Chapter Five

Luciano.

I leaned back in the car and watched as the drama unfolded before me. The guard looked quite shaken that for a fraction of a second there I felt sorry for him.

“How?” I watched as the man who looked stoic but was trying hard to bury the rage inside him asked the only soldier standing in front of him.

I’m trying too hard not to skin him alive right now.

There are many ways I planned on killing him but that couldn’t happen now.

“How?” The man repeated.

“How the fuck were they able to get to the seven of you and left only you alive—by their choice? It was two against seven and they weren’t even harmed.” He barked.

The shaky guard answered with his head buried on the floor, I wouldn’t look up if I were him too. Pedro was a scary man when angered but not to me.

“They are quite skilled, boss,” he answered, angering his master more.

“I fucking trained you myself.” He hissed. And we learned from the best.

“And it wasn’t enough.”

His body dropped to the floor the next minute with a bullet hole on his forehead. What a waste.

“What do you want?” The bastard, Pedro Rodriquez, head of the Spanish mafia asked as he tucked the gun used in killing his soldier back into his waistband and locked eyes with me. His gaze is cold and calculated and I’m sure I’m wearing the same look. This was the cunt who ruined my life and that of my brother.

“Certainly you didn’t leave that one soldier because you wanted to.”

“We didn’t realize we gave you an option too,” Adriano drawled as he played with the blade between his fingers. His jaw is clenched together and that is enough warning that he might launch that thing on anyone soon.

Pedro glanced at Adriano, “I thought only leaders are given the right to speak, and not someone as low as you.”

Pedro is wrong for saying that.

The blade Adriano was playing with stopped, he stared at Pedro and without thinking lunged at him but I was quicker. I stepped between them and held him back. Pedro’s soldiers reached for their guns, and I reached for mine. There isn’t a head in this room that doesn’t have a fucking gun aimed at.

“Suelten sus armas.” He ordered his soldiers who complied and lowered their weapons quickly. His eyes connected with mine again.

“You too idiota,” He hissed.

My eyes stayed on his, unmoving.

“Not happening.”

He squared his shoulders, watching me with those calculated eyes of his, thinking he was the one in control but what he didn’t know was that I was way ahead of him. It was a risk being here with him, threatening him and doing all of this that could get us killed but we would rather die trying than die like a fucking chicken.

Adriano tried to pull from my grip but I was way stronger than him.

“Let’s talk in private,” I ordered.

Pedro’s brows raised,

“And who are you to command me?” He asked.

“You do not want to find out what would happen if you don’t.” I threatened. Again.

“You are threatening me? With what if I may ask?” He stated the obvious.

“You don't want to go there.”

“I have nothing to hide.” He answered.

I would have believed that if I were still that same naive boy who looked up to him years ago.

“No?”

“We had an unfortunate encounter years ago, want to go down memory lane?” I took note of how he reacted to this piece of information.

Anyone in this room must have seen how quickly his reaction changed.

“Take us somewhere private to discuss this.” I said.

His soldiers looked between us, waiting for what their leader would do. They were ready to shoot at just one order but I know Pedro wasn’t going to do that.

He will be too foolish to let that happen.

The air was terse and the silence stretched out.

“Follow me,” he finally said.

One of his soldiers stepped out,

“Sir, this could be a trap……”

“You are questioning me, boy?” Pedro snapped. The room went quiet again and filled with tension.

The soldier moved back with his mouth shut but not without glaring at us.

Pedro’s body was rigid as he walked past me and gestured for me to follow.

I released Adriano who looked ready to go after the bastard.

“You should have allowed me to kill him.” He growled. I know how eager he is to get to Pedro but that isn’t the time yet.

“And where would that get us?” I asked narrowing my eyes at him.

“Control yourself, Adriano, we don’t want this to all go to waste.” I whispered to him.

When Adriano reluctantly nodded his head, we followed Pedro to one of his many cars in the parking lot of the prison. He got in the front and I followed, taking the passenger seat while Adriano begrudgingly took the back seat.

The air was still thick with tension.

“You should know threatening the boss of a mafia is bad enough, considering you just came out from prison and killed seven of my soldiers.”

“You should have thought of that before you had us locked up.”

His head whipped to the side, “It was for a good cause. You boys killed your father for fuck sake, I had to do it.” He shook his head in disgust while we glared at him. After knowing what I know I wasn’t surprised he was acting this way.

“We were framed,” I said with my jaws tightening at the mention of my father.

“You were framed?” he asked with a humorless laugh.

“Then I believe you, you guys are so convincing.”

“We were framed!” Adriano chipped in angrily.

“Why the hell would we kill our own father?”

“Let me see, the weapon used on him was for you. It had the two of your fingerprints on it and was hidden in your room and the autopsy showed that……”

“His autopsy was tampered with.” I snapped.

“Use your head old man, you should know by now when evidence is forged. We were framed, that is the truth.”

“The truth?”

“I arrived when he was bleeding out and looked like fucking corpse! He couldn’t be saved even though we tried!” He snapped.

We all went silent again, our breathing getting even.

“We were framed and there’s only one way to prove our innocence,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck to release some tension.

“Yeah? And how do you expect to do that?”

“I spoke to Carlos,” I watched as his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“There’s no way you spoke to him. He wouldn’t give you an audience.” He retorted.

I ground my teeth together, “He did. I spoke to him and agreed to make peace with you—we came up with a great idea of clearing our names. Everyone would want us to retaliate, to go feral as soon as we are out of prison but with this, we will be able to prove our innocence.”

He pauses for a while, processing my words before asking.

“And what’s this brilliant idea you’ve come up with?”

“An alliance.” His eyes locked with mine but he didn’t interrupt me.

“An alliance would be the only way for us to prove our innocence.”

“Tell me why the fuck I would let two murderers in my circle? Give me one good reason why I should help clear your name that is stained with guilt?”

A dark chuckle escapes my mouth. I can’t help but laugh at his demands. One reason he says. Well, I have an army of them.

I know it would come to this, though he might respect Carlos that doesn’t mean he would do anything we told him.

“I thought as much, you do not have anything.” He bragged, with a feeling of satisfaction.

“I thought I mentioned something of such earlier,” I asked as I rubbed my chin.

“Name something?” He demanded and I would gladly do it.

I leaned closer and whispered the words he never thought of hearing from me or anyone else. His breath seized, eyes went wide as he processed what I just said.

“T…that’s a lie. There’s no way you would know about that.”

“Prove it.”

I thought as much.