Elude (33 page)

I love you more than you'll ever know. Thank you for making my last kiss with you, my last moment, my last laugh, my last tears feel like the first.

~Russia

Hands shaking, I placed the paper onto the table and looked down at the folder again.

The very next page had a picture of a girl.

She was laughing.

Her hair was a lush chestnut, darker on the top than the bottom, like she was growing it out. Her eyes were hazel, just as Andi described, and she was holding up her Kindle in triumph, like she'd just gotten it at as a present or maybe had just finished reading the best book of her life.

Her smile was easy.

I looked away as my heart clenched.

The next page was information about Valentina and Dante — their location and known aliases.

And on the page after that…

In Luca's handwriting was another note. It wasn't long like Andi's. Then again, he was easily a man of few words, used his fists and gun to talk.

Find my daughter. Protect her. Marry her. I know your secrets, and now she will too. If you're reading this, I'm long gone. Carry on my legacy for me. You must know Frank and I have talked. If Dante does not want to take over the Alfero family, it will fall to you.

You are who I choose. Who Frank chooses. You will lead the Alferos if Dante does not. And you'll do a damn good job, son.

~Luca

Dumbfounded, I stared at the letter, reading it over and over again. No wonder Phoenix had wanted me to read the damn folder! And Frank. I stood. My chair slid backward and collided into the wall with a crash.

I swallowed as the walls of my throat threatened to close in.

"I knocked," Phoenix said from the door. "Funny I was just about to ask you if you'd read the folder."

I pointed at it. "You knew?"

"Shit, Sergio, you even need to ask?" Phoenix folded his arms. "I know everything. Luca made sure of that the minute I took over the family. I just didn't believe it at first, nor did I want to, all things considering. But…" He shrugged. "…she changed you."

"She changed all of us," I whispered.

"Yeah." Phoenix nodded. "She did."

"So…" I scratched the back of my head. "…it seems I'm going to New York."

Phoenix grinned. "I already booked your flight."

Sergio

"WHAT DOES IT MEAN?" THE WAITRESS
inclined her head at my right forearm. "Your tattoo?"

I leaned back in the booth, my hand tapping against the ceramic mug. The smell of greasy food filled the air. A bell dinged as Frank made his way toward me from the door.

"The tally mark?" I asked politely.

She nodded her head. Damn, the girl just screamed innocence.

I had to fight to keep myself from scaring her. "It's for a friend." I said in a gruff voice then shrugged. "My best friend."

"Lucky girl." Her smile was warm.

"She died," I said slowly, "and I promised her I'd never forget — I told her I only marked things that were desperately important to me. And ink is forever, you know."

"Is that why you put the inscription underneath it?" She pointed.

I looked down.
Until we both shall live
had been scrawled in cursive beneath a black tally mark with a rose drawn around it.

"Yeah," I croaked. "That's why."

"Again…" The waitress shrugged. "…lucky girl."

"No," I corrected, "I'm the lucky one."

Frank cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll just…" The waitress blushed and scurried away.

"So…" Frank folded his hands onto the table and leaned forward. "…I take it you've read your folder."

"We leave tomorrow," I said quietly.

"New York." Frank sighed. "Never thought I'd return to that godforsaken place. It's where we started, you know, but Chicago had been new, clean, unaffected by the crime families. We moved in, and everything changed."

"You think they know we're coming?"

Frank snorted. "Oh, they'll expect it. Our cousins have been protecting that boy and girl for the past ten years."

"Are these cousins… friendly?"

"Hell, no." Frank grinned. "But a little gunfire never hurt anyone."

"I thought your family was the least violent of the five," I muttered.

"Funny." Frank checked his watch. "I'd always believed them to be the most violent."

"Fantastic."

"Aw, where's your sense of adventure?"

The list burned a hole in my pocket. Somewhere on it was written:
Go to a Broadway show in New York and sing along even if it sounds horrible.

"Oh, I've got it." I chuckled and patted my pocket. "Right here."

"Good to know." Frank grinned. "Shall we?"

I followed him out, my mind focused in on one thing.

Keeping my promise to Andi.

And fulfilling my destiny.

Funny how they ended up being the same damn thing.

The End.

To find out what happens next, go snatch Empire, releasing May 31
st
.

Because every mafia man deserves a happy ending....

Empire

I have lost everything.
My purpose.
My love.
My soul.
Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle--the promise I made her, brings me back.
So I breathe.
I live.
I hate.
And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade.
I am broken, I dont want to be fixed.
One last trip to New York, one last chance to redeem a lost part of the mafia family. The Empire is crumbling and it's my job to fix it, my job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.
The only issue is, the only way to fix, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.
An arranged marriage.
Only this time.
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.
My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.

