Page 6 of The Holy Ghost
We watched ashe reached back, grabbed his glass of Louie Xiii, and downed it in one swallow. My eyes dartedtowards Ciro to see if he was seeing this shit, because that brandof cognac was supposed to be savored, not abused.
And Luca neverabused his luxuries.
“I was therelast night,”he finally said,his dark gaze continuously dancing back and forth between mine andCiro’s. “We talked for about two hours or so.” People said Lucadidn’t have a soul, but he did. Massimo’s sickness and impendingdeath was hard on all of us. “He gave me an update on hiscondition, and he was completely honest when he said he had only afew days left. Maybe a week.”
The silence in the roomwas heavy. We saw evil all the time. Hell, wewereevil. Things like this shouldn’t happen to good people, andMassimo was as good as a person could get.
This timeLuca’s eyes stayed glued to mine as he said the last thing I everexpected him to say. “I’mgoing to go get Francesca tomorrow.”
My entire bodystilled.
My heart stopped,and my blood turned to ice in my veins.
Frankie.
We’ve alwaysknown where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing. Thenight she walked out on us,she was only allowed to go under the condition that she was neverreally gone. Of course, she didn’t know that we knew every minuteof how she spent her days, but we weren’t going to apologize forit. At the end of the day, no matter how pissed off she was at us,she was Ciro Mancini’s sister, Luca Benetti’s best friend, and thelove of my life. She would always be protected.
Ciro didn’tsayanything, but I knew hiseyes were on me the same as Luca’s. I finally managed to find myvoice. “Frankie,” I repeated, tossing back my whiskey. Fucksavoring.
“She’s theonly person from the neighborhood that doesn’t know about Massimoyet,” Luca explained. “And hemade it clear he’d like to see her before it’s too late.” I knewLuca wasn’t asking permission. His decision was already cemented inhis dark gaze. “I’m not going to deny that man whatever it is in mypower to grant him.”
I didn’t blamehim.
Icouldn’t.
Massimo was agood man, and he gave himselfto us lost, neglected children and, if he wanted to see Frankie,then it’s the least he deserved.
I let out adeep breath and stood up. Ciro already had the whiskey bottle inhis outstretched hand for meas I grabbed it and drank straight from the bottle. I knew I wasgoing to pay for this tomorrow because, like Luca and Ciro, wedidn’t drink to get drunk. We always had to have our wits about us,and that was nonnegotiable. So, since I wasn’t a heavy drinker, Icould see a hangover meeting me first thing tomorrow.
The bottle washeld tight in my hand as it hung at myside. I looked over at Luca. “Okay.” I wasn’t surewhat else to say. Again, he wasn’t asking me for permission. He wasletting me know he was bringing Frankie back. And, knowing Frankie,I knew she was going to come running once she found out why she wasneeded. She loved Massimo just as much as the rest ofus.
I stared atLuca and I knew he already knew what I was going to say. He couldsee it written all over myface, just as I’m sure Ciro could. “She doesn’t get to leave,” Itold him. “She can come back to see Massimo, but she doesn’t get togo back to Cedar Creek, Luca.”
Luca’s expressionremained stoic as Ciro mumbled, “Bloody hell.”
Lucafinally gave me a tight nod and said,“I figured as much.” He let out a rare chuckle. “I’ll also let yoube the one to tell her.”
“Thank God,” Ciro burstout. I turned to look at him. His brows shot up. “What?” he asked.“This is Frankie we’re talking about. The fuck I’m going to be theone to tell her she isn’t going back home. And we’ll be up to ourears in bullshit if she ups and kills Luca for telling her, so,yeah, thank God it’s not me.”
“You’re a dick.”
“Maybe,” heconceded. “But it won’t be myballs gripped like a vise in her fucking hands.”
Ignoring Ciro,I turned back to Luca. I barely survived letting herwalk away the first time,there’s no way I’d survive it a second time. I knew it and so didLuca and Ciro. “You can’t interfere,” I insisted. I was talking tohim as both a friend and our Underboss. Luca and Frankie had beentight. They had a bond that no one could deny. If she went runningto Luca, begging for freedom, and he gave the order to let herleave, I’d have to let her. Or die for disobeying a Benetti’sorder. He knew it and I knew it.
“You have myword, Phoenix,” he replied. “But only because I knowFrancesca still loves you. Her timeof running is over, and she needs to be back where shebelongs.”
“How do youknow she stilllovesme?”
“Because it’sbeen six years, Phoenix. She hasn’t been on one date in six fuckingyears. The girl still loves you. She just happens to still be pissed off.”
“Or she knowsthat if word got back toNixthat she was dating someone, the poor fuck would end up six feetunder,” Ciro chimed in. “I mean, the girl’s not stupid.”
“Thanks, Ciro,” Iremarked, flipping him off.
Lucasmirked. “It doesn’t matter if shestill loves him or not. The tides are turning, gentlemen, and it’stime for Francesca to come home.”
HerHighnesswas finally cominghome.
