“What is it?” Don Guiseppe asked.
Romeo straightened up in front of him. “It’s my family. I’m the only Necci left, and some of my relatives won’t be too happy about what happened last night. It’s going to take some serious firepower to get them to accept me as their don.”
“Of course,” Nicky cut in. “You don’t have to worry about that. We’ll straighten them out.”
“They’ll listen to you more than me,” Romeo went on. “Some of the troops I would use to enforce my authority will be the same people who will turn against me if I try.”
“Forget it,” Nicky fired back. “We’ll handle it. We can bring in the Terranovas to bolster the Leone numbers and make sure no one causes any trouble.” He turned to Leo and Don Vincenzo. “Right?”
“Absolutely, Padrino,” Don Vincenzo replied. “Anything you need, don’t hesitate to call on us.”
“You have our full support too,” Don Guiseppe added. “Perhaps it would be better to incorporate the Necci territory into Padrino’s empire and eliminate the threat entirely.”
“No!” Nicky countered. “No one is taking anything from Romeo. He’s Don Marco’s son. He deserves to inherit his father’s organization, especially after last night.”
Romeo burst into a big smile at him. “Thank you, Padrino. You’re very generous.”
“I told you to forget it. No one is taking anything from you, although we might have to negotiate on the territory your father stole in the last few months.”
“Of course, Padrino.”
“Stop calling me that!” Nicky clamped his mouth shut and let out the tiniest gasp of exasperation. “Sorry. I’m still trying to understand all this.”
A soft noise of approaching footsteps made everyone look toward the door again. It eased back, and Gia stepped in.
She looked extremely tired but much more relaxed since we brought her home last night. She’d been in her room ever since, and none of us had dared to disturb her.
Don Guiseppe smiled at her and turned back to Nicky. “I can see you have business to attend to. Please contact us at the Ritz Carlton if you need anything at all.”
“Thank you,” he choked. Then he had to stand there while they all kissed his hand and then hugged and kissed him on the cheeks.
Don Giovanni and Don Bruno exclaimed all over again what an honor and a privilege it was to serve him and how thrilled they were to find him after all these years.
He put up with it, and then he had to stand there and put up with Don Vincenzo and Don Antonio doing exactly the same thing. I was really starting to feel for the guy by the time Don Vincenzo went over to Cesare. “Are you coming home, Bambino?”
“I’m staying here for a while, Papa. I’ll call you.”
Don Vincenzo only smiled. “I understand.”
They hugged and kissed. Gia stood off to one side and watched the whole excruciating process, but the Italian dons didn’t leave without kissing her and wishing her well numerous times.
GIA
The Italian dons finally left, and a tense silence fell over the office. I looked around at the four men—Leo, Nicky, Romeo, and Cesare.
“What’s going on? I mean,” I waved at Nicky, “besides the obvious?”
He staggered away and collapsed in the chair behind the desk. He turned it to the side and stared off into space.
I still found it hard to believe what Leo told me on the way home last night. I had difficulty understanding it with so much adrenaline pumping through my veins. I got kidnapped by the Neccis and almost thought Romeo was going to kill me.
The truth didn’t sink in until hours later, but now I saw it all with my own eyes. The Italian dons kissed Nicky’s hand and called him Don Niccolò and pledged their service to him. He was the godfather of all New York and had an even bigger operation going in Italy and beyond.
He was richer, more powerful, and more influential than any of them. He might even be the most powerful Italian mob boss in the world.
Why did that surprise me? Why did any of this surprise me? It didn’t really. I should have known from the beginning that there was more to Nicky than what met the eye.
Leo came over to me and took my hands. He pulled me into the room. “What’s going on, Princess, is that you’re marrying Nicky.”