"I believe there’s no use explaining why Ryder will agree to become my man."
As much as Drew hated the mafia, he would do anything for Lynette. Even if his father was chasing the very same organization he would become a part of. That was the most ironic part of the deal. Mark Ryder, as an FBI agent, was after criminals and Noah had every intention of making his son one as well. Putting to the test the father’s love for his child. Such situations were what the Capolived for. He was getting off just by thinking about it.
Twisted fucker, that’s who he was.
Silence fell over them. Noah had won this round.
"I will take that as an agreement. My brother will contact you with further information after we have arranged all the details. You will train with my men and become my soldiers soon after. I trust you will give it your all and learn as quickly as possible. We can’t wait forever, hoping the Bratva won’t kill Lynette. That is, of course, if they even have her, to begin with," he said, pushing his hands off the table. "Do you have any questions?"
Inéz nodded her head.
Noah had known from the start that she would have more than one question. She was too noisy for her own sake sometimes. He challengingly looked at her, waving for her to ask.
"Why are you helping Lynette? Did you really care about her that much?" Noah couldn’t figure out if she asked out of curiosity or slight jealousy.
"I don’t care about anyone, cara. Don’t mistake my actions for anything other than business. The Bratva has been stepping on my toes for years now. I have no intention of letting them get any farther than they already have."
It was true but not entirely.
Flavio knew that somehow, in his own way, his older brother had cared about Lynette. But he didn’t say anything.
"So you plan on marrying her after that?" Inéz thought of his business as a marriage. He laughed.
"No, cara. I am a possessive man, but Lynette was never mine, to begin with," his eyes focused on Drew once more. "She’s not my type anyway. If it wasn’t for my father, Lynette would have never been my choice. She got on my last nerves way more than I enjoyed."
"Then what are you planning on doing with her?" Drew was getting impatient because the man played it nicely bouncing back the answers. They weren’t as straight as he’d like them to be.
"That’s my business, Ryder. You must simply focus on becoming a great soldier. And perhaps Lynette will be yours afterwards."
That was what Drew had wanted to hear all along. That there was a way for them to be together as he’d always dreamed of. Because of those words, he swore to himself that as much as he hated the mafia, he would become the best man Noah had ever had. If it meant he could have Lynette, there wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do.
CHAPTER 4
After the betrayal that had happened in the Seattle Famiglia, many things had changed. Emilio Meccuci wouldn’t stand for any other form of a scheme casting a shadow over his mafia ever again. Being the acting boss after his Capo had gotten thrown in jail had taught him more than all the years under the man’s command. Henceforth, many rules had needed to be sharpened and now bore no resemblance to the old ones. He wanted to make the underworld better and unabashedly safer for when he could get Severo Selvaggio out of his cell and give him the reigns of command again.
However, that wouldn’t happen as, surprisingly, the man fully confessed to his dealings and took all the guilt upon himself. It kept the Famiglia somewhat safe, but also extremely visible to the public eye as many reporters started conducting their own investigations, wondering whether the man was actually telling the truth.
No one believed it for a second. Not the police, not the FBI, and not even the people who had only heard about the mafia through the newspaper and the internet. But no one would openly fight their way to find out the real reason behind his actions. Get information as to why Severo Selvaggio had thrown his life away when he could have pleaded guilty to only a few misdemeanors, gotten ten years, and be out in seven. Everyone would cut offtheir hand before saying that the man had wanted justice for the death of his teenage daughter. Even though the supposed killer had died, he would go after the family. Revenge was the best way of handling things in the underworld, after all. The only one that provided some kind of reassurance that no one died in vain. Especially a sixteen-year-old girl who'd had her whole life ahead.
But what few people knew was that Severo blamed himself more than anyoneelse. Not even Marco Falcone who’d pulled the trigger. Because nothing of the sorts would have happened if not for him choosing to put theFamigliaabove anything else. And even if he believed that his decisions wouldn’t affect his family, it turned out that he was left with no family whatsoever because he hadn’t been able to let it go. At least once in his life.
So, after many questioning sessions with FBI agents, their convincing threats making him remember his daughter’s limp body on the cold floor of the aircraft hangar, he gave up. Exactly on the second anniversary of her death. Because for once he realized that he deserved to answer for all the wrong decisions he’d made because there could be someone out there paying the ultimate price for his actions. Just like Lynette
