She looked back at him, shocked by the information he had given her. “So, you will take your father’s place one day?”
He ran his thumb over the dark silk, feeling its soft texture. “Yes.”
She should have expected that he would, but a part of her seemed to have blocked it out, not wanting him to continue the dangerous lifestyle.
“Who will take your place as the underboss, then?” Each question she asked and each answer he gave only made more questions arise.
“It depends on when I take his place. Most likely, it will be Nero, if he wants it.”
“Oh.” I wonder if Elle knows that. “How old were you when you became the underboss?”
“My father had appointed Enzo his underboss until I was ready. He didn’t carry the last name Caruso, so I took his place when I became twenty-one.”
“They made you the underboss so young?”
He smiled at her obvious concern. “Well, I became a made man when I was seventeen.”
“You did? You weren’t even an adult.” She didn’t think it was possible to become even more shocked.
“Yes, you are to be of age when you become made, but I was the exception.”
Chloe swallowed. “W-Why?”
“I did something that would only scare you away from me if I told you.” He unraveled her hair, only to wind it around his finger again. “Maybe one day I will tell you, darlin’, but not today.”
Taking her eyes off him, she was more than thankful that he hadn’t told her, knowing that whatever it was had to be horrific for him to be made that young.
“What do you do as the underboss?”
“I make sure the family runs smoothly, and that my men are in order, along with many other things.”
She remembered then about Sal telling her he had given Nero, Amo, and Vincent their jobs.
“What job did you give Amo?” she asked.
A smile started to appear on his face. “What makes you ask that?”
“Sal told me he worked in the basement of the casino.”
“Really?” he asked, still smiling. “Sal talked to you about the family?”
“Yes. Well, sort of.” She looked down at her hands. “He told me you were the vice president.”
Lucca threw his head back, laughing, which she didn’t appreciate very much since it was at the cost of her naïveté.
“It’s not that funny,” she said when he didn’t stop laughing.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. You’re right.” He got out one last small laugh before continuing, “What did Sal tell you about Amo’s job?”
“Nothing really.” She shrugged. “He just said that you gave Amo, Nero, and Vincent a job in the basement, but said that Nero and Vincent wanted to be transferred out for some reason. Sal did specifically tell me to tell you that Amo loves his job, and even Maria said he loves it.”
The smile on his face had yet to disappear while he kept spinning her hair. “They did, huh?”
“Yes.” What is going on? Something told her she might not want to hear exactly what Amo did.
“Well, the basement is actually an underground casino. They are kind of like bouncers.”
She looked at him strangely. “An underground casino below a casino?”
Lucca winked. “Exactly.”
An illegal casino covered by a legit one? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense, yet also only confused her more.
She gave up trying to understand it. She still felt like she was missing something, though.
“What do the bouncers do exactly?”
“They watch the floor, looking out for any customers who may not be following the rules and also making sure that the customers, along with the workers, are safe at all times.”
“Oh, that sounds kinda nice.” They make sure everyone’s safe. “Why do Nero and Vincent hate it then?”
“You would have to ask them. I put a lot of thought into giving them that position, and I thought they would all love it, not just Amo.” He thought about it for a second. “Well, Vincent did love it there for a while … Maybe one day, I’ll show you down there and you can find out for yourself.”
Chloe stared at him for a second, thinking he looked awfully innocent, but she didn’t know why.
“You won’t give Nero and Vincent a new job?”
His innocent act quickly changed to a sinister one. “I can, but that doesn’t mean I want to, or that I will. They need to work up from the bottom like everyone else.”
She could understand that they were new to the family and shouldn’t get special treatment. At least Amo’s happy.
Her mind instantly drifted to sad thoughts of being locked up here without her friends.
Sitting back up against the couch, she sat stiffly again without realizing she had loosened up or the fact his dark jeans had been touching her arm, which she suddenly moved.
A scent of strong, clean mint touched her nose. It was so fresh and cool, almost tingly. Taking a deeper breath made her recognize the scent was him.