Page 158 of King Of Order

Chiara sat beside me, her hand on my knee, her smile bright, her face relaxed.

Her beauty, her allure, made my heart ache.

Fotto! Lei era il sole della mia vita.

She was the sun of my life.

Across from us, my brothers—Lorenzo and Alessio—laughed and talked over one another - the way they always did when the mood was upbeat.

Their women, Vitto, and one baby were back in Australia.

Also with us was Mauri, silent as always, his cat purring on his lap.

I was thankful famiglia had stuck around to help me with the sting.

I locked eyes with Lorenzo and lifted my chin.

In gratitude.

He got the memo and dipped his head.

As did Alessio and Mauri.

We’d gone through so much shit together that words were unnecessary.

Unless, of course, we needed to toast our success.

Lorenzo conducted the grappa ceremony with the seriousness he put into it every fuckin’ time.

The glass lineup, the equal measurements, the guesstimating of amounts, and additional pours.

‘Get it done,fratello,’ Alessio groused.

Lorenzo gave him a finger and fussed some more until he was satisfied.

He handed all four of us a tulip-shaped goblet of the golden liquid.

‘Tofamiglia,’ he growled.

‘Famiglia.’

We slugged the drinks, slamming the glasses back down in victory.

We’d achieved our goals and exacted revenge.

The carabinierimade sure Fabian got locked away.

Damian was in a hospital bed, recovering under guard. Once recovered, he was booked on a ticket straight to prison.

Claudio also went down with his eponymous clients.

With the door closed to the murderers of our parents and their conspirators, we Calibreses were able to breathe for the first time in years.

No threats hang over our heads, no lingering danger, no more schemes to unravel.

At least, that’s what we hoped.

Just us. Just family and the promise of something new.

---