Riding Dirty: Luciotti Crime Family (A Bad Boy Mafia Romance) - Kara Hart Page 0,51
said. Of course, this was a huge blow to Ricky, who had lost his wife years ago. Dad never liked the woman, even though she was the best thing to have ever happened to him.
“He’ll tear down this family, pops. Do you want that to be a part of your legacy?”
Dad got out of his chair and walked slowly up to Ricky. He muttered under his breath, with scraping teeth and clenched fists “I want you to get one thing straight. Whatever happens to this family after I die is up to you two. It can fall into the gutter for all I care. I’ll be dead. My fortune will mean nothing to me. But I don’t see Lucas ruining this family. No, the only person I see ruining anything is you, Ricky. Quite frankly I don’t even know what we’re doing here talking about this. Congratulations, Lucas.” My father sat back down, blowing perfect smoke rings into the air.
Ricky’s face turned red. I interjected. “He’s blowing this all out of proportion. I’m not settling down. I’m just helping the woman out. She’s had a rough life, okay? Plus, she’s given me some good information on Cade. I got Vincenzo and his men on the hunt for him as well. It won’t be long before we have him in this basement, begging for his life.” I made my case and I was ready to go home.
“Good, son. You work clean. In all the years you’ve been working for me, we’ve had no trouble on your side. No Fed action, no betrayals. You’ve been good to me.” He squeezed my cheek and lightly tapped it. “Ricky. It’s time you become more like your brother. You want a good position in this family? You want respect? Wise up and act like a made man for once in your life.”
The scene was fucking depressing. I gladly peeled out of that driveway and sped back to Monroe within the hour. It was like night versus day to me. I didn't even feel like I was a part of my family anymore. Seeing Dahlia and the way she treated Jen, I realized that there was more to family than I ever had experienced before. Part of me wanted that life. But deep down I was a killer and a thug.
My first “to do” on the list for the day was talk to Carmelo. If he had any information on Cade, now was the time to tell me. Thankfully, there was no need to chase him down. When I pulled into the driveway, there he was, smoking a cigarette, leaning against the house.
“Morning,” I said, getting out of the car to shake his hand.
“Did you have a party last night or something?” he asked, peering into the window to the house.
I unlocked it and walked into the debris and rubble from my violent episode the other day. “Sorry about the mess.” I kicked a piece of the wood table out of the way. “I'd offer you a drink, but as you can see, it's a mess in here.”
“It's fine. I shouldn't hang around too long anyway. Got a business to run in the morning,” he said. I had the strangest desire to ask him what the special was tomorrow, but I held back. Either way, I'd be in first in line.
“What do you got for me?” I sighed. It was getting tiring asking the same questions over and over.
“An address.” He threw an envelope on the ground. “Cade. We found him in an abandoned location nearby.”
“How nearby?” I stepped over a piece of glass and grabbed a cup of water. It must have been nearly a day since I had anything to drink.
“Parched?” he asked me. I couldn't help but wonder why he was asking.
“How nearby is he?” I repeated. The old man was acting funny, like he was in a hurry, practically dancing on his heels. I leaned against my dinged up counter and watched him out of the corner of my eye.
“Oh, right.” He regained some of his composure and put his hands in his pocket. “It's close. Down south, maybe two or three miles. By the water.”
By the water. I thought back to the other night with all the fireworks and distractions. He must've been watching us, somewhere in the crowd. He was most likely hovering nearby. It made me wonder just how long he’d been out there, waiting for me to discover his whereabouts. What exactly did he have in store for