Page 76 of DeLucas After Dark

Nico pulls out his phone, still grumbling about his shoes and how I owe him a new pair. I walk to Paolo, my head of security.

“Yes, Mr. DeLuca?”

“I need these bodies cleared out, and the blood-covered snow cleared away before my family comes back out here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“How the fuck did they get in, Paolo?”

“Elio just called. He checked the system from the aerial view and found a black van with blacked-out windows a couple of miles down the road with four people tied up inside. The caterer owner, her husband, and their teenage kids. Only two of the workers here are real, and that’s the girlfriend of one of the kids who works for the caterers and their other adult daughter. Says they threatened them that if they said a word, they would send word to the man still in the van to kill them. So, they’ve been working with them involuntarily in silence. They trekked up here through the woods.”

“Get with those two workers now and clean this shit up. I want the entire property secured and monitored!”

“On it now, sir.”

“Marco!” Nico calls, walking to me with his phone.

Taking the phone from my brother, I greet Pietro in a deadly tone, “Colombo.”

“DeLuca.”

“What the fuck was that?”

“Your brother told me what happened. The family did not sanction that. Claudio’s my cousin Maria’s bastard son. He’s trying to make a name for himself in the family, but the only thing he did was sever ties. If he and his friends can’t fucking follow a direct order, they have no place in the organization. Besides, I would never send a fucking punk five men after you, DeLuca. I don’t underestimate my enemies. Please don’t insult my intelligence; it’s offensive.”

“That’s no longer anything you have to worry about. I cleaned up your mess,” I seethe.

“Well, if you didn’t, I would have. As it relates to Colombo and DeLuca business, we can handle that later.”

“I’ll see you soon, Colombo,” I say, clicking the call off.

Looking at Claudio’s dead body, I say, “So, you came to take me out, huh? Good luck with that.”

“You ready?” Massimo asks.

“Fuck no,” I say, but head towards the house anyway. As long as the DeLucas and the Colombos breathe, there will always be war between us.

We head downstairs into our ballroom-sized, underground basement, where our family and friends are gathered. I feel the tension no sooner than we step inside the elegant but concrete bunker.

Mamma has Mila and Gaia serving drinks, and she has Giulia and Paula, Mila’s mom, serving food.

Luna is rocking Aris, and Ilaria and Bianca sit quietly at her feet, playing. The rest of the guests are watching us as they either eat or drink, except for Piper’s parents.

I see the look of terror on their faces.

Piper rushes to me from where she’d been sitting with her brother, sister-in-law, and her friends.

“Ciao, Bellezza!” I greet Piper as I remove my jacket.

Relief washes over her face.

“You’re okay,” she confirms in a slightly steady voice.

I kiss her before saying, “PJ, I know you have a lot of questions. But let me deal with your parents first, okay?”

She nods.

My new in-laws tense as I approach, and I don’t know if it’s because of the shitstorm we just survived, the fact that my mother’s playing Volare by Domenico Modugno in the background, or that I have blood stains on my suit.

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