Page 56 of Broken Mafia Prince (His to Break #1)

RAFFAELE

“ W e have three trailers coming in on Friday,” I tell Father. “But I’ve decided to send a decoy in first to check if the west route is really safe. I can’t trust Josef as far as I can throw him, and considering that he’s the size of a whale, that’s not very much.”

The glance my father shoots me is unimpressed, but at his side, Emilio coughs, trying to muffle his laughter.

“We shook on it.” Father clasps his hands under his jaw. “He’s a real man. He won’t go back on his word after he shook on it.”

It’s my turn to level an unimpressed glance at him. “I don’t care if you sealed the deal with a kiss. I’m not putting the fate of my men and our product in Josef’s ham hands.”

“My men and my products,” he grits out. “You have nothing here but a little irrelevant club.”

“It’s not irrelevant.”

He begins to count on his fingers. “No drugs in the club, meaning that we can’t even sell our products there, not even women. Lastly, you’re not even using the club to clean out money for us. So tell me how exactly that stupid little club is relevant?”

I grit my teeth, fingers clenching at my side. “The club?—”

“Enough about that. We have bigger fish to fry anyway.” He waves a dismissive hand, suddenly sounding excited. “Tell him about the plan, Emilio.”

Nothing good ever comes out of Father’s excitement, and I know that time won’t be any different. I tense, waiting to hear about whatever new absurd plan he has so I can immediately shut it down.

“A shipment is coming into the country a week or two from now. We don’t have the exact date yet, but we know exactly what is contained on that shipment, down to the last bottle of whiskey,” Emilio explains.

“What is contained in the shipment?” I ask curiously.

My father replies with cheer in his voice, “Everything.”

“What does that mean?” I direct my question at my father’s right-hand man, tired of going round and round with him.

“Everything means everything. A large amount of arms, drugs, diamonds and other gems, art, and some incredibly valuable pottery,” he explains.

“I don’t know how they managed to afford that haul.

I’m guessing several alliances, some loans, credit.

It’s enough product to be at the top for a long time. ”

“How were they stupid enough to broadcast something like that?” I scoff.

“They didn’t.” Father’s eyes shine at me. “We have a mole in their ranks. A very important mole. He’ll communicate the day the shipment is meant to arrive when he’s confirmed it.”

My eyebrows fly up at that revelation. “Who’s that important that you went to the trouble of setting up a mole?”

He stares at me like I’m stupid. “The Montanaris, of course.”

I stop breathing. “W-what?”

“After that last attack by that idiot Cozzoli boy—may his soul rest in peace—the Montanaris still haven’t fully recovered. Enrico had to flee the country and cut ties with some very important allies just to stay under the radar,” Father announces, sounding as if he’s just won a billion dollars.

“You don’t know that this mole is telling the truth. This could all be a trap,” I argue.

He snorts. “It’s not. And anyway, you think I’d believe a word out of a Montanari’s lying mouth? I’ve had the information verified by my own men.”

Which means that he must have heard about this many days ago. “Why am I just hearing about this now? Something as important as this should have been addressed to me as soon as it was discovered.”

He cocks his head at me, eyes frosting over. “You answer to me. Not the other way round—or have you forgotten that?”

My jaw grinds together at the words. I don’t know why I allow myself to forget how much of an asshole my father is—an asshole with a one track mind. I’ve known for a while that the attack on Giulia’s family is in the works. What I failed to realize is that it’d be this big.

This is in no way an insult to the family, but I didn’t think they even had anything worth destroying, which makes me wonder how Enrico has managed to afford an entire shipment.

If he’s sold Giulia to someone else, he won’t live to see sunrise; I don’t give a fuck if he’s her last living relative or not.

“It’s impossible for them to have so much product,” I point out. “Your mole has to be wrong.”

Father’s smile only widens. “Exactly.”

“Enrico has sold his soul in a losing game,” Emilio explains.

“He’s financed everything he has against everything he plans to get.

He’s tangled up with too many loan sharks, families, and politicians to make the shipment a possibility.

If he loses it, it’ll be a huge blow for him, and I’m not sure he’ll survive it.

I’m not sure any of the Montanaris will survive losing this. ”

But—” I begin, but my father cuts me off.

“Which is exactly what we’ve wanted from the start, to destroy that entire bloodline.” He sits back in his chair. “The only problem I have is watching all that product go to the bottom of the sea. If there was a way for me to take it for myself instead, it could become a very nice addition to?—”

“We can’t sink the shipment,” I bark.

“And why the fuck not?” he spits. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime. Don’t be a fucking coward, boy. You and I know very well that this will be the most glorious single move to finally remove those bastards from the face of this earth.”

“That’s cold, even for you.” I shake my head. “Do you know what the partners and loan sharks will do to him when he explains that his shipment has suddenly sunk? He has a daughter and?—”

“I know exactly what Enrico has. I’ve spent my entire life studying that bastard.

What he has is a daughter with two failed engagements, and men who are slowly losing faith in him,” he explains.

“The iron is hot, and that’s why it’s best to strike.

