“What did you say?” she asked. “What could you have said to make my mother want to beat you the way she did?”
Clenching his jaw, Paolo cut a look at Angelo and Nathan. “I ask that you kindly pardon me from such a question. I am in the presence of your husband and father. I am at a disadvantage in New York, and if I were to repeat the words I said to your mother, I am sure that I will put myself and my son at risk.”
Carter laughed softly. “That bad, huh?”
Paolo’s cheeks reddened a bit.
“I’m interested in hearing what you have to say, Paolo.”
Both Paolo and his son took
almost
discreet sharp intakes of breath, but Nathan caught their excitement.
“There must be a reason why my grandfather and your father were close. It wouldn’t hurt us to sit down and discuss the possible alliance of two families.”
“And in time I hope that you and I can develop the bond that our grandfather’s once had,” Junior spoke up for the first time since they’d been there. “Hello, Carterina, my name is Pauli Luchini. I am the underboss.”
“And you are American,” Carter stated, and Nathan noticed for the first time.
“Yes, I lived in America with my mother until I was fifteen. I moved to Italy with my father eleven years ago. I look forward to meeting you, and I am very sorry for my father’s mistake in insulting you. He has indeed learned his lesson.”
Paolo frowned as his son cut him a look as if to tell him to shut up before he said something. Nathan’s brows furrowed and a small smile appeared on his lips. Looked like Junior had come with his father this time to babysit him. Nathan knew the feeling all too well. There had been numerous times that Nathan had had to travel with his father for the sole purpose of keeping the grumpy, old man in line.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Pauli,” Carter said. “As I said before, I am very interested and would like to meet with you, but I think that you should take the time to consider who I am. I am not only a Stone, I am also a Salerno. So you can see my dilemma when it comes to forming an alliance with your family. My mother’s empire and the Salerno Empire pretty much became one family the moment I said
I do
to its future leader. We have two sons that will inherit both empires and run them together. Forming an alliance with Anastacia is forming an alliance with Angelo. I am aware of the rift in the families, so although I’d like to meet with you, I can’t promise you an alliance.”
Nathan nodded. True, that was very true.
Paolo had leaned forward to say something when his son reached over, pressing his hand against the man’s chest. He shot his father a silent message before Paolo sat back with a grunt.
Pauli then nodded and locked eyes with Nathan. “I am aware of this.” Raking his fingers through his golden-brown hair, Pauli sat forward in his seat with a sigh. “Here’s the thing,” he said to both Nathan and Carter, “my focus right now has shifted to the future. In a couple of years my father is stepping down and I will be don. What I’m doing at this point in time is reshaping the way I run my shit. Times have changed, my father and I agree on that much. As far as I’m concerned, there is no rift between our families. I love my father and I respect all that he’s done during his time as boss, but the way my family is run is a bit different from everyone else’s. Dons either step down or they die. When they go, all slates are clean. The Luchini family will be a blank canvas for me to paint whatever the fuck I want on it.”
Carter and Nathan chuckled, causing Pauli to smirk. “It’s a new fucking day my friends. Regardless of the past, I respect the rise of the Salerno family. Angelo Salerno turned nothing into a shit load of something and I admire that. But—with all due respect to the Don—what I respect the most is the rise of Nathan Salerno.”
Well that caught Nathan by surprise.
“I’m not an idiot. I know where to stack my chips, and I want to be friends. Forget everything you’ve heard about the past and focus on the future with me for a second. In Italy right now Salerno is successful yes, but you’re still behind us.” He shrugged. “No disrespect, it’s just the truth. My family runs shit in Italy, so you know I don’t need anything from you. I simply want to be friends. I want to close the gap that separates us, and rule the fucking world.” Nathan and Carter both snorted softly at the same time, and Pauli smiled. “I just want you two to imagine the amount of hell we would all raise together if we squashed all of the bullshit and made nice with each other.”
Nathan laughed.
Okay, Junior is a guy that I could picture aligning myself with
. If he had the authority to say yes to the meeting he would, but he didn’t. The final go ahead on such an alliance was his father’s decision. Even though he knew there would be the chance of a no, Nathan glanced over at his father. Angelo silently stared at Nathan for a full minute before looking over to Paolo and Pauli.
He frowned. “I am not interested in being an ally to the Luchini family. I never have been, and I never will be.”
This was a blow to Nathan. For the first time in his life he wholeheartedly disagreed with his father. Aligning with the Luchini family would be a good thing. Nathan hated even the thought of missing out on such an opportunity to expand in Italy, but he remained quiet.
Angelo continued. “Now while I am not interested in such an alliance, I will not stand in the way of my son making decisions for the future of this family—”
“And I won’t stand in the way of my daughter,” Anastacia’s voice sounded over the phone.
Wearing an expression of frustration from the interruption, Angelo shot a quick glare at the phone, but continued speaking. “This decision is Nathan’s. With each passing day I am getting closer to my retirement. My son will be taking my place sooner than he thinks.”
“Same with me,” Anastacia said. “Actually, my daughter is learning the business now. I have just announced today that I will be taking my retirement in three years’ time.”
What? Oh my God
, Nathan thought.
“You’re retiring?” Angelo and Luchini asked at the same time.
“Yes I am,” Anastacia answered softly. The sound of an infant cooing came through the phone. “I have done my part. I rebuilt my father’s legacy, and then reshaped it into my own. Now it is time for me to step down and allow my daughter to take my place. She was groomed for such a task her entire life. As for me, I have found new interests …”
“I am happy for you, Anastacia,” Angelo said. “You have done well throughout your career, you have earned and deserve your retirement.”
