Page 61 of Corrupted Memories
They both stiffen, and Luca sets the glass down. “If he is?—”
“I know, but I’m asking you to spare his life if he isn’t,” I say through clenched teeth. “For Gianna… He’s all she has left of her family.” My eyes fall to Gio, who doesn’t even flinch.
Instead, Gio turns to Luca. “If my father has his claws in Matt, then it’s possible he’s working with the FBI too.”
Luca frowns. “You think Eduardo would fall so far? I can see him betraying my family because he wants to take over the Famiglia, but working with the FBI… He could doom us all.”
“I’ll kill him,” Gio says, his fists curled on his lap.
With a sigh, Luca shakes his head. “We don’t have proof. You know how fragile—” He cuts off, looking back up at me with an iron expression. I realize he almost slipped up, almost hinted at the possible instability of the Famiglia. Not that I’d exploit him. I want to take Gianna and run to London as soon as I can, but I don’t want to leave Nico in Chicago with the two powerful regions to the east in a war.
“Either way, I wanted to give you the heads up because while we grab Arthur, I’m going to have the Irish grab Matt,” I drawl out.
Luca closes his eyes briefly before looking resigned. “The Irish. Why?”
“They have the means to track his technology and confirm who he is working with, and remember what we discussed about letting everyone get their pound of flesh?”
His dark stare drills into me. “You wish for us to torture the men together? One happy mafia circle jerk?”
A laugh bubbles in my throat because I never expected Luca Genovese to use the words circle jerk in the sentence.
I smother my smile and nod. “You wanted allies in the Irish. They are your closest neighbor, and this can show you didn’t have a hand in the death of their men.”
“Why are you doing this?” Gio asks, staring at me suspiciously.
Shrugging, I settle into the couch. “Why not? I don’t have anything to lose or gain by playing mafia buddy matchmaker.”
Luca shakes his head. “Favors. He collects favors.”
I grin. “And you’d owe me a lot, wouldn’t you?”
“What do you want, James?”
We stare at each other, Luca and I. His amusement is tangible, even if he refuses to acknowledge it. Sometimes I feel he and Rian, unlike others, have treated me with kid gloves, knowing I’m not heir to a throne like them.
“I’ll let you know. Keep your phones on you. We have to move quickly on Arthur,” I say.
Gio nods. “I’ll try to keep an eye on Matt. He seems to know when I’m coming though.”
Nico sighs. “I know you all prefer to live in the stone ages, but I promise you guys, anyone could find a man better than Giuseppe. Your father should have dumped him years ago.”
Luca’s jaw flexes while he and Gio exchange another glance. Gio frowns before looking at Nico. “If I have a kid in mind, what would you suggest he do?”
My eyebrow raises, a sarcastic remark on the tip of my tongue, when I see the exhaustion on Luca’s face and I swallow it down. I should feel sorry for the guy. I don’t care if his entire empire collapses, but he truly looks defeated before it’s already begun. It’s a stark difference from the man I occasionally saw growing up.
“Scrub any electronics. Scour the cars and houses. Monitor communications.” Nico shrugs.
I snap my fingers. “Whatever you’d do for an enemy, do it now… because they’re not your ally, are they?’
With a nod, Luca leans forward. “I appreciate your insight. I know what I need to do, but I’ve been hesitant to follow it through. I don’t think I have the luxury of time anymore.”
“I don’t have anything against you, Luca. Well, not anymore,” I say with a chuckle. “Bad information, but glad we cleared that up because I kind of like you.”
He glares at me, not appreciating being reminded of the domino effect I started by meddling between him and the Irish. In my defense, I’d been sure that Matt was using the Italians to hide Gianna from me. We all make mistakes, and mine may have caused the death of a handful of his people, but that’s not necessarily my fault.
“And Matt? What did you want with him?” Gio asks.
Folding my fingers on my stomach, I try to relax my face in that jovial expression everyone seems to hate.
