Reckless & Ruined (41 page)

Riley turned enough to give Adriano a view of his father’s amused profile. “Oh, Joel, you have a great deal to learn yet. I deserve this far more than you and I’m showing you exactly why that is. Can’t you see that, you fool?”

“I see a man unable to get it the right way,” Joel muttered.

“And the way you were going to take it?” Riley shot back. “Sneaky, on the down low, and without the approval of an entire crew worth of men? Come on, Joel, you know better than that. Your position never would have stood against me had I come at you for it.”

Joel swallowed hard. “I don’t know that at all.”

“Well, I suppose we won’t have to find out now, will we?”

“Is that why you had Laurent Rossi killed, too?” Joel asked. “Would his allegiance to the Trentini family have upset your scales?”

Riley barked out a laugh. “I didn’t do that, either.”

“Liar,” Joel accused.

“He is not lying,” came a quiet, sure voice from the corner.

All heads turned in Tommas Rossi’s direction. The man sipped from his glass of liquor without gracing anyone the pleasure of his attention, almost like they didn’t deserve it. He simply lifted his glass again and took another drink, completely unbothered by the situation happening around him.

“He is not lying,” Tommas repeated.

“And how can you be sure of that?” Joel asked his once best friend.

Adriano knew the two men had divided over the last couple of months. Joel was so distrustful of those around him that he even pushed his friend away. Instead of holding those people close, people he should have wanted surrounding him, he brought people who would use and manipulate him in. People like Walter and Dean Artino.

“I’m sure of it because I know who killed my father and it wasn’t Riley,” Tommas said frankly.

“Who then?” Joel demanded.

Tommas smiled. It came off cold and callous. His next word was just as heartless. “Me.”

A pin could have dropped and it would have echoed. That’s how goddamn quiet it turned in the room. Those who hadn’t been looking at Tommas certainly were now. The rest seemed to be gazing rapidly back and forth between the man in the corner and Joel in the middle.

“I killed my father,” Tommas said, sighing. “It only takes one stupid man in a group of the best to sour them all, Joel. I watched him drink himself nearly to death for years and make bad decisions over and over without consequence. I felt his abuse and his foulness for years. And when he hurt something else of mine, and they suffered for his stupidity, too? I couldn’t do that anymore.”

“You—”

“Me,” Tommas interrupted Joel, shrugging uncaringly. “And it was the best decision I have ever made. I warned him; he didn’t listen. So, I ended it. Simple as that.”

Wow
.

Adriano felt like he’d just been picked up and dropped off in the Twilight Zone.

This was surreal.

Unbelievable.

Riley gave Tommas a nod and a smile. “It’s always nice working with you, Rossi.”

Tommas returned the gestures by tipping his glass in Riley’s direction. “And you, old friend.”

Joel glared. “How dare you?”

Tommas didn’t give Joel a reaction. “I nominate Riley Conti as boss for the Rossi crew. I can assure you my men are in agreeance with the nomination and none will object at this time. I am more than capable of speaking for them, but if any man from my crew feels the need to confirm their agreement, feel free.”

A beat of silence passed around the room.

Just a beat …

And then …

“Aye,” came a voice.

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

It echoed over and over. Ten, twelve, and then fifteen.

Tommas’ smug grin grew a little more as he watched Joel fume from across the room.

Even Adriano found himself smirking as the confirmative votes passed through.

“Aye,” said another man from the Conti side.

Again, the word traveled through every man that had come along for the evening. All the made voices in the Outfit for the Conti side that could and would speak. Riley stood stock still, tracing his finger around the rim of his glass and looking at the golden liquid within as his seat was all but given.

He only needed the nomination. He only needed the second vote.

“DeLuca?” Riley asked quietly.

Theo sucked in a hard breath, rage swimming in his brown gaze. “I concede.”

Riley smiled. “Concede.”

“I don’t object, I concede,” Theo growled. “I acknowledge you, I don’t approve of you.”

“What that means is you’re a smart man, Theo,” Riley said, shrugging.

“So be it.”

“And my son,” Riley added, waving back at a silent Adriano. “He has amends to make with you, Theo.”

“For killing my men, yes. I’ve heard.” Theo gave Adriano a passing look and then turned his attention back on Riley as he said, “I want nothing from your son as of now, but I’ll take an apology from you when I decide to ask for it.”

Riley tilted his chin up at the man. “I look forward to it.”

“I wouldn’t,” Theo replied with a flash of his teeth as he sneered. “Aye, I concede to the seat.”

“Aye,” came the confirmation from another DeLuca crew member.

More followed.

Quietly, almost so low he couldn’t be heard, Walter Artino spat out, “Aye.”

When silence fell, Riley glanced up at Joel.

“You should be careful of those you trust, Joel,” Riley said. “No one around you is safe, my boy. They’ll only work for their own benefit, and you ran that course. Give it up willingly; give it up with some dignity. You tried—I’ll give you that. You tried damn hard. I know about your little trip to Vegas, and your chats with the smaller families in New York. I know about your request to the Commission for my hit, a hit they denied. You can’t do it, but you did more than most men would have. Take that from it and be happy I’ve given you that much.

