His to Own (Mafia Kingpins Book 1)
Chapter 24

Although there are no clear rules, there has always been a mutual understanding that mafia blood of the ruling families shouldn’t be spilled by each other. It’s been three days since my brothers and I broke into the Bianche estate, I shot and killed Rocco and we burned all the evidence to the ground. Plus, we killed all of his guards and enforcers.

Do I feel bad or have regrets? No. I did what I had to do to save Alessia and I’d do it all over again without an ounce of hesitation. She’s my world, my everything. No matter what, I will always keep her safe.

As a result of my actions, I’ve been summoned to the table for questioning by the other families. I knew it would happen and I didn’t try to hide the fact that it was me behind the massacre at the Bianche estate. But, I did cover for my brothers because I don’t want them dragged into the chaotic politics of the Families. The good thing is Aldo DeLuca is on my side and I need as much support as I can get. The bad news is that it still leaves three other powerful families that I need to convince of my innocence and of any wrongdoing. I don’t plan on lying, though. I think the truth is the best option for me at this point.

I hope like hell that I’m right. Otherwise, this is going to be a damn short meeting.

My nerves are on edge and I know this could—and most likely will—end very badly. However, I feel good about keeping my brothers out of it. I refuse to drag them down with me. Alessia is my wife, my responsibility, and I will shoulder the blame for what I did. I’ve never considered myself overly honorable, but I’ll keep my head up and say what needs to be said. I won’t let this group intimidate me. I’m hoping with DeLuca as an ally, we can talk my way out of the mess that Rocco made.

When we reach the meeting place—we always try to arrange our meetings at a new location every time to avoid others from knowing—my palms are sweating. Alessia stuffed some hard candies into my pocket before I left and I replace myself reaching for one. I unwrap the fruity candy and pop it in my mouth. She told me sucking on candies helps calm her nerves and I have no idea if it will help me, too, but, at this point, I’ve got nothing to lose. Plus, it makes me feel closer to her.

Today, we’re meeting in an abandoned warehouse in the Meat District. The whole place has a rundown, ominous feel to it and I notice it’s heavily-guarded on the outside. I walk past several very large, armed men, and finally I reach the door. I can feel their eyes on me, but I don’t need to identify myself—everyone knows who I am. Even so, I replace myself about to pull my credentials or some form of ID right before the lead guard waves me inside.

Get it together, Miceli, I scold myself, straightening up to my full height and snapping my perfectly-pressed suit jacket. You’re not some wannabe thug sneaking into the big meeting. You’re the head of the fucking Rossi family, arguably the most powerful clan in New York City. I deserve to be here and my family has earned its place among the Five Families.

Now, all I have to do is convince the people in this room not to kick me to the curb. I’m going to have to strike a fine balance because I don’t want to come off like an arrogant prick but, at the same time, I’ve earned my spot. I’ve worked harder than anyone else here. Blood, sweat and tears built the foundation of my family’s businesses and I worked my ass off to keep them growing and succeeding. I never shied away from the hard work needed to achieve the level of success I’ve found and maintained.

No one had better challenge or question my right to be here because of this damn incident with Rocco Bianche. But, of course, some bold fucker will and I’m going to need to strive for control and to keep it together. I’m going to need to defend myself calmly and not lose my temper.

Sometimes, that’s easier said than done. Especially when I’m dealing with idiots.

I hate not knowing what’s going to happen. And this is one time where I have no idea. Nothing like this has ever happened before and there’s no previous, similar incident that we can look back on for guidance. Guess I’ll be the one setting the precedent for all future situations where family turns on family.

Because, let’s be realistic, it will happen again. With this much power and money, it’s inevitable. I just need to hang onto my position at the table. And, I’m ready to fight tooth and nail to make that happen.

Pulling my shoulders back and putting on a steely expression, I step into the warehouse. It’s dimly-lit and I’m expecting to see a large round table like always, so I’m surprised to see a long rectangular table instead. And a lone chair that faces the table. There are way more people here than I was anticipating. It’s more than just the heads of the Five Families. There are also the second and third in line. Maybe I should have brought my brothers after all. A wave of nervousness sweeps through me, but I squash it down fast.

Swallowing down the lump of anxiety in my throat, I spot Aldo DeLucca and he gives me a slight nod. Not very reassuring, but I have to believe he’s on my side. I just saved his youngest daughter’s life. Of course, I also kidnapped her and forced her to marry me not very long ago after he rebuffed my proposal. But, I can’t think too hard about that right now. Focus on the positive, Miceli.

Shit. Swiping a hand through my thick hair, I hope I can talk my way out of this and make the families understand why I did what I had to do. Because, truthfully, I wouldn’t change a thing.

“Miceli, have a seat,” Caparelli says, sweeping a hand toward the lone chair.