What did you expect, Raffaele, for us to wait for them to fully get back to their full capacity before we stage an attack? ”

“That’s the fair thing to do.” I don’t even want to think of what will happen to Giulia if my father succeeds in ruining hers like this.

It’s not just about losing product and trying to repay all the loans; it’s about disappointing investors, losing credibility and respect.

If this happens, the Montanaris will truly be finished.

My father won’t even have to put a bullet through Enrico’s head. He will save my father the stress and do it all by himself. I can kiss goodbye to ever being with Giulia. Why would she want to be a part of the family that destroyed hers?

With this new information, I realize that running might just have to take a back seat. Staying in this city and fighting this is of more importance. But the question remains: How the hell am I going to stop this?

It’s the perfect plan, and there’s no way I’ll be able to successfully convince him to change his mind about it.

It’s a double win: the destruction of the Montanaris and more power.

The entire mafia world will be forced to respect us with our rivals gone, and they’ll also be nervous about how we dealt with our enemies.

A part of me wants to go along with my father’s plan. That same part that instinctively sees Giulia as the enemy. The other part of me wants to grab her right now and disappear from this city, go so far away that she’ll never realize what’s about to happen.

“Fair thing to do.” His mouth presses into a thin line. “We’re not cops. We don’t care about fairness or justice or any of that bullshit. Now, stop being a little sissy boy and tell me you’re going to join us to finally annihilate that family.”

“Not like this.”

“ Yes , like this!” he snarls. “You’ve been an embarrassment to me every day of your life, and this is your chance to make something better of yourself.

This is your chance to impress me and show that you are truly Edoardo Gagliardi’s son.

What do you say, son? Are you really my flesh and blood, or has the weakness that lived inside your mother gotten to you, too?

” He holds out his hand expectantly, blue eyes fixed on mine.

Once again in my life, the weight of duty seems to bear down on my shoulders, making me feel far too old.

I stare at my father’s hand for a long moment, knowing that if I don’t take it, I automatically become a traitor to this family, and if I do, I lose her , the only spark of light in my dreary life.

“Take my hand, Raffaele.” His voice is steady, quiet—but it’s not a request. It’s a demand. His fingers twitch, waiting, expecting. “Family is all that matters.”

The silence stretches. My heart slams against my ribs.

If I don’t take it, I become a traitor.

If I do, I lose her.

The weight of my bloodline settles on me like a noose.

“Are you all right?” Giulia asks.

It’s been a few hours since the disturbing meeting with my father, but every heated word we exchanged still echoes in my head.

Giulia’s arrival has distracted me a little bit from the chaos in my head, but it has to be clear to her that I’m not entirely present.

I haven’t heard a word she’s said in the last few minutes.

I blink down at her, noting the concern on her face. I know she’s worried about everything that’s happened so far, and even though she’s said yes to marrying me and starting over far from here with me, I know she’s terrified, too.

“I’m fine.” I gather her to me and brush my lips against hers in a feather-light kiss. “Are you okay?”

She nods, but I can see that it’s strained. I sigh and lift her into my arms, carrying her up the stairs and into my bed, where I join her, wrapping her in my arms.

She smiles. “What’s this?”

“What does it look like?” I push a strand of her hair behind her ears.

“It looks like you’re trying to distract me from asking you questions about whatever is bothering you.” She crawls up my body until she’s staring me right in the eyes. “Raffaele, being together means you have to talk to me about things. Partners, remember?”

I’ve told her about the incoming attack on her family, but for some reason, I hesitate to tell her the new details I’ve just discovered. Being around her feels like being in an airy bubble of our own making where nothing bad can get in, and I’d like to keep it that way.

Giulia presses her mouth to mine, and I kiss her back, drinking her down eagerly. One of my hands cups her rounded ass, and I give it a good squeeze. She retaliates by biting down on my bottom lip.

“I can’t wait until it’s just you and me,” she whispers. “Am I a bad daughter because I haven’t even thought of staying for Papa?”

“No,” I tell her sternly. “You’ve sacrificed so much for him, Giulia. All he’s done is take and take from you. You’re choosing yourself for the first time after years of choosing everybody else.”

“I’m choosing you.” Her smile splits her face, eyes shining down at me.

Guilt lurches in my belly at the sight of that smile. Am I trying to maintain a beautiful illusion here? Is hiding the shipment plans from her the best move? Will she decide to stay if she realizes how much danger she’s in?

I have to find a way to fix this. I need to stop my father and end this war before it’s even started.

No matter how much Giulia claims to want me and a new life away from this one, I’m not delusional enough to think that she won’t choose to stay and fight for her family over leaving it all to crash and burn in her rearview mirror.

She’s far too honorable to leave her father to the mercy of mine.

Another thing I know for a fact is that if my father succeeds, I’ll lose Giulia.

I’m being buried under the weight of decision, and somehow, it feels like no matter which way I choose to go, I’ll still end up losing.

Later, long after the sweat has cooled on our bodies and she’s passed out from multiple orgasms, I finally whisper into her ear, “I’m choosing you, too.”