Chapter 50: The History of the Phoenix

HAYLEY

Hayley slept dreamlessly that night, safe once again in Luca’s arms. But when she woke early the next morning, her head resting on his warm tattooed torso, she couldn’t shake the fear and guilt from her mind.

Luca could have been arrested; he could have been hurt, and that didn’t sit well with her.

Hayley lay there for a while, tracing the black outline of the lion that began on his left shoulder.

He looked so innocent as he slept, like he wouldn’t hurt a fly. But she knew him better than that. Luca was a lion. He was a hunter, a protector, and most importantly, he was a killer.

She wanted to believe that, like the lion, he only killed for his family, to protect and provide for them. However, she knew he was capable of killing for his own ego.

He began to stir as her hand moved from the lion head to his chest. Just below her hand was his gun and dog tag tattoo.

“Hayley?” he murmured, then switched on the bedside lamp with his free arm, giving a soft glow to the room.

“Morning,” she whispered as he rolled over to face her.

“Are you okay?” he asked as she slid her hand down from his shoulder to his forearm and looked down at the tattoo there.

She traced the pattern of the intricate cross, where the words ~Family~, ~Honor~, and ~Loyalty~ were written in beautiful calligraphy.

Her heart ached at the words; she had no honor, no loyalty, and was not part of his family.

“Of course,” she said, trying to keep her voice upbeat.

LUCA

Luca put his hand on Hayley’s waist and gently kissed her soft lips.

For him, last night was over and done with. He was trained to move on and get ready for the next hand he had to play. But Hayley wasn’t programmed that way. She had questions, and he knew eventually he’d have to answer them.

He was about to ask her if she was ready to talk, but a loud knock stopped him. He sighed loudly.

“Entra!” he called out, pulling up the sheets so they covered more of Hayley.

Nic opened the door. “Sorry, Boss.” He glanced toward Hayley, quickly averted his eyes, then continued in Italian. “~We have some information you’ll want to hear.~”

“I’ll meet you and Frankie in the study.”

As soon as Nic left, Luca stood up and began to get changed. He didn’t have time for a shower—he had an empire to run, detectives to hunt, and traitors to take care of.

“I’ve got work to do,” he said, putting on one of his pressed shirts as he walked to the dressing table. He pulled open the drawer containing his ties and selected a dark blue one.

“As do I.” Hayley looked up from her phone. “Siobhan texted me. There’s a breakfast meeting at nine thirty.”

“I’ll have Ric drive you.” Luca pulled his jacket on before walking toward her and kissing her on the head. “I’ll pick you up after work, and we’ll have a very late supper together.”

When he stepped into his study down the hall, both his right hands were waiting for him. Nic was sitting on the chair opposite the desk, and Frankie was perched on the desk facing Nic. They stopped talking when Luca came in.

“What’s going on then?” His tone was abrupt as he took his seat behind the desk.

He lit a cigarette as Frankie settled into the chair beside Nic.

“Our police informant, Toby Sanchez,” Frankie began. “He heard Detective Blake…Adam Marino—or whatever he’s calling himself—getting told off by his superior.”

Luca blew out some smoke and smiled smugly as Frankie continued.

“His superior wanted him off the case, but Marino convinced him this setback wouldn’t stop him. He believes the families’ alliance will fail.”

Luca remained silent, slowly puffing his cigarette. Frankie smiled a little before he spoke again.

“You see, Toby said Marino thinks we’ll destroy each other before he has to do it. His new plan is to watch the families tear each other apart, then swoop in.”

Luca said nothing as he stubbed out his cigarette. He was busy thinking.

“You have a plan?” Nic pressed, and Luca smirked.

“~Always.~”

Frankie chuckled. “After last night, we’d expect nothing less. Are you going to let us in on it?”

“Our detective friend has given us so much to work with… But let’s take one thing at a time.” Luca looked at Nic. “Borroni’s rat?”

Nic handed him a file. “Vitali has given us everything we need, but we should act fast. Keep the pressure on Marino.”

As Luca nodded at Nic’s suggestion—which echoed his own thinking—a slight smile curved his lips. Tomorrow night, the three of them would go hunting for a rat.

HAYLEY

“It’s been a pleasure to do business with you, ladies.” The liquor supplier stood up and shook her hand, then Siobhan’s, before leaving the restaurant.

“Impressive.” Siobhan smiled as she sat back down and poured them both more coffee. “He’s normally too cheap to come down on price, but he was like putty in your hands.”

“He’s a pussycat, really.”

Siobhan picked up her coffee and took a sip. “I heard about the police raid on Luca’s casino last night.”

At Hayley’s look of surprise, Siobhan chuckled. “Nothing slips past my radar, little bird. And men aren’t careful what they say in the Venetian… Do you want to talk about it?”

Hayley dropped her head and shrugged.

“Hayley.” Siobhan’s voice was stern, making Hayley look up.

“I’m fine.”

Siobhan raised her eyebrows. “That’s not what I asked.”

“Luca knew about the raid,” Hayley whispered, staring down at her coffee. She was still coming to terms with everything.

“Of course he did.”

Siobhan’s words made Hayley snap her head up.

Siobhan laughed lightly. “You’re still such a wide-eyed innocent, Hayley. Luca has a lot of practice staying one step ahead of cops, other families, and anyone else who wants to take him down.

