Page 75 of Wicked Knight 2

“Is that what she told you?” I cradled my left side with my right hand.

“It’s what I saw.” He sat and motioned for me to do the same.

He waited patiently as I ambled around him to get to the other side of the table. As I pulled the chair out, I realized why he’d offered me that particular seat. The chair was engraved with the Gallo family crest, a stag rearing on its hind legs. I’d seen it when I went home last week and met Alfred again.

“What can I help you with?” he asked when I lowered myself into the chair. “Maxim, is it now?”

“The name doesn’t matter. I’m here on behalf of the Brotherhood.” For everyone’s sake, I hoped Donata was right about Rex wanting peace. “I’d like to broker a deal between us.”

“Let me guess.” He shuffled through some papers until he found the one he was looking for. “Ah, here it is. The latest report on the Bratva in Chicago. They’re looking to expand to Brighton Beach.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s what I do.” He regarded me for a beat. “You want the Society to take that monkey off your back. What are you here to offer?”

“Peace.”

“Not enough.”

“Then tell me what you want.” I braced a hand on the table’s smooth wooden surface. “You said I had something you wanted. Without your help, our crews won’t survive. So I’m willing to give you whatever you want.”

“I want you to claim that seat,” he pointed at me. “Officially. As the new Don Gallo.”

“You trust me enough to bring me back into the fold?” I scoffed. “What if Donata is right? What if Papa has brainwashed me beyond repair.”

“Has he?”

“No.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you come with us? You wouldn’t be here having to beg for their miserable lives.” His jaw clenched. “I’ve never seen Donata so hurt. You tossed her aside like she meant nothing to you.”

“I didn’t come here to explain my actions to you. Just know that Donata means everything to me. I had to send her away for her own safety.” I raked a hand through my hair. “The situation with the Brotherhood is complicated. But with your help, I can fix it.”

“What do you need?” Rex met my gaze.

“Soldiers,” I said. The plan was as simple as that. We needed the ability to protect the compound and our people, to show them that the hit we took in Jersey didn’t make us weak. “We’re convinced the Chicago crew will move in to encroach on our territory. Their Pakhan has a vendetta against me. After what happened in Jersey and the retaliation that came with it, they seem to think we’re ripe for the picking.”

“I can offer you the same men that came to save you a week ago. They’re already familiar with the area and the location.” He grabbed his phone off the table and typed on it quickly. “When can you come home, Luca?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Even if all my memories remained fractured and unreliable, I remembered enough to know that there was a time when the idea of home with the Society seemed so impossible. By some miracle, I was still alive, and the Society was offering me a second chance.

Was I ready to return? Not quite. I had one more thing to do—a promise I made to Vittoria a long time ago. The words swirled in my head like a faraway dream. But I knew them to be real. They never stopped being my compass. Even when I was lost in my own mind.

“They killed my family, Vittoria. Whoever did this to us will pay. So here’s my promise to you. I will have my revenge. And then I will return for what’s mine. Donata.”

“Soon.” I rose to my feet. “When will the men join us?”

“Give me twenty-four hours.” Rex stood and offered me his hand. “One bit of advice…don’t wait another two years to make it up to Donata. She’s out there actively trying to forget you.”

Actively? As in dating other men? What the fuck? The urge to send it all to hell and go after her hit me like an avalanche. This need I had for her consumed my thoughts day and night. But I couldn’t make the same mistake twice. This time, I planned on keeping Donata forever. I had one more task to do.

* * *

That night,I delivered the good news to Papa. Now that he had no secrets to keep, he seemed less worn out. “I knew you could do it, son.” He raised a glass to me. “With the new men, we’ll be able to expand into Chicago. Like the Society, maybe one day, we will rule them all.” He knocked back his shot of vodka.

“Of course we will.” Ivan poured another round of shots. “It’s all thanks to Maxim. Thank you, brother.”

The fireplace crackled with large orange flames that made Papa’s form cast a distorted shadow on the floor. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Papa was glad we were going to war. He hated to have the threat of the Chicago crew hanging over our heads.

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