Page 54 of Taken by the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #1)

KILLIAN

O livia lingered in the hallway as I left Sera’s room, her doll-like face slightly pale in the moonlight.

I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “Leave some aspirin and water out for her, maybe a bucket.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What did you do to that poor girl?”

“I took her to Diavola,” I said in passing.

Olivia’s faint curse drifted through the hallway before she disappeared into Sera’s room. I smiled and checked my watch as I walked through the near silent corridors of my home.

It was almost three in the morning. I should have just gone to bed, but Sera had effectively worked me up enough that sleep wouldn’t come easily. A cold shower was what I really needed, but I passed Tommaso’s room and noticed the door was slightly ajar. I looked inside, seeing his bed untouched.

After a quick look around, I found him in my office. “What’s keeping you up?” I asked as I sat down at my desk.

The crackling fire cast dancing shadows over Tommaso’s face as he sipped from a glass of whiskey near the hearth. “Alonzo called from the safehouse an hour ago. I didn’t want to disturb you with it,” his eyes flickered with brief amusement, “if you were otherwise occupied.”

I arched my brows and leaned back in my desk chair. Tommaso shifted his weight in his seat, his brow knitting in pain with the movement. Still healing, I’d taken him out of the field for a while. I would need him at full strength—and likely soon by the look on his face.

“What did Alonzo find out this time?” I asked.

Alonzo was effectively out from underneath the De Luca family and had been absorbed into mine, but he had his ways to gather intel on his old boss.

“He confirmed what Giuseppe was doing with those women. Their accounts of the situation matched with the intel Alonzo gathered. Giuseppe has also been talking to the Marinos and some other Jersey families about deals and alliances. He knows he’s being pushed out of Philly.”

“Why not go bother the bosses in Boston? They’re closer.”

“From what Alonzo said, Giuseppe had a deal go bad with Angelo Lima in Boston and they ran him out of town. He no longer does business with the Limas, which is huge because he was using them to ship his goods overseas. Angelo didn’t consider Gabriele De Luca a friend by any means, so this was coming anyway, but Giuseppe is desperate now. ”

“Riccardo Marino might be the king of Jersey but he’s not running a charity.

He doesn’t take in strays.” Riccardo had been pivotal in returning Sera’s necklace, but that was as far as it went when it came to doing business with the man.

In his youth, my own title as the Hand of Death could have easily been his.

Being Riccardo’s enemy was a death sentence.

Tommaso licked his lips and looked up at me through narrowed eyes. “Giuseppe hasn’t been talking to Riccardo.”

“Oh?” I replied dryly. “He’s been talking to Niccolo, hasn’t he?” Well, this was news. “Riccardo is in the dark about his son’s scheming with the De Lucas, isn’t he?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.

“Nothing’s been confirmed.”

I needed to ensure my allies remained as such, and that included the Marinos, especially if I was going to go after Andre Bianchi after my business with Giuseppe was finished.

Giuseppe was just a kid, inexperienced, and goddamned lucky to be in his position.

I had handed his title to him, and I would take it away.

I did like the chase, though.

“I’m done playing games with the young De Luca,” I said heavily, rising to pour myself a drink. “Will you be ready when I plan to strike?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m about there. Getting antsy.”

“Good,” I said to myself more than to him. Tommaso was the best kind of caporegime to have. Like a hunting dog. Calm and cool under pressure, but a ticking time bomb if he hadn’t been run in a while.

I had let that intensity build, and Sera swiping his phone and calling Emma had helped further that secret little plan of mine. Tommaso was pissed, and rightfully so. He’d finally broken down and told me the truth, like he always did about everything.

“I won’t let my guard down again,” he said, as if his thoughts had matched mine.

“Sera won’t do that to you again. You have my word.”

He swallowed hard, breaking from my gaze as I leaned my weight against my desk. “I think she’s becoming a major liability, Killian. Especially now that she knows the truth.”

“I know, and I’ll deal with that. The two of you are alike, you realize.”

“How so?”

“Your loyalty, for one.” I kicked off my desk and walked toward him. “Your grit.” I sank down into the armchair opposite him. “Your inability to be caged and to then seek redemption at every turn.”

He smirked, sipping from his whiskey. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Diamonds under pressure,” I mused, smiling to myself as I met my friend’s eyes. “Sera could be an asset if we let her.”

“Is that your plan for her?”

“I have no plan for her.” That wasn’t exactly true.

My mind ran wild with plans for her every night.

“It was just an observation. Finding out the truth about her father broke her, but not in the way I thought it would. The outcome of that is yet to be determined. For now, we focus on Giuseppe, and Alonzo’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. ”

“Why?”

“We have guests tomorrow.” I drained my glass. “And then we strike and wipe the De Lucas off the map. Forever.”