“He’s allied himself with two other families. He knows there’s at least one rat, if not more, in his family. So he knew the cop behind all this would make an elaborate attempt to take him down.

“The casino night was the bait he used to lure him out.”

Hayley took a second to take everything in. This wasn’t a game; it was a war between the cops and the Mafia, and of course cops and criminals were never going to see eye to eye.

But last night, Luca had described it as a game of cat and mouse. And what did that make her? The cheese? The mouse poison? The bag used to kill the cat?

“What happened the last time the families allied themselves together?”

Siobhan shook her head. “You should ask Luca that.”

“You know he won’t tell me. But you can.”

“Fine.” Siobhan said after a moment. “I suppose you have a right to know. You are, after all, in bed with the leader of the Marcello family.”

Siobhan paused, and Hayley leaned forward, eager for some insight into the world she’d been plunged into.

“It was a long time ago. Luca’s father was in his late teens, and Giovanni Marcello, Senior, Luca’s grandfather, was in charge of the family.

“It was an exceedingly bloody time—the three major families were in a war over turf, guns, women, and liquor—and a crusading cop vowed to clean the streets and take down the families.”

She tried to picture it. New York, what, more than forty years ago?

“The Marcello family was the first targeted. Rats were deployed, traps were set, and Giovanni Senior was so lost in the chaos, he nearly lost everything.”

Siobhan sighed and played with her cup, her eyes looking distant, and Hayley wondered what kind of painful memories this story brought up for her.

“Matteo Genovese’s grandfather, Lorenzo Borroni’s grandfather, and Giovanni Senior called a truce, and the three families secretly worked together for a while to bring down the cop.

“He was killed in a major shootout, and the families were forced underground.

“For a while, the slain cop was labeled a hero, a martyr for New York City. He’d done what he set out to do, and for a few months, the streets were clean.”

Hayley could tell there was a ~but~ coming—the streets didn’t stay clean for long.

“When the families returned to the surface, no one could be charged with his murder.

“It was brought to light that the cop had money in Genovese’s dirty companies, had worked his way up being an informant for Borroni, and had continuously turned a blind eye to Marcello’s blatant drug trafficking.

“The city fell into anarchy. Who could the public trust? Well, that was when the families won back the fickle trust of the public.

“The police tried again to get to the families, harassing the public, and the public turned to the families for protection from the cops.”

Hayley shook her head. “I have a feeling that didn’t end well. I mean, the detective said last night that it was an alliance that killed Luca’s grandfather.”

Siobhan nodded. “It was. Borroni reached out to Giovanni, asking for a meeting over territory. Giovanni believed Borroni wanted to ally with him against Genovese.

“But Borroni owed Genovese, and Genovese wanted to take out Giovanni for personal reasons.”

Hayley felt sick as she listened, even though she knew how the story would end.

“Foolishly, Giovanni Senior went alone. He was shot. Genovese killed him. Borroni stood by.”

Siobhan looked off into the distance. “I remember the press talking about it for weeks, but nobody was arrested and the police closed the case.

“It was gang warfare, criminal on criminal crime. No innocent was hurt, so they didn’t continue their investigation.”

Siobhan dropped her eyes and shook her head. “The Marcello family was in tatters. Men changed alliances or ran to Italy or wherever they could seek refuge.”

“How did the family survive?” Hayley asked, fascinated by Luca’s history and his family’s legacy.

“A few good men.” Siobhan smiled. “Giovanni Senior had a handful of fiercely loyal soldiers. He also had two sons, Giovanni and Stefano.

“Giovanni was the older of the two. Nineteen at the time. He took over and, like the phoenix, the Marcellos rose from the ashes.”

Hayley thought of the tattoo on Luca’s shoulder blade; it was of a phoenix and underneath, in neat calligraphy, was his family name.

Siobhan ended the conversation, explaining that Hayley was never to repeat what she’d been told. And she made it clear that if Hayley wanted to know more about his family, Luca was the one she should ask.

“But be careful, Hayley. Luca is a protective man, and he will protect his family ~first~. Ask too many questions, and you may not like what you get back.”

A warning Hayley had heard before, but she nodded solemnly as if it were the first time she’d heard it.

***

Hayley sighed as Evelyn finished yet another song. “I love her voice.”

For dinner, Luca had brought her back to the bar where she’d first heard Evelyn sing. And as he wined and dined her, they spoke about everything—except what happened last night.

She found out his favorite color was blue and his favorite food was cannoli—particularly real ones from Sicily. And she told him her favorite color was deep purple and that she’d wanted to be a dance teacher.

“Dance with me?” Luca stood up and held his hand out for her to take, and a huge smile lit up his face when she did.

She let him lead her to the dance floor, where they glided elegantly to the music as Luca held her close. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating.

“I wish I could tell you everything,” he murmured in her ear.

“Why can’t you?” she whispered, and he pulled away so she was looking up at him. His face was hard, but not angry.

“Because it’s too dangerous. Everything I do is dangerous.”

Evelyn started another song, and he pulled her back into his chest.

“I want to understand last night,” she whispered, as they slowly swayed to the music.

He nodded. “But not tonight. Let me enjoy you tonight.”

She shook her head against his chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Come on.” He took her hand and walked back to the table, grabbing his jacket from the gold chair. “Let’s go home, baby.”

He pulled her into him and kissed her like she’d never been kissed. Tomorrow was another day, but tonight was tonight, and she longed for his touch.