Eagle Elite Book 7

Empire

Noun: Organization, Kingdom, Business. To rule or have power or authority. Command, control, dominate. EG: He built an Empire—he refused to see it crumble beneath his feet.

Prologue

March

Frank

THE GLOOMY DAY MATCHED MY DARK
mood. Merciless rain pelted my umbrella and cascaded off the edge. I adjusted my grip on the polished wooden handle. Arthritis had crept in and it was sometimes hard to tell when I had a secure hold on something. Age had never been a friend of mine. The clock, it seemed, never stopped ticking, the seconds going by faster than I could have ever imagined, the years disappearing like sand through an hour glass.

The spongy ground sank beneath my feet, pieces of grass stuck to my black Valentino loafers.

I kept walking.

My stride strong.

My purpose even stronger.

The grave was marked well, I’d made sure it would be. After all, it seemed the least I could do—give my brother a proper burial, when it was me, his most feared enemy and in the end most trusted ally — who’d had a hand in watching him die.

It wasn’t my fault.

I hadn’t pulled the trigger.

But I knew the dangers in what we did.

I knew the cost of our chess match.

I just wish it had been me — instead of him.

A few more feet and I stood in front of the large gray stone. I’d known Luca wouldn’t have wanted something elaborate — after all he’d made his way through the world on being the silent one, the death blow you never saw coming, until it was too late.

I licked my cracked lips and shook my head as I read the tombstone. “Loving brother, fearless leader…” My voice cracked. “Blessed father.” I closed my eyes as the sting of tears burned.

Father.

And only two people in the world knew.

Phoenix and myself.

“I’m so sorry, brother…”

Would I have done things differently? All those years ago when I made Luca into the man he was, when I forced him into the Nicolasi family, when I stole the woman he loved and turned him against the world.

Knowing what I knew now… would I do it all again?

“For what it’s worth old man…” I pointed to the gravestone next to his. “I’d like to think… that at least in the afterlife — you’ll have her.”

I’d buried my wife next to him, where she belonged. Where she had always belonged.

Every night I prayed that they were finally united in heaven.

While I was cursed to roam the earth without my brother — without my wife, and in charge of four mafia bosses who were younger than I was when I had taken over.

The empire I had built was changing, morphing into something I no longer recognized.

With a sigh I made a cross over my chest and mumbled a prayer.

“Well this is depressing,” came a low voice behind me.

I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Phoenix De Lange, newest boss to the Nicoalsi family — handpicked by Luca himself.

“Did you bring it?” I kept my eyes trained on the gravestone.

Phoenix let out a curse, “Yes.”

I held out my hand.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe we should talk to Tex about this before—”

“Give it over damn it, I’m your elder.”

“Don’t pull the age line, old man. You can still take me down, and you know it.”

I smirked and kept my hand firmly in the air. The minute the folder touched my fingertips, I snatched it away and held it tightly against my chest.

“They aren’t going to like this…” Phoenix growled.

“They don’t get a say.”

“The hell they don’t.” Phoenix let out a bark of laughter. “But sure, if it helps you sleep at night.” The rain started to pour down in sheets. “When do you leave?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Safe travels.”

“Always.”

“Does anyone else know you’ll be gone?”

I turned and offered him a sly wink. “Secrets, secrets, secrets, what else do I build my family on?”

With a slight shake of his head, Phoenix took a step back. “I can’t protect you if this goes badly — especially if I don’t know where you are… at least bring one of the men.”

“No.” I glanced at my watch. My flight would leave within the hour. “Don’t think I will.”

“Damn it, Frank.”

“Don’t ‘damn it, Frank’ me…” I held out my hand. “Now, leave like a man before I have to remind you who’s older… and more experienced.”

Phoenix offered a sad smile and shook my hand. “Be well, Frank.”

“Be well, Phoenix.”

RACHEL VAN DYKEN
is the
New York Times
,
Wall Street Journal
, and
USA Today
bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching "The Bachelor".

She keeps her home in Idaho with her husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers. She loves to hear from readers.

Want to be kept up to date on new releases? Text MAFIA to 66866!

You can connect with her on Facebook at facebook.com/rachelvandyken or join her fan group
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. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.

The Bet Series

The Bet (Forever Romance)

The Wager (Forever Romance)

The Dare

Eagle Elite

Elite (Forever Romance)

Elect (Forever Romance)

Entice

Elicit

Enforce

Ember

Elude

Seaside Series

Tear

Pull

Shatter

Forever

Fall

Strung

Eternal

Wallflower Trilogy

Waltzing with the Wallflower

Beguiling Bridget

Taming Wilde