wouldn’t be me.”

Both men stare at me, but the ends of Nico’s lips curl upward. His smile is so much like Renzo’s, it gives me chills.

“Killing him today did not seem like a good idea,” I continued, “so thank you for your assistance.” I then continue toward the car where Ralf opens the door and helps me in. We drive away leaving the brothers standing at the graveyard. So much for help from that corner.

The drive to the house,myhouse, I remind myself, is too short. I try and compose myself so I can greet everyone and maintain calm. I have to have a chat with Renzo’s brothers and this chat will determine what will happen going forward. Assuming they will agree to what I’m going to suggest, it will make the path ahead easier.

I sigh. It’s going to be a delicate dance for me. If I go in and chat too long with the women then the men will dismiss me. They will try to dismiss me anyway. But if I don’t give the women their due they may not support me. The reality of any mafia is the men may run the family business, but the business of family is run by the women. My mother can tell you who’s screwing, who’s using too much of their own product, and who’s in debt to their bookie. The wives, daughters, and girlfriends can tell me exactly what’s going on in the family and I am going to need to lean on that. So, I have to spend time with them.

As I walk up the stairs, Nico and Luca fall in step beside me. I regret asking for their help now. They think me weak and that’s never a good thing. Especially since I will need their help on a more permanent basis. I take a deep breath as I stop on the top step and shake my head to Albert who has opened the door. He nods and immediately closes it again.

I put a hand on each man’s arm. “The men will have a meeting here. They will not want me involved. They will not include you either. The meeting will determine who is putting their hat in the ring to take over the family. My father will not be invited for obvious reasons, but eventually, they will have to consult him. He’s the former head of the family and still has some power but not as much as he once did. But this meeting is important. I need to be there and assert my dominance at this point. They will still try but it will be much harder for them to take over if I can show that I’m capable of running the business.”

Nico nodded slightly but Luca frowned. “And you’re telling us this because?”

I turn to him. He’s obviously the one I need to win over. “Because I am capable of running the family and Iwillkeep my position as the head of it. You two also need to step up. Renzo was a master at managing things, but he was also good at the enforcement side of things. I am excellent at business, but I have not had much exposure to the enforcement efforts. I would like to lean on you until I am more familiar with all aspects. With Angelo’s days numbered, I need time to find a replacement and get better situated.”

I meet both of their gazes. “I’m asking you to be my enforcement arm until such time as I can replace you with my own people. Unless, of course, you want to stay. I know this was your brother’s dream but I’m not sure you two are as dedicated. As this is now the Valdici family, I am assuming you want to remain part of it. But if not, then I will aim to have you replaced in a few months.”

“That’s a rather bold statement,” Luca says.

“It is, but it’s the truth. There’s no point in lying. You are familynow. My family. And as family, I would expect you to step up. But if you do not wish to, then I need to make other arrangements.”

Nico grins. “You’re telling us to get with the program or fuck off?”

“In so many words. You have an hour to decide.” With that I open the door and walk into my house. This is my world now and I am damn well going to rule.

Chapter

Twelve

Iwatch my brothers and Mia on the steps. Luca fills me in on what’s going on. Mia is moving to take over or, as she thinks of it, maintain power for the family. I still don’t believe she was involved in the drive-by but she’s moving to take full control. Part of me is proud of her. I knew she was intelligent but now I know she’s ambitious as well. I dismissed humans, especially human females, hundreds of years ago after the last debacle, but Mia is changing my opinion. I’m on the fence about whether that’s a good or bad idea.

Your wife is quite something, Luca’s voice rumbles in my mind.I’m impressed.

Me too.Nico joins the conversation.She’s holding it together and trying to move forward. How long are you going to stay dead?

Jealousy flares in my gut. I don’t like Nico and Luca admiring Mia. She’s been haunting me for years. I thought it was just lust but now I’m not so sure. The last thing I want is for one of them to fall for her as I have. I would have to kill them, brother or not. I stomp out the jealousy, and reply evenly,I haven’t decided. Whoever is behind this might reveal themselves more if they think I’m dead, but I won’t do it for long. No need to encourage anyone to move in on my territory.I’m talking about my wife as much as my business. Maybe more.

How long do we have to stay here?Luca asks ignoring my point.My head is starting to ache. Damn good thing it’s raining today. Easier to make it through being out in daylight with some cloud cover. Your wife asked about Father. I said he’d be at the house, but she is not the only one to think it weird he wasn’t at your funeral.

I frowned. It was one of the downsides of being a vampire. Daylight is always a problem.At least you can be here.Father couldn’t go out in daylight at all. Mother’s family could tolerate it for a few hours. No one knows why. At least she passed that trait on to her sons. It did make things a bit easier, but exposure to sunlight was exhausting for us.

I move down the street to the neighbor’s house and walk through the trees between the two mansions. I know the security for my house like the back of my hand because I planned it. I won’t show up on any of the cameras. I’m too far into the trees. But, once I come out on the canal side, I will be visible. I wait until I am at the end of the trees and then I dig through the undergrowth. The sun is setting now, and darkness will fall quickly.

“Yes,” I mumble to myself as I find the hatch I buried under the brush years ago. Now to open it. I brush off the automatic lock next to the hatch and put my first finger on it. The screen lights up and turns green. My stomach unknots slightly.

The hatch clicks. I pull it open, cringing when it makes a squeaking noise. I look around. Nothing moves. The neighbors have always been afraid of me. They understand they need to keep their eyes and mouths shut when it comes to what goes on at my place. Or at least they used to know when I was alive. Now that I’m dead, who knows what the fuck is going on. Angelo’s hand on the small of Mia’s back when she got out of the car at the cemetery floats to the surface of my brain. Apparently, a lot has changed. I will make sure she lives to regret it if she’s fucking Angelo. Just the thought of that makes my stomach sour. Maybe I’ll make her watch me kill Angelo slowly, skinning him alive until he knows the pain a vampire might feel as sunlight flays their body.

I climb onto the ladder and grab the hatch, pulling it down as I godown. I close the opening and lock it with my finger on the duplicate screen inside the tunnel. The tunnel is pitch black but I don’t need light. My eyesight is well beyond any human.

Sweat rolls down my back as the smell of the tunnel, stale water, and rat droppings add to the churn in my stomach. I go still and cock my head, intent on listening. There’s another entrance to this tunnel out in the bay. I hear the water. There are lights strung up the length of the tunnel but I don’t use them because if anyone is out on the water, they might see the lights underwater from that entrance.

Instead, I start walking away from the water toward the house. Five minutes later, I arrived at the other end of the tunnel. I make my way up the ladder. At the top, I use my finger to disengage the lock. I pull the gun free of my waistband and slowly raise the hatch. Just in case someone is waiting for me, I need to be prepared. I remain motionless until I’m sure I hear nothing.

The room is empty. Just the boxes of crap that I have stored down here and my fridges. Nice to see Mia hasn’t totally taken over just yet. I climb out of the tunnel and then close and lock the hatch again. I move around the stack of boxes I have in front of the tunnel entrance and head toward the stairs. I go over to the fridge and eat my fill. I’m thankful Albert didn’t get rid of this. Of course, he knows I’m not human so he will also realize I’m not dead. He will be waiting for me to return, unlike my wife. I cannot wait to surprise her. If she thinks the drive-by and me being dead is scary, wait until she sees I’m still alive. A grim smile stretches my lips as I contemplate how absolutely terrified she’ll be.

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