“I agree, Ana,” Paolo said. “And congratulations on becoming a grandmother”
When she didn’t respond, Paolo sighed sadly and Angelo cleared his throat, capturing everyone’s attention. “While we are on the subject of retirement, I feel it appropriate to announce that I have decided to step down on my fiftieth birthday.”
~*~
“Your fiftieth birthday!” he shouted once the doors to Angelo’s office were closed. “Are you crazy? You’re forty eight!” Nathan was practically hyperventilating.
“Be calm, son. You’re ready.”
Nathan shot his father a striking
‘Are you out of your fucking mind’
glare. “No I’m not! I can’t be
a
don
in two years, Pop. I can’t do your job. I need more time, more lessons and shit. I am anything but ready! You have to push it back.”
“Push it back?”
“Yes, Pop, your retirement, push it back. Fifty is too damn young to retire!”
Angelo shook his head. “Nathan, I’m tired, son. I’ve done my work, and now I’m ready to live the life my father never could have. I want to travel for something other than business, I want to relax, spend more time with my grandchildren. I want to take Maksim and Aleksandr to Sicily, show them where our family originated from. I built this empire from the ground up, and made it something despite the forces that tried to stop me. You have the ability to continue what I started. You
can
run this family with ease, son. I raised you to do this.”
All Nathan could do was shake his head. The thought of running the Salerno organization without his father scared the living shit out of him. What the fuck was he going to do?
“I can’t, Pop. I’m not ready. What if I fail?” There it was. The dreadful question that had entered his mind the moment his father said he was stepping down. “What if I destroy everything you’ve given your life to build? I don’t want to disappoint you …”
Nathan’s words trailed off as he took a seat and buried his face in his hands.
Failure
. The word just kept floating through his mind. Not too long ago, a young mob boss had come to him because he didn’t want to lose everything that his father had built. What if that was Nathan one day? What if he became the young boss begging some asshole to help him save his father’s empire?
“Look at me, son.”
When Nathan felt his father’s hand on the top of his head, he lifted his face from his hands and looked up at his father with a frown on his face.
“If I didn’t think you could run my empire, I wouldn’t be retiring, Nathan. If I doubted your ability for even one second, I never would have made you Underboss. You’ve been doing everything already, son, or have you not noticed? I’ve been pulling back slowly for years. I step in every now and then to handle a small task for you—which I will continue to do if you ever need it—but you have been running this empire by yourself. You have Kyle, Mickey, Dante, and Lucca. Your uncle is still in Italy if you need him, Bruno is in Las Vegas, and Cesare has said that he is always available if you need him.”
Nathan’s mouth dropped open. “Cesare’s going, too?”
With a wide grin on his face and his eyes dancing in merriment, Angelo nodded his head. “Yes, Nathan. He and I have been planning this for years. We are both very proud of what we’ve built. Now we would like to enjoy the fruits of our labor.”
“I know,” Nathan groaned. It wasn’t as if the old man hadn’t earned his retirement; Nathan was being a dick.
“You’re going to be exceptional. Now get up.” Nathan stood from his seat just as his father brought him into a hug. “You don’t know how to fail, Nathan. And even if you did, your wife wouldn’t let you.”
Nathan laughed. Damn right she wouldn’t.
They pulled back from the hug and his father pointed at him with his brows raised high. “That wife of yours works magic, Nathan. You are a blessed man. “
Knowing that he was telling the truth, he nodded. “I know I am.”
“And I know you worry, son, but make sure you always allow her to live to her full potential. She wouldn’t stifle your gifts, so you cannot do it to hers. She has far too much to offer … she is extremely smart, and too good at what she does to be a housewife. I heard her on the phone after you told her you missed her.”
Instantly remembering the conversation, he once again mentally reminded himself to discuss it with her later, Nathan nodded in reply.
“You must be sure to always let her know how much you appreciate. Not only what she does at home, but at work. Let her know that you need her here just as much as you need her there. She is your partner, lean on her. This is what she wants. She yearns to be there for you, make things easier for you. Everything she does at S.O. she does with you in mind. She always asked me,
‘Will this make things better for Nathan?’
If I said yes, she would do whatever it was in a heartbeat.” He smiled. “I soon came to the realization that she couldn’t care less about this organization, she just cared about seeing you succeed.”
A small smile pulled at his lips. “She is my guardian angel.”
When Angelo’s gaze met his, Nathan spotted a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Indeed she is,” he agreed, patting Nathan softly on the back. “You and your angel will run this empire, and I will have more time to spend with my grandchildren. I hope you know, I want a lot more.”
Nathan chuckled. “Let’s give the two you have some time before you go demanding more, old man.”
“Okay, okay,” Angelo laughed. “Come, you must prepare for this call.”
Nathan groaned.
The call
. He’d been dreading it all day. Never having spoken to Silas Steele before, he didn’t know what to expect. Frankly, Nathan would rather kill the bastard; he really had no interest in discussing peace.
“You okay?” Angelo asked, eyeing him with concern. “I could sit in with you if you’ve changed your mind. You don’t have to do this alone.”
Nathan shook his. “Thank you for your offer, but I need to do this on my own. It’s time for me to get used to the idea of not leaning on you.”
“We have time for that, Nathan. Maybe I should do this with you. This may not be easy. Silas killed your mother …”
“I know that,” Nathan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I know. I just …” Releasing a long breath, he dropped his hand to his side. A determined frown fell over his face as he locked eyes with his father. “I’m not focus on that. I loved my mother, but avenging her death is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I have responsibilities, living breathing human beings that need me to protect them. I’m a husband, Pop, a father. This isn’t about me. It’s about making sure Silas isn’t going to harm my family.”