Page 37 of Corrupted Heir (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 1)

This was going to be a disaster.

Chapter Thirteen

Dominic

My father walked across the living room and sat down at the walnut dining table while his men stood at attention on either side of him. Though his eyes were livid, he spared a glance at Fallon, and something in his countenance softened. Pity? No, it was more like sympathy, not something my father often spared for strangers.

Fallon’s eyes had widened, and though I could still see a storm brewing inside her, she was silent. Did she recognize him? My father had appeared in the newspapers more than once, usually over donations our family had made, but occasionally in speculation over his role in New York’s underworld. Fallon was a smart woman. If she hadn’t put it together by now, the revelation was coming soon, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to mitigate the fallout. Not now with an obvious crisis on my doorstep.

My father’s gaze swung back to me. “Tony’s father is dead, and Tony believes you’re responsible for the murder.” My father was not one to mince words. He crossed his arms over his chest like he was waiting for an explanation.

Indignation shot down my spine, but I held my tongue, not because I had to, but because my father wasn’t the kind of man who demanded respect; he earned it. And he had earned mine ten times over.

I’d heard Fallon’s small gasp from behind me, but it had to be all business right now. Dealing with Fallon would have to come later.

“Why would he think that?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the tall column that separated the dining room from the living room. It made no sense. Tony’s father might have been an asshole, but Tony was a hundred times worse. I had no interest in taking out the old man, and even if I did, I was smart enough not to start a war without preparing for it first.

“One of the Novas saw you at Bradley Miller’s club. Miller ended up dead, and Tony’s father wound up dead not long after. It’s crude reasoning, but Tony has never been known for his rapier wit, has he?”

I scoffed. The man was like a hand grenade with a faulty pin. He could explode at any moment without rhyme or reason.

“And now he’s seeking revenge. It’s not just business now; it’s personal,” my father explained what I’d already figured out.

“And I imagine Tony’s putting the weight of the Novas behind his vengeance?” I asked, though it wasn’t a question. Of course, the volatile prick was going to use every weapon in his arsenal to exact his revenge. Besides, while his father had kept him in line, Tony had been itching to try to take down the Lucas for a long time. Now that his father was dead, this was nothing more than an excuse for a battle over territory.

“Tony?” Fallon piped up. It was the first time she’d said a word since my father had walked in here.

He and I both glanced at her.

“Si,” my father said. “I said Tony. Why,signorina?”

His jaw was hard-set, but there was the slightest softness in his eyes as he spoke to her. It would have been easy to miss. If I hadn’t seen every side of my father, from his rage to his kindness, it was possible even I would have missed it.

And though I could see the fear and confusion still shining bright in Fallon’s eyes, she swallowed hard and opened her mouth. “A man named Tony came to my clinic a… a few hours ago, actually.”

A red haze settled over my vision. I clenched my jaw and balled my hands into fists.

“What did he want?” I asked before my father could respond.

Fallon winced.

“What did he want, Fallon?” I softened my tone, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Nothing. He said something about us both caring for things that can’t care for themselves. Then he shook my hand and left.”

“Dominic,” my father called before I’d realized I’d taken three steps toward the door.

This was my fault. By putting Miller down for what he’d done to our girls, I’d set off a chain of events that had put Fallon on Tony’s radar. But as much as I wanted to put a bullet in that fucker’s brain, this wasn’t about me. It was much bigger.

It was a goddamned fucking war.

Fallon stepped forward. The way she moved reminded me of a bird, ready to dart at the slightest provocation, but she kept walking until she stood just outside the dining room.

“You’re Vincent Luca,” she said to my father then her tongue darted out to lick her dry lips.

“Si, signorina,I am. My apologies for not introducing myself sooner,” he said with a gracious nod.

Her gaze flickered to me, then back to my father, but in that brief moment, I’d seen it. She’d put the pieces of the puzzle together, and now she knew who I was. She stared at me as the fear and confusion in her eyes gave way to something else. Not anger, but something just as potent. Something that made my insides twist painfully.

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