Here we go, I think, and walk over to the straight-back, wooden piece of furniture and sit down. It’s uncomfortable, but I ignore that fact and sit up straight, ready to face the firing squad. That’s what this whole thing feels like, anyway. I pull in a deep breath and face my possible executioners.

The other members of the families sit down at the long table and focus their full attention on me. I think the only thing we’re missing is a spotlight on me. Though, it already feels like one is glaring down on me. Sweating bullets, I search for a friendly face and don’t see one. Fuck me. This could get ugly fast. Especially when I see who is representing the Bianche family—Rocco’s brother, Tommaso. He’s just as unpredictable and dangerous as his brother was. Maybe even more so. And now his dark, rage-filled eyes are focused on me.

Caparelli begins the meeting with an explanation as to why we’re all here and the longer he speaks, laying out every single one of my sins against the other four Families, the more defeated I feel. When he’s finally done speaking, done fucking villifying me, I wish I could’ve brought a damn lawyer to defend myself.

Suddenly, my heart sinks down into my black shoes. I don’t feel good about the situation and have a feeling I’m about to get my ass handed to me.

Gritting my jaw, I keep my head held high. Bring it on, motherfuckers. Bring. It. On.

“And so now it’s our turn to act as judge and jury. As a group, we must determine if Rossi broke our alliance and what his fate will be. Let us begin the interrogation.”

I guess since this whole situation has blown up into epic proportions, each family is allowed to choose three representatives to listen to my side, ask questions and then cast a vote that will decide my fate. Right now, I’m looking at three men and one woman, who are representing each family. That’s twelve people I need to convince of my innocence. Not an easy thing to do. Especially when more than half of them look ready to shoot me down where I sit.

Everything is done in a very organized and efficient manner, as if we’ve done this before. Which, of course, we haven’t. I get to be the guinea pig and face the table’s wrath first. Lucky me.

The Milano family starts first and the questions begin. I get along alright with Old Man Milano, but his two kids…well, I don’t know them very well and have no idea if they’re going to give me a fair go of this or if they’re going to crucify me to this wooden chair.

“Is it true that you were supposed to marry Gia DeLuca, but decided you’d rather have her sister?”

Ouch. Talk about cutting straight to the chase. This lovely question comes from one of Milano’s sons and he’s looking at me like I’m the devil incarnate. Whelp, all I can do is be honest. I truly believe it’s my best option at this point. Besides, these people can smell bullshit a mile away. If I try to lie or pull a fast one, they’d catch on immediately. And then it would look like I was trying to insult their intelligence. Can’t do that.

“I met both sisters and, while each was lovely in her own way, Alessia and I had an instant connection,” I say honestly, remembering back to the first time we met in the DeLucca’s library. I can’t help but smile. “There was something extremely special about her. I knew she was the one for me and I decided to pursue her.”

“So then what? Because you had a so-called connection, you thought you could steal Rocco’s intended and defy Aldo DeLuca’s wishes?”

I lay my hands flat on my thighs and force myself to stay calm. I’m not going to get defensive. “I explained the situation to Aldo, but he wanted to keep things as they were—Rocco marrying Alessia and me marrying Gia,” I say, trying to be as honest as possible. But, inside, I’m beginning to fume. I don’t like the accusatory tone in this punk’s voice. And, really? Who the hell can help who they fall in love with, anyway? Sometimes it’s beyond our control. So, excuse me for wanting to marry the woman I love. I can feel my eyes narrowing slightly and I have to stop it and refocus.

Breathe, Miceli.

“So what did you do?”

I clear my throat, shifting in the hard seat. “I wanted to get to know Alessia better, so I followed her one evening, hoping we could talk. I needed to know if she felt the same way I did, if it was mutual. She took an Uber to Penn Station and told me she was running away because she didn’t want to marry a man she didn’t love. While we were on the sidewalk talking, a car screeched up and a gunman exited. He began firing at us, and I pulled Alessia down and killed the attacker.”

“So someone tried to kill you and DeLuca’s daughter was almost collateral damage?”

I shake my head. “No. Alessia DeLuca was the gunman’s intended target.”

Several people gasp and everyone starts whispering frantically. “How do you know that?” one of the Caparellis asks, voice full of doubt. “You’re a much bigger threat than Alessia. The intended target was most likely you.

“No, it wasn’t and I know this for a fact because Rocco admitted the truth. He told Alessia he was angry with her. Their conversation hadn’t gone well and she told him she didn’t want to marry him. In retaliation, he hired a thug to kill her.”

Everyone starts talking at once and it takes a minute for them to quiet down. I was hoping that little tidbit of information would catch them all by surprise. Because Rocco Bianche was hardly innocent in all of this. In fact, he brought all of this on himself the moment he went after my woman.

May he rot in hell.

