Page 84 of Worship
Antonio’s eyes stare into mine, and I know he’s processing the information.
“How long have you known this, Luca?” Nico asks.
“Since I was fifteen. I feared him for so long. He was ruthless and cruel for the enjoyment of it. He seemed all powerful, and if I would have told you, he would’ve destroyed your entire family line. So, I kept my mouth shut and paid attention. To everything. I collected all the information I could use against him. I was the very best student.”
“And you know what he knows? You could’ve used all this against us too,” Antonio interjects, and the others look at him, then back to me.
“But I didn’t,” I say back. “And I won’t.”
“No, you didn’t. And I don’t believe you would.” Antonio looks to the others. “I don’t know how you fuckers feel, but Luca has always had my back, and Mary’s.” At the mention of her name, the room falls somber. “I would lay my life down for you,” he says, looking at me. “You don’t need to ask.”
I nod, grateful for his loyalty. Antonio stands and runs a hand through his unruly hair.
“Tell them, Luca. It’s okay. They need to know.”
I still myself, fighting the rage that’s building, and exhale.
“The day Dom and I turned eighteen, Gio took us to a strip club, bought us some lap dances, and gave us more liquor than we should’ve had. Dom got drunk and passed out, but I refused, opting to pretend. Gio disappeared into a back room, and I followed him. He was haggling with the owner about some girls offered up for prostitution. Gio wanted to ‘break them in,’ and the owner was all too willing to let him. The screams from the room were more than I could bear.”
“Jesus,” Nico breathes out.
I nod and continue.
“So, I grabbed Dom and got the fuck out. I tried tracking the girls down later, but I never found them. I was a fucking coward at that age, afraid he’d beat me for saying something, afraid he’d killed them, but I was a kid seeing my first monster, and that shit sticks to you. It wasn’t until months later when I saw Antonio’s sister fleeing from his room that I knew I had to stop him.”
Antonio looks up at me, tied by the pain we both feel for what we couldn’t stop. His voice is empty.
“Mary was fifteen. Nobody knew what happened; she wouldn’t speak on it. But she was never the same. A shell of a person. All her light stolen. She took her own life because of that piece of shit, but I wasn’t allowed to say a word. My father, that bastard, wouldn’t have it…”
His breaths come out heavy, and the guys restrain him as his pain surfaces.
I continue through his pain.
“She wouldn’t tell me anything either, but I saw it in her eyes. So, I went into the room and put a knife to Gio’s throat and drew blood. I told him what I knew, everything I had ever seen. And I promised him that if he ever touched another girl without her consent, I would destroy all of it. I promised I would destroy him, all of us, if necessary. The whole outfit. Because that’s been the problem: I can’t speak without taking everyone down. So, as long as I’ve lived, he’s keptmostof his power, and I’ve held the rest. But now he has leverage.”
“Ella and Gretchen,” Vincenzo says.
Matteo looks at me. “Why not just kill you? You die, so does his noose.”
“Too many loose ends at the time, but he tried…the night I was attacked. That was him.” Matteo looks at me, surprised. I wish I could say the same.
“We found out that night. Dante and I beat their confessions out of them. Shelby was his go-between, and she has loose lips. Apparently, that’s when she started her fuckfest with that psycho,” Dom says.
“The club, that was a setup.” My explanation serves as a lightbulb for Matteo.
“That’s why you’ve kept Shelby under lock and key. Not because she needs protection,” he replies.
“Yeah, we used her to give Giovanni the information we wanted him to know. He thinks she’s weaseled her way back into Luca’s life,” Dante says, disgusted by her.
“He doesn’t want to take my life alone; he wants to take everything from me first. Gretchen, Ella…even Shelby. He wants to take me down so I crumble, and then he can play on Dom’s rage to pull him back in and gain all his power back. Nobody will be able to stop the horrors he’ll commit.”
“Do all our fathers know about Giovanni? Do they know the kind of atrocities he’s committed? Have they been complicit?” Matteo asks.
With each second I don’t answer, I witness more rage take residence in his features. He’s always hated his father, and he’s had good reason.
“They knew, Matteo. My father didn’t even mourn Mary. He told her to never speak ill of Giovanni. Fuck, he all but delivered her to him. They all know. And they should burn in hell for it.” Antonio’s voice is calm, his decision made.
He’s been waiting for this day. I’m just a convenient excuse.
