She contemplated running from him, as well, yet thought better of it when she imagined what he would do to her if she dared.
She took another deep breath. “I was just feeling claustrophobic is all.” Hurriedly, she tried to take the attention away from her. “You didn’t want to finish the ceremony?”
“Fuck no. They’re lucky I made it to the V’s.” He took another hit then let the smoke roll past his lips, uncaring if it hit her in the face. “Now, Lake, why did you really run?”
Excuse me?
“Do I know you?” That had sounded better in her head.
“Maybe.” He gave a sinister smile. “Lucca Caruso.”
The underboss.
Lake tried to keep her jaw from falling to the floor. She should have known who he was, but she never would have thought someone so high up—let alone the son of Dante—would look like that. It was absolutely clear why he chilled her to her bones.
“So, you do know me?” Lucca flicked his cigarette butt to the pavement. “How come you’ve never come around the family?”
Lake stared down at her lap, unable to look at him. Clearly, there was no point in lying. “Um, I never really wanted to. I never thought it mattered if I did or not.”
“Why’s that?” he asked.
“Because I’m not important. My dad is only a soldier and has never moved up, even after all these years.”
Lucca began to laugh at her. “You don’t know shit, do you?”
“No, I don’t want to know shit about the family,” Lake confessed. She really didn’t like being laughed at, yet seeing the menace in his cold eyes made her wish she could take the words back.
Lucca leaned down closer to her face. “I don’t need to remind you who I am, do I, darlin’?”
Lake swallowed the lump in her throat as she shook her head slowly.
“Good.” He leaned back up and took another cigarette out of his pocket then flicked his Zippo, lighting the end and drawing in his breath. “Now, you have the boss, who makes all the decisions. His close, trusted friend and confidant is the consigliere. The Underboss is second-in-command. Capos head a crew of soldiers, and lastly you have associates, who are not members of the family, but business acquaintances. Your father is and always will be a soldier, and he has known that from the moment he became one. Only Italian men can become made men and take the omerta. Those who are not will stay soldiers till they die.” Lucca shrugged. “That’s what Google says, anyways.”
Lake thought about his words. Only Italian men can become made men. Something about that ‘rule’ started to piss her off, as if they only saw color and to make a man who wasn’t Italian would ‘taint’ the family.
“I see,” she whispered. “So, no matter how loyal my father has been to your family, he can never be made, because what? His last name is Turner and not Caruso?”
“I still don’t think you do, darlin’.” Lucca quickly grabbed her jaw to face him. “You need to think about which fucking family was here when your name was called.”
In that moment, Lake swore she was staring into the eyes of a demon. As he held her captive, she began to pray he would release her, unsure if he even would. She had finally overstepped her boundaries with him. After all, he was no ordinary man; he was quite possibly the most dangerous man in all of Kansas City.
“Why isn’t your mother here?” he demanded.
“H-her husband is sick,” she managed to finish strong.
“Does he have cancer?”
Lake closed her eyes, wanting to cry. “No.”
Lucca finally released his grip on her. “Maybe now you can fucking grasp an ounce of what family means to us.” Rising to his feet, he gave his final words as he flicked his last butt to the pavement. “But then, what do I care, darlin’? You and your father are insignificant to me.”
Lake wasn’t aware she had been holding her breath until the door came to a close as he vanished. She had barely escaped the demon with her life. For now, anyway…
Chapter Fifteen
Into the Lion’s Den
Lake somehow found herself being pulled up the stairs to the front door.
“I am not going in there, Adalyn! Do you know who lives here?” She was somehow managing to yell and whisper all at the same time.
“Yep.” Adalyn quickly lifted her knuckles to knock on the door.
“Wait!” Lake swiftly grabbed her hand before it made contact. “You told me this was a party where a bunch of seniors would be getting drunk, not a goddamn gathering of the head of the Kansas City crime family! Trust me, these people are insane. I met that crazy one today, and all he had to do was that flippy thingy with his lighter”—Lake tried to mimic the movement with her wrist—“and I practically piss—”
The front door opened, and Nero appeared.
Lake wished she could crawl into a deep, dark hole and only hoped he hadn’t heard that, but the amused look on his face told her otherwise.
Adalyn tried to break the awkward silence. “Thanks for inviting us, Nero.”
“You’re welcome.” Nero smiled as he opened the door wider for them to enter. “Nice to finally meet you properly, Lake.”
She tried her best to smile as they entered the home. “You, too.”
“There’s a bunch of pizza in the kitchen, and don’t worry, there are seniors here, too,” Nero informed them as he left the foyer, still smiling.
Oh, God.
Adalyn tried her best not to laugh. “Well, at least that was a step up from the last one you met.”
She really wasn’t good at making first impressions. Thankfully, Nero wasn’t as scary as his older brother, but looking at his emerald eyes, she figured he only needed time. “Yeah, well, you’ve got fifteen minutes, remember?”
Adalyn dropped her voice. “Seriously, Lake, look at this house. We can’t see it all in fifteen minutes.”
Lake glanced around at the huge foyer with a grand staircase. There was no telling how the rest of the house looked, and they had only taken one step inside.