When Nico didn’t rise to the bait, I tamped down my irritation. “You know your sister Leda is carrying Valentino’s bastard child, but I’ll take care of that. The heir I put in her, is gonna have one hell of a legacy to uphold.”
Nico stared at me before a laugh bubbled from his chest. “Is that what you think, Gallo? You trust my father this much? You think he’s actually going to let you have my sister? You?”
I clenched my jaw. “That’s the agreement we have.”
Carmine himself had promised that I could have his daughter when we agreed to work together. It was something he made clear to me right before we gunned down all the other Dons in his basement. Leda had escaped through my fingers once before, but I didn’t plan on it happening again.
Nico shook his head, a grin on his face despite his injuries, and I felt annoyance rising up at the way he refused to accept the truth.
“You dumb idiot,” Nico said. “You don’t know my father at all.” His eyes met mine. “Do you really think that he’s going to let you have any piece of this empire if you win against Valentino? He didn’t come from prison to be toppled by an impulsive upstart like you. He plans on being the Don of Dons, which means you have a target on your head the moment he’s done with this war.”
I opened my mouth to retort, but found myself curious at his words instead. Carmine had promised me many things once Valentino and his supporters were dead. Leda was one of them, but the larger piece was to let me run all of Manhattan and Brooklyn as I saw fit.
“Nice try,” I replied. “But your father keeps his word to those who support him.”
Nico laughed. The laugh quickly turned to a cough, and he spat a gob of bloody phlegm at my feet.
“Like I said. You don’t know my father at all. What did he promise you?”
“That’s not your concern.” I replied.
“See,” Nico continued. “That’s where you’re wrong. If I had to guess, he used you to get to me. He’ll kill me, he’ll kill Rory, and then he’ll turn my children into ruthless monsters just like him.”
He looked at me, his eyes flashing. “And where do you think that leaves you?”
I tried to keep my expression neutral, not willing to show him that his words were getting to me. All Carmine told me was to deliver Nico and his family. Nothing more.
Was Nico telling the truth about Carmine’s plans? Was all of this just a ruse? Was I used?
No! I refused to believe it. This wasn’t what we agreed on. I had my rightful seat at the table. I sat as Carmine’s equal as we slaughtered the other Dons. I was promised his daughter. I was promised everything!
If Carmine thought he could just throw me aside like a used condom after he was done… Well, he’d have another thing coming to him.
Think you can double-cross me, old man?
“Got you thinking, huh?” Nico grunted. “It sucks, doesn’t it, Gallo? Not knowing what your future now holds.” He shifted in the chair. Despite the ties that held him in place, I couldn’t help but notice how he looked unconcerned about being there.
“Shut up,” I snapped. I didn’t like the doubt that was creeping into my mind now, the future that I thought was in my grasp now seeming like it was a million miles away.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” he stated, a hint of desperation in his voice. “Let my family go, and pretend that I got them out of there. You can hand me over to my father if you like. But leave my family out of it.”
They were the words of a desperate man, trying to save his family. “Why should I?” I asked, curious.
There was real fear in Nico’s eyes when he spoke. “You have no idea what my father is capable of,” he finally said, swallowing. “You think you’ve seen the worst from him? You haven’t. And by the time you realized you’ve walked too far with the devil, you’re already trapped in hell.”
“So?” I asked. “How does letting your family go benefit me?”
Carmine would be pissed to know that the family had gotten away. I had heard him mentioning the kids more than once.
Nico gave me a hard smile. “You want a real bargaining chip against my father? You have to know what he wants. To him, legacy is all that matters. As far as he’s concerned, I’m a failed legacy, and so is Leda. But the children… he can still mold them. In your hands, they’re pocket aces. You hand them to him, he’ll shoot you right then and there, and not lose a damn thing.”
As much as I hated it, I knew there was a shred of truth in Nico’s words. It made sense. Old school Dons like Carmine cared too much about legacy. Hell, if Cosimo gave a shit about legacy the same way Carmine did, I’d have been Don and none of this would be happening.
And the truth was, I believed Nico when he said that Carmine could betray me at any moment. In the past few weeks, I saw how everyone looked to Carmine for a decision. We jumped at his command—even men from the Cavazzo Mafia. The ones who didn’t found themselves dead and floating in the Hudson.
“Save my family,” Nico offered softly. “And it’s your best shot at staying alive.”
I mulled the decision in my head. It wasn’t like he was asking me to turn my back on his father. He was just asking me to take on some insurance against Carmine. It wasn’t necessarily a bad decision.
I let my arms drop to my sides, knowing I had only a few minutes to make a decision. Once I stepped out of this room, all bets would be off. I would either be secure in what I knew I wanted for the future or constantly keep one eye over my shoulder, worried about when Carmine was going to strike.
I moved toward Nico. He didn’t even flinch when I leaned down, putting my lips to the level of his ear. “Fine,” I said, the words coming easier than I had thought. “You have yourself a deal.”
“Smart man,” he murmured. “Probably the best fucking decision you’ve made with a D’Agostino.”