Page 13 of And Twice as Twisted
When I’d received word of Sienna’s accident, Romeo had concerns about our proposed alliance with New York. Her brother was known for being rash when it came to his family. A war, I could handle. Just not right now. I needed to get all my chess pieces in play before someone flipped the board.
In traditional mafia circles, someone like Sienna Agostino was supposed to remain pure, untouched. I wasn’t an idiot. She was hiding in my city to avoid another man. There was no assumption when it came to the woman’s virtue. Romeo had texted me about Deluca’s unexpected arrival right before her departure. He owned her.
Why would you want something shiny and new, when you could have more fun after it was broken in?
I hid behind polite smiles and gentlemanly behavior. But like the scar on my face, my demeanor was jagged and twisted. I chose which version of myself I wanted you to see, so knowing the woman as I did, I gave Sienna her Prince Charming.
Suits and pleasantries were forced on me as the veritable mafia king of Philadelphia. However, crawling out of the gutter and growing up how I did made it all a joke to me. I’d gotten to where I was by taking someone else’s weakness and making it my strength. Which was exactly what I would do with the Agostinos.
New York was a thing of the past. The city of brotherly love was the goddamn future ofil familia.
I didn’t want anything from her, other than hearing her scream my name as she raked her nails down my back. Everything else was paperwork between me and her father. Once we scrawled across that dotted line, I’d pull the trigger.
Then it would be too late. She’d have signed her life away to me and there wouldn’t be anything her father, her brother, or her little toy—Apollo—could do about it. Unless they wanted to start a war. And if they did, they’d fucking lose.
“Something on your mind?” Romeo asked, leaning against the brick wall in my office.
I came from nothing and didn’t hide behind fake affluence. Even now. Where the former boss sat in a high-rise in Center City, I ran my shit from a warehouse in South Philly. In the middle of the old Italian neighborhood. Its original brickwork made it a beautiful space, but the outside reeked of squalor and despair.
It was how I never forgot where I came from. How I never forgot the blood I’d spilt to get here. Because it didn’t matter the amount of money you made or the image of wealth you portrayed. It mattered how quickly someone could take it from you. And I fucking dared someone to try.
“Think this plan will be their breaking point?” I traced a finger down my scar, following the path of uneven skin.
“She’ll never forgive you.” It seemed Romeo was growing rather fond of my Agostino prize. “And, yes, I do. One daughter missing, the other broken, and then…” He didn’t have to say the rest. We both knew what was coming.
“Perfect.” I smiled, a true, honest smile. “Before we know it, Mario will lose his entire family and Lucky will be begging me to save them all.”
“He’s going to be a problem.” Romeo tapped the image of Apollo we’d taped to the wall.
We’d dissected their entire organization, studying every contact, every business, every secret, and every lie that family’d ever told. They were dripping in deceit since before they could crawl. Mario’s lies would force all the Agostino children to turn their backs on him.
Once they learned the truth, I’d be untouchable.
“Elaborate.” I sat back in my seat, cracking my knuckles and breathing deep.
“He’s a loose cannon. Always has been. But a few more screws shook loose after that most recent attack.” Apollo’s fall had the potential to fuck up my plans. “He showed up at the pickup. The bastard isn’t going to let her go without a fight.”
“Good. I want to see if the devil’s right hand bleeds.” I stepped to the barred windows of my office, staring out at my empire.
Philly had been my home my entire life, an amazing city that cultivated the man before you. Born half-Italian, that’s where my roots inil famigliahadended. I didn’t have the glamour and education the Agostino children were given. I fought tooth and nail to get to where I was. I pissed off a lot of people when I took over the succession from the current boss—a decision that painted the streets red.
Now I would do the same to New York, starting with Mario’s precious children. I would take everything from him. This plan assured my protection once the final pieces fell into place. Sienna’s signature was just step one. Part two had already been secured.
The agitated voice started shouting again. The sound carried down the halls and bounced off the walls before falling on deaf ears.Shehadn’t stopped since we brought her here. There was a long road ahead of us until the big reveal. But, in the meantime, I needed to get this situation under control.
“Go shut her up,” I commanded Romeo. “I need silence.”
I’m coming for you, New York. And I won’t stop there.
Chapter 6
APOLLO DELUCA
Cold. So fucking cold. Potential hypothermic chill.
Everything hurt and the goddamn water was like a thousand knives assaulting my body. The nerve receptors just under the surface of my skin reacted quickly, my heart rate and blood pressure expeditiously sharpening. Your body temperature dropped twenty-five times faster in water than air of the same temperature.
I could barely keep my head above the surface. Fatigue set in as my limbs would slow and my head would submerge. I opened my eyes and let the saltwater burn, staring at the black abyss that enveloped me.
