had fought such crews again and again, and he’d always prevailed. Each time he’d prevailed, he’d pulled more power to himself, like a warrior eating the heart of his enemy.
And yet the wars came, and even the vermin drew blood.
“No,” Nick said again.
“Everything’s in place, don,” Bruno said. “Just waitin’ on my go.”
Nick turned his cool focus on the Sacco underboss. “You put this whole plan in place since last night? You want to make a move like this on a few hours’ planning?”
Bruno’s shifty eyes told him the truth. The Saccos had had this plan moving already. He turned to Angie, fresh betrayal threatening to pull down the walls around his calm. “How long?”
“A few weeks. Since the last ambush at the Maine border. That lost us almost a mill in product and half that much in payoffs to get border patrol to stand down. Giada had plans to put a few other small pieces in motion in New York after the holidays, but we can move without that. We need to bring this back hard on Cuccia or he will wipe us out. He’ll take us all down from his terrazza in Sicily. But Nick, we wouldn’t have moved without you knowing. I wouldn’t have let that happen.”
Bruno huffed quietly.
“It’s the wrong move,” Nick insisted, because he was right.
“It’s a move,” Bruno countered. “We’ve been playin’ defense all this time, slapping back after we get spanked. We need to go on offense.”
“No.” Nick stood again. He set his hands atop the back of the pew and bore down. “We are fighting a just war. Defense is where we belong. Our position is that we want only to form our families our way and aren’t trying to change anything else. We are fighting for our home. Cuccia is the invader.”
“And he invaded New York with that compound.”
“New York. Not New England. If Sal Romano or any other New York don asks for our help pushing Cuccia from their state, I will stand with them. When he moves on our turf, we answer. But if this war is ever to end, we need the other families in Sicily to stand back. We need Jersey to stand back. To get their tolerance, we have to be defending ourselves. And not blowing a fucking hole in fucking Poughkeepsie!”
He’d been yelling. All three men facing him looked stunned. Nick tried for a deep breath, winced when his ribs protested, and sat back down. “You’re right, Angie. Cuccia sits on his terrazza in Sicily and flicks his fingers, and we suffer here. I need him here. I need him back in the States, sitting across from me at a negotiating table.”
“You still want to negotiate with him?” Angie nearly gasped. “Nick, what? He threw your negotiations in your face and then he broke a holy truce! He killed Elisa! He tried to kill Giada and Trey—and you! He has no honor, so why the fuck do you think a negotiation would fix anything?”
“I didn’t say I wanted to negotiate with him. I said I wanted him sitting across from me at the table.”
“So you can watch him die,” Donnie said quietly.
“Exactly.” Nick focused his attention on Angie. “From his terrazza he flicked his fingers, and my daughter is dead. Trey and Giada were almost killed. On Christmas Eve, as we were headed to Mass. Cuccia does not survive that. But he will be in my house, looking into my eyes, when he dies.”
He sat back. “Blowing the compound makes a lot of noise, but it doesn’t bring Cuccia here. It only gives him the escalation he obviously already plans. It’s the wrong move.”
“Then what’s the right one?” Bruno asked. The contrary energy had left his tone, and Nick knew he’d convinced them all.
“I have an idea.”
To get it done, he’d need Lara’s help. Nick was hoping some work would help her get her mental feet back under her.
Especially some work toward ending the man who’d hurt her husband.
~ 18 ~
Lia’s first feeling upon waking was a cozy peace. A heavy, solid arm held her, its hand closed protectively around her forearm. Alex was spooning her, and the feel of him making a nest of his body to hold hers made her breathe deep and fill her lungs full of calm.
She realized that her eyes itched and felt swollen and sore.
That was when she remembered.
Elisa was dead.
It was the day after Christmas. On Christmas morning, Alex had come home with her father and come up