Noah looked at his soldier. "Have you made up your mind about going back?" he asked, suspecting that Nicodemo wouldn’t refuse his father.
The Enforcer sighed. "My brother is facing extortion charges. If he goes to jail, I won’t have any other choice."
"Your father wants you, doesn’t he?"
"Yes, but I’m not the oldest son, and most captains in Sicily would prefer to keep their customs intact. To be honest, I am praying that he manages to get out of this mess because I certainly wouldn’t wish to go back. But I am thinking of flying my sister here after my father’s death. She will have a hard time there all by herself. Especially since her husband has been killed," he said, turning his gaze briefly to his Capo.
One of Nicodemo’s sisters, Nicolina Accardi, was a twenty-two-year-old woman, who up until six months ago had been married to one of the captains in Palermo. However, by Noah’s order, he had been murdered because he’d been discovered hiding a big percentage of his earnings. He was the second in his family to suffer this fate, following in his father’s footsteps - he had been killed by Noah himself. His first act as a Famigliainitiate meant to turn him into a Made Man.
When Noah had been fifteen years old, he was already trying to somehow be more involved in the Famiglia’s business. And by pure coincidence, he had found out that the old man was engaged in pimping women without his Capo’sapproval. And just as his son, later on, he was keeping way too much money for himself.
As it had been Noah’s discovery, he was the one supposed to kill the man. It turned into the job that he needed to do during his initiation process. And just like that, Noah Falcone became the youngest member of the Sicilian Mafia.By proving himself useful and loyal to the cause.
"Hasn’t she remarried?"
"She should, but it’s still early. Besides, father is nowhere near capable of looking for a husband for her. And she says she wants to choose for herself this time, seeing as we already wasted her first marriage by giving her to a man who wasn’t worthy."
Noah laughed. "So you are to take over finding someone for her?"
Nicodemo snorted. He was the last person who should be looking for a good match within the Famiglia for his sister. He didn’t believe in love at all. Rather affection, desire and pure lust. "She will choose. Just like she wanted. If I go back to Sicily, my first fucking order as Capodecina won’t be to bind my sister to a miserable life just because it suits the business. And if she comes here, I’m not high enough in the rankings to do it for her anyway."
What Noah admired in his Enforcer was his common sense and dedication to both the Famigliaand his family. He knew his strengths and weaknesses, and never intended to inflict any harm on those he admired and respected through them. The Capowasn’t even sure he would act the same way if his sister was still alive. He would find her a good match, but probably one that was tightly linked to the business thriving. On the other hand, Nicodemo didn’t trust himself enough to choose well because he realized that he didn’t know what to look for in a man. How to find the one that would treat his sister right. And after being apart for so long, he probably didn’t even know her that well anyway.
"Well, I don’t really want you to leave. Nevertheless, right now, I could use your presence there, too. My grandmother has asked me to save the house she used to live in with my grandfather. My cousin apparently wants to bring it down. I called him today." He paused briefly. "It appears that he has financial problems. He invested in a shady deal without doing a proper background check on his associate. And now I need to fucking send money to them to settle the issue. Four fucking millions," he seethed.
Normally, he would get rid of his cousin as Capodecinabecause of such an idiotic business move, but he still trusted him in terms of character, and wouldn’t know who to appoint in his place.
"How are you planning on giving him the money?" Nicodemo asked.
They drove to the underground parking lot in the penthouse building. "I’ll leave that to Flavio. He’s going to find the best solution. A wire transfer can be way too risky because of that fucking prosecutor. He’s dead but his impeachment is still a pain in the ass, and the FBI is most likely trying to infiltrate our organization as we speak."
CHAPTER 35
The moment Inéz stepped into the VIP room, she inhaled deeply and coughed immediately, feeling the thick cigarette smoke fill up her lungs. The nasty habit of many Made Men wasn’t surprising for her anymore. After the time she’d spent working in the club, she could count on one hand the mobsters who hadn’t smoked once. And right now, there were three men inside the room, all indulging in the vice. Gastone was sitting on a long, white couch that spread on the other side of the room, overlooking the small bar area. Next to him was as usual Alberto, and with a drink in his hand, there was another person, who the girl hadn’t seen before. He was tall and lean, with a bald head and small, beady green eyes that lingered on her way too long for her liking.
Inéz cleared her throat quietly, wondering whether it was a good thing that she wasn’t alone with her boss, or if she should be terrified because there were two more men who looked the furthest thing from nice. Alberto snorted, acknowledging the girl. He had been keeping a close eye on her since the very beginning. There was no doubt he