Once the table settles down again, Aldo DeLuca speaks up and, to my relief, he backs up what I’ve said and offers me his full support. This surprises several people and Milano instantly brings up my quickie marriage to Alessia.

“Didn’t you steal her from her family and force her to marry you?”

“I didn’t force her to do anything,” I respond coolly. “I encouraged her to stay with me where it was safe and I could protect her better. I figured the best way to protect her was by giving her my name. After the vows were spoken, she said yes of her own accord.”

The questioning goes on for more than an hour, but Aldo helps me reiterate one very important point—Rocco Bianche crossed the line first when he hired a hitman to take out Alessia. And that is unforgivable.

We also make sure they’re very clear on the fact that Rocco kidnapped my pregnant wife, tied her up and threatened to hurt her and our baby. Everything I did from that point forward was to save Alessia and my unborn child. Yes, it resulted in Rocco’s death, but by the time we reach this point in the story, I can see I have the table’s support. Well, except for Tommaso Bianche and his two cousins, anyway.

But, am I surprised? Not at all.

After the questioning is over and I’ve said all I can possibly say to convince them of my innocence, Caparelli declares it’s time to vote. I will either be blackballed from the Five Families or be forgiven. And, by me, I mean the entire Rossi family. We will all be punished because of what I’ve done.

And, let’s face it. I did what I hope any of these other men would do in my position. I saved the woman I love. And I have zero regrets. Even if I get tossed out of here, I can go home and I still have the love of my life. There was a very scary moment when I could’ve lost her, but I didn’t. And I wouldn’t trade that outcome for a seat at the table.

I wouldn’t trade Alessia for anything.

That’s the last thing I say to them, too. I hope it resonates on some level because if I know anything about this group of people, it’s that family is held in the highest regard. Blood is more important than our money and our businesses. Our family is everything, the very reason we do what we do.

This isn’t a secret vote and, one by one, they go down the line and speak my fate. A simple “Yay” means I can stay on the table. A “Nay” means I should be blackballed.

There are twelve votes and I need ten to stay at the table. Holding my breath, I listen carefully as each man delivers his vote, sealing my fate. Hands clenched, trying to appear relaxed, I’m anything but calm. My hand twitches to pull out another hard candy, but I can’t move. I’m frozen in place, listening anxiously as the votes are delivered.

“Yay.”

“Yay.”

“Yay.”

Slowly, I release the breath I’m holding as a chorus of yay’s fill the air. So far, so good. But, I need at least one of the Bianche’s to vote yay. If all three vote nay then I’m out. And, I just killed their fucking family member. This isn’t looking good.

Everyone votes in my favor and then it’s time for Tommaso Bianche who is looking at me like he’s willing me to drop dead. “Nay,” he growls, lips twisting up in a sneer.

Can’t say I’m surprised.

Tommaso sits with his two cousins, Romeo and Gabriella. Gabriella is the lone female at the table and she is never invited to meetings of the Five Families. She has a spark about her and she’s attractive in a fierce kind of way, but she’s also a loose cannon that is impossible to read.

“Nay,” Romeo states, voice flat.

This is it. I meet Gabriella’s caramel-colored eyes and prepare myself to be kicked off the table. She holds my gaze then folds her hands on the table. I can tell she likes sitting there and if I stay, I’m going to make sure she comes to more meetings.

If I stay…

“Yay,” Gabriella says in a firm, steady voice.

I blink in shock. Yay? Did I hear her right? Rocco’s brother starts yelling at her in Italian, so I know I must have heard her correctly. Holy shit.

“Congratulations, Miceli, the majority rules in your favor. You’ve been cleared of all charges and may remain at the table,” Caparelli announces.

Feeling a little like I’m in a daze, I’m not sure what to do. Forcing myself up to my feet, I walk over to the end of the table and shake Caparelli’s hand. I reach out to his other family and continue shaking everyone’s hand, making my way down the line and saying a humble, “Grazie.”

By the time I reach the Bianche family, Tommaso has already stormed off, Romeo on his heels. But, Gabriella sits there looking as poised as ever.

“Grazie, Gabriella,” I say and extend my hand. “You have no idea how grateful I am.”

She shakes it, her grip firm, and grins at me. “The love you have for your wife is undeniable. It would be nice one day to have a man who loves me as fiercely as you do Alessia DeLuca. Excuse me, Alessia Rossi.”

“I love her more than anything,” I say sincerely, my chest tightening. “And I would do anything to keep her happy and safe.”

“Clearly,” she murmurs, then tosses me a mischievous wink. “Go home and tell her that, Miceli. Any woman would love to hear it.”

My mouth edges up. Gabriella Bianche just got on my list of people I owe. Along with Archer. And, I vow I will repay her some day. I will repay both of them.

Now, however, it’s time to go home and make love to my wife. Everything in the world is good again and I couldn’t be more grateful.