Page 91 of Final Installment
It’s time.
He’d been thinking about it since waking up alone in that ICU bed.The thoughts slowly morphed into plans that he quietly and carefully put into place.Now, he was ready to pull the trigger and make those plans a reality.
He perked his ears to the sound of crunching grass.He recognized the footsteps and didn’t bother glancing back to confirm it was Zec.He glanced at his watch, noting that, as usual, the family’s underboss was exactly on time.
“You wanted to see me?”Zec stopped a few feet away from the conversation set under the tree.Ever since that terrible night, Zec had been distant, more aloof than usual.
Luka nodded and gestured to the chair across from him.“Sit.”
Zec brushed a few errant leaves from the cushion before sitting.Never one to shy away from a difficult conversation, he held Luka’s gaze in that unnerving way of his.“Did you want to talk about the meeting tonight?”
In a few hours, all of the street captains, the bosses of their affiliated clans and families across the country and their allied organizations in nearby countries were meeting at a secret location for a conference that hadn’t been held in seventeen years.It was time to settle the old debts, once and for all, and make some changes.
“I do.”Luka decided there was no reason to draw it out and make things harder than they needed to be.He inhaled a steadying breath before admitting, “I’ve decided it’s time for me to step back.To step away.To give up control to you.”
Zec blinked twice.His brow furrowed, only barely, and his lips parted and then shut.Finally, he said, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.”Luka exhaled tiredly.“We both know the truth, Zec.I was born for this job, but it’s not who I am.It’s not me.It’s never felt right.Not once.I’ve spent every single day of the last seventeen years waking up with a pit of dread in my stomach.”He touched right above his navel.“I went to bed every single night wishing I would wake up and the whole thing would be a terrible dream.”
“I didn’t know it was that bad.”Zec seemed surprised.“I knew you didn’t enjoy it, but I never thought it was that bad.”
“I got good at hiding the truth.I could pretend.I could inhabit that role that was expected of me, but every step was so uncomfortable, like I was wearing shoes three sizes too small.I’ll never fit, Zec.No matter what I do, this isn’t the life for me.”
“There are other men,” Zec insisted.“Besian—.”
“Besian has created a life for himself in Houston.He’s got a legitimate empire there.In a few years, he’ll be almost completely removed from the dirty dealings that made him rich.He’ll be insulated from the illegal side of it.He’s not coming back here.He would never do that to Marley.”
“What about—.”
“I chose you, Zec,” Luka interrupted.“There was never any other choice.You’re the man this family needs.You were made for this.”
Zec shifted uncomfortably.For the first time ever, he actually looked discomfited.He wasn’t a man who accepted things from others.Not gifts, not compliments.Nothing.Now, he’d been handed the actual keys to the kingdom.
“I’ll take care of the family for you.When you’re ready to come back or if your children—.”
“No.”Luka shook his head and slashed his hand through the air with finality.“This is it for me and my family.If I have children, they’ll never be a part of this.I want something else for them.I want them to make their own choices.I want them to live their lives in the light, not hiding in the dark.”
“Where I excel.”Zec laughed, but it sounded more like a wheeze, rough and raspy.Frankly, the sound terrified Luka and proved that he was exactly right to pick Zec as the new boss of this family.He inspired loyalty and fear, a difficult mix to balance.Zec wouldn’t be afraid to make hard decisions, to cut throats if it meant growing and taking new territory and consolidating power.
“I’m keeping this house and other family properties,” Luka continued, certain he didn’t need to lay out the full plan.Zec wasn’t the kind of man to greedily take what belonged to another.“The family money that’s separate from organization will be split with my sister.Everything else is yours.”
“That’s more than fair.”
“And I’d appreciate your protection when I come back to visit or if I decide to move back and raise a family here when I’m tired of traveling.”
Zec actually looked offended.“You don’t have to have to ask.Whether you’re boss or not, you’re always family.”
Luka hated that he had ever doubted Zec.Neither of them had ever mentioned it, but he was certain Zec must have known he suspected him.After all the years of dedication and service, it had to have been a painful blow to realize how little faith there was.
“When will you leave?”Zec asked, obviously trying to piece together a timeline.
“Tomorrow.”
“Where are you going?”
Luka shrugged and confessed, “I have no idea.The only thing I do know is that after tonight I’m done with this.”
Zec regarded him for a moment.“Well, Elona’s stepfather will be glad to hear that.”
