Chapter 10 - Uncle Gabriel
Gabriel Bellini did not run.
That made Luca angrier.
He was sitting in Luca’s townhouse drinking espresso when Marco brought Luca back under medical escort.
Dr. Bennett had objected.
Loudly.
Luca had ignored her.
Also loudly.
Gabriel looked seventy but carried age well.
Silver hair.
Tailored suit.
Calm eyes.
He had taught Luca to drive.
To negotiate.
To spot a lie.
To survive funerals without crying.
Luca entered.
Gabriel looked at the bandages.
“You look terrible.”
“You gave them my daughter.”
Gabriel set down his cup.
“So Marco found the messages.”
Marco stepped forward.
“You son of a—”
Luca raised a hand.
“No.”
His eyes never left Gabriel.
“Why?”
Gabriel leaned back.
“Because you forgot what you were responsible for.”
“My daughter?”
“The family.”
Luca stared.
Gabriel continued.
“Red Hook was slipping. Sokolov was pushing. You were distracted.”
“By what?”
“A woman.”
Rachel.
“A child.”
Emma.
“And lately, fear.”
Luca’s expression hardened.
“You bugged my study.”
“Yes.”
“You gave Crane access.”
“Yes.”
“You told Sokolov about Emma.”
“I gave him enough information to pressure you.”
Luca’s hands curled.
“He kidnapped a three-year-old.”
“That was not the agreement.”
Marco laughed bitterly.
“Oh, good. That makes it better.”
Gabriel’s eyes stayed on Luca.
“I wanted you to remember who you are.”
Luca stepped closer.
“And who is that?”
“The man your father raised.”
“My father died when I was seventeen.”
“And I finished the job.”
Luca stood inches away.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“You taught me to become useful.”
Gabriel frowned.
“What?”
“You taught me that weakness gets exploited.”
“Yes.”
“That people are assets.”
“That’s reality.”
“That love is leverage.”
Gabriel’s silence answered.
Luca nodded.
“That is why I spent three years hiding from my daughter.”
Gabriel’s expression softened almost imperceptibly.
“I protected you.”
“You taught me to be afraid of having something worth losing.”
“That fear kept you alive.”
“No.”
Luca thought about Emma wrapping her arms around his neck.
“It kept me empty.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
“You’re becoming sentimental.”
“I’m becoming a father.”
“That will get you killed.”
“Maybe.”
Luca leaned closer.
“But you won’t use her to teach me another lesson.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“You think this is finished?”
Luca froze.
Gabriel’s eyes moved toward Marco.
“Sokolov escaped.”
“We know.”
“And now he knows you chose the child over the organization.”
“I did.”
“Your captains know too.”
Luca looked at Marco.
Marco said nothing.
Gabriel continued.
“Half of them believe you’re weak.”
“Let them.”
“They’ll come for your chair.”
“They can have the chair.”
Gabriel actually looked shocked.
Luca stepped back.
“That’s the part you never understood.”
“What?”
“I don’t need the empire.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You can’t leave.”
Luca looked at him.
“That sounds familiar.”
Rachel had once said nearly the same thing.
Leave the organization.
Or leave us.
Luca had told her it wasn’t simple.
Now he finally understood what she had been asking.
Not simplicity.
Choice.
Gabriel’s phone rang on the table.
No one moved.
Marco picked it up.
Unknown number.
He answered on speaker.
Sokolov.
“Gabriel.”
Gabriel’s face changed.
Sokolov continued.
“You promised me Bellini would break.”
Luca looked at his uncle.
Sokolov laughed.
“Instead, you made him unpredictable.”
Gabriel stood.
“What do you want?”
“To finish our arrangement.”
“The arrangement is over.”
“No.”
Sokolov’s voice turned cold.
“It ends when Luca is dead.”
May you like
Then gunfire erupted outside the townhouse.
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