“They’re declaring war,” my brother Ricardo says. “It’s all-out war.”
“We should give a strong response. Show them we won’t back down or cower.” It’s my father's suggestion, but I shake my head.
“Cool heads must prevail. If we start retaliating, they’ll attack us, and on it will go. No, we need to hit them where it hurts.”
Everyone is silent as I think, I go outside, leaving them standing there, and I light my cigar and come back. I don’t normally smoke inside, but I make exceptions.
“We need to take one of their own to bargain with. Not only will we get our revenge, but we will also get a piece of their pie.”
“Jose Catalan tried to take members of that family, but it didn’t end well for him,” Jarred says from his spot in the back right.
I shake my head. “They tried to take Frankie and Dominic, strong men who know how to fight back. We need someone easy to take, the weakest link in the family that Alessandro will bend the knee for. We need to take Arianna Sorvino.”
I smirk as my father nods his approval. “It could just work.”
I look at Lyle and Jarred. “She’s about five foot four inches with blue-gray eyes and dark hair. She’s often with her brother Dominic at La Club. Go find her and bring her to me discreetly.”
They hurry off without a word, and I sit back in my high-back chair. “The rest of you set up tight security here and at the estate at Long Beach. I want everyone on this.” I take a deep drag of my cigar as everyone starts filing out.
“You look like you haven’t slept….”
“In thirteen years?” I finish my father's question. “That’s because I don’t sleep, Padre. Now, you’re not hanging around just to check if I’m getting a good night's rest, are you?” My green eyes meet his hazel ones, and he nods.
“So much like your mother. You have her eyes,” he comments.
“So you tell me every chance you get,” I stub out the cigar. “What is it, Padre?”
“Be careful declaring war on powerful families because you don’t know if the other families will side with you or betray you,” he says casually as though I don’t know this simple fact. It’s very hard to respect him when he speaks to me, his Don, with such a condescending tone.
I sit back and steeply my fingers over my knee, my leg crossed over the other. “I don’t need other families to align with me. If they take the losing side, I will simply wipe them out of New York like I will Don Sorvino.”
My father chuckles. “I admire your spirit, boy. Use your head. You were always excellent at long-term strategies. I trust you, don’t make that an unfounded fact.”
He gets up, takes a Cuban cigar out of the box, and pulls his lips down in a gesture that shows he’s mildly impressed. He pockets it and walks out.
I watch as the door closes behind him, and I sigh. My father is a tough man to please, but I won’t completely disregard his advice. I know what I’m doing will be seen as a declaration of war.
Maybe it’s time.
Maybe it’s come to that.
Maybe Kira coming back is the sign that it’s time for this battle to begin.
Chapter 5 - Kira
I open Raphael’s door to find him still asleep. Good. I go to him and tuck the blankets in around him. Seeing Miguel at La Club was jarring, and then of all things, he tried to kiss me. As though thirteen years haven’t passed between us. I didn’t understand back then what our families being at war meant, now I do, and he acted as though I was just his for the taking.
I kiss Raphael’s head and smile. Miguel can never know about him. I will not let him take my son away from me.
I walk back to the living room, where Sofia is setting up her laptop.
“Thanks again for doing this, Sofia. Arianna offered to send someone to collect the financial reports, but I have to go to the dock anyway to get fresh fish for the bistro,” I say.
Sofia smiles brightly at me. “It’s really no problem. I have to study for an upcoming exam anyway, so I don’t mind the peace and quiet at all. Dom has already gone off to do whatever he does now, so I was alone anyway.”
“Still, thank you. If you can, just make sure Raphael eats all his breakfast and takes his lunch. He catches the bus just down the road, but I don’t like him to walk alone,” I explain to her.
She nods. “That’s easy. I’ll make sure it’s all done. You go, and just be safe, OK.”