“I’ll let you keep a spot in the Outfit as a Capo with a crew to run and money to make. You will have the same voice as any other Capo in this room does. It is not a loss, Joel. It is not a failure as long as you make the right choice,” Riley finished sharply. “Do not be an idiot. Make the right choice.”

Joel openly glared but he still couldn’t seem to form any words worthy of speaking.

Adriano could feel the shift in the room already happening. His father had it—he had gotten everything he wanted. Riley didn’t wait for someone to just hand it over to him, no, he took it whether they were willing to give it or not.

Fear and respect walked hand in hand.

This was the mafia way.

“Object, Joel, I dare you,” Riley threatened, smiling wickedly. “Object to my seat, and I’ll blow your brains out all over these beautiful Oriental rugs. If you thought washing Terrance’s blood off the wall was difficult, just imagine the artwork yours will make on this floor.”

Joel clenched his teeth, refusing to speak.

“Object,” Riley hissed.

Give me a reason
, Adriano thought.

He only needed the one.

Just one to get what he needed—to get Alessa. With no one heading her house as the man for the Outfit, she was free to do as she wished.

Give me a fucking reason
.

“Aye,” Joel whispered.

It was done.

Celebration would be an understatement when it came to the aftermath of Riley becoming the boss for the Outfit. Adriano assumed his father would take his win in a quiet stride, not draw attention to himself, and lay low for a while, but Riley went in the complete opposite direction.

He celebrated openly. He put his name on the streets immediately, uncaring of the tradition that the Outfit had always held for a formal front boss to the operation.

It was almost like Riley was challenging someone to challenge him.

Adriano didn’t really care.

He’d gotten what he wanted … well, almost.

A week after his father had taken the seat, Adriano was no closer to Alessa. His thoughts were plagued with her and for her pregnancy. He was worried what would happen when her brother figured out their secret.

Adriano had yet to come up with a plan that might actually work for them.

There was always running away, of course, but Adriano wasn’t the type. Alessa deserved more than that kind of shame, too. He didn’t want to embarrass the family that had loved and cared for her—minus her brother—simply because Adriano didn’t have a better way to correct their situation.

“Where is your head tonight?” Tommas asked, drawing Adriano from his thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“Far away in the clouds, like it always is,” Riley muttered.

Adriano shot his father with a dirty look, picked up his beer, and downed the rest of it in one go. “I’m just thinking.”

“About what?” Tommas asked.

“Unimportant things, likely,” Riley answered.

“Back off, Dad,” Adriano warned.

Riley shrugged and cut into his steak, turning his attention on Evelina. “Are you just about ready to leave your brother’s place and come back home?”

Evelina smiled sweetly. “If home means my dorm again, then yes, I am.”

“Evelina,” Riley said coolly.

“It’s over, Dad,” Adriano said for his sister. “Let her live in her dorm and get back to life. What is the fucking problem?”

Riley scowled. “The problem is that Evelina still broke my rules, son. Regardless of the rest, I still don’t trust her to follow my directions.”

Evelina glared across the table. “Then I’ll stay with Adriano.”

“So be it, but you still have to follow the rules no matter where you live, Eve.”

Adriano glanced up at the ceiling, wishing it would swallow him whole. He was over this entire dinner. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Tommas, because he did. And dinner with Evelina was okay, too. But Riley had a way of making things more annoying than they usually would be with his arrogant attitude that made an appearance at every turn.

Tommas had been invited to the dinner to talk positions, as far as Adriano understood it. It seemed like Riley was preparing to give the man a higher spot as an underboss. Tommas would make a good underboss for the Outfit. Adriano didn’t deny that for a second. Tommas was a cousin of Adriano’s, but only through marriage. His mother, Mia, had been the adopted sister to Tommas’ mother, Serena.

But the dinner was semantics.

The enforcers at the entrances and next table was all for show.

Adriano and Evelina’s presence was nothing but appearance.

This was just another game to Riley Conti. Sure, he played it well, but Adriano had better things to worry about. Like his girl and the baby she was carrying.

His baby.

Fuck.

Adriano’s head was not in the game today.

The buzz of Adriano’s cell phone drew his attention down to his lap. He checked the message, surprised to see it was a text with a picture. Opening the message, he came face to face with a smiling, winking Alessa.

She looked happy—luminescent, even.

And apparently in his apartment if the background was any indication.

Adriano didn’t have the first clue how Alessa got to his place. Joel was still being a dick to his sisters, apparently, and keeping them on a tight leash. Alessa had a key to Adriano’s apartment, but she would have needed to get out from under Joel’s thumb first.

Whatever.

It didn’t matter.

She was there and that’s right where he was fucking going, too.

“What is that all about?” his father asked, never taking his eyes off his steak.

Adriano stood from the table and tossed his napkin down before shoving his phone into his pocket. “Business. It was good to see you, Tommas.”

“And you, Adriano,” Tommas replied.

“Eve, I’ll see you later. The driver will get you back, yeah?” Adriano asked his sister.

Evelina nodded. “Sure.”

Riley’s gaze cut to his son. “What kind of business?”

Adriano smirked. “More important business than this.”

Alessa was working at the stove when Adriano arrived at his place. He slammed and locked the door like somebody might come in and steal her from him. She laughed a musical sound when he caught her around the waist, picked her up, and set her down on the table.