Mafia's Redemption: Terzo - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

DANI
“Welcome to the family.”
Oh, my God. I just shook hands with the mafia don. He was handsome, tall, with salt and pepper hair. He looked like an uptight father who woke up his children early morning and made them pancakes, but was strict with their curfews and made sure they were in bed at eleven p.m.
“We don’t just do handshakes here, Dani.” He hugged me like a father hugged his own daughter, I supposed, because my father never hugged me. “You haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“It’s fine, Mr. Siciliano. I woke up late, and I went overboard drinking wine last night. Thank you for having me in your wonderful home.”
“This is not mine, Dani. This is Terzo’s. Have a seat. My house it’s the first one you passed by. Call me Papa. My name can be mouthful, Gaetano.”
“Thank you.” I took a seat before Terzo, whom I stole a glance at. He who hadn’t said a word, but what I couldn’t believe was him having his own house alone by himself. “You were named after a pope?”
“I suppose I am.”
Don Gaetano Siciliano. “Beautiful name.” I smiled. He seemed genuinely kind, considering what kind of person he was. He had a calming voice, quite the opposite of how they were when I barged into the office.
The office was an elegant workspace in dark colored wall with bookshelves behind the thick wooden desk with sophisticated carvings, similar to the furniture in the bedroom I slept in. Two dark royal chairs and a dark customized leather couch in the corner. There were picture frames above the liquor cabinet, decanters, and old-fashioned glasses.
“Grazie. Do you speak Italian?”
My cheeks flamed. “No, sir. I was raised by a mother who’s a proud blonde who cares about her book club than me when she married my stepfather. I never met my father until a few years ago. I never even knew I had a brother.” I stole a glance at Terzo, who dropped his gaze.
“I’m sorry about your brother, Dani. I wish I could make you feel better.”
“Thank you. We weren’t close, but he was there for me than my family.” I smiled at Gaetano. “You have wonderful children with colorful characters. Your daughter just threatened to garrotte me if I shot your son again.”
Gaetano stilled. Shit. He didn’t know. Terzo hadn’t told him. I could see the shock all over his face before he briefly looked at his son. “Come again?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” My voice dropped. I swallowed the acrid taste down my throat.
“No. He’d been secretive lately. I just found out about the marriage before you walked in.”
“Wait. What? I thought he told you.” I watched Terzo shift in his seat. “I asked you before our flight. You said you were just talking about the wedding. What else have you kept from me and your family, Terzo?”
“I lied because I wanted—”
“To get it done before I found out about my brother’s death. You’re so cunny.” I turned to Gaetano. “I met my father yesterday. The reason why I left Italy and left my job and my life back in the US because he wanted me to marry someone I didn’t know. Eventually, I still married a man I know nothing about. Don’t get me wrong, even if I shot him, he never blamed me, and he treated me right. I guess you raised him to be a reputable man. Until my father told me who killed my brother. What’s going on with your family and my father, sir?” I left the part where he told me he owned me.
“There’s always tension between families with the line of business we have. We hadn’t had problems before until your brother was hired by Wallace Winston to threaten my daughter and her grandmother.”
“Maverick?”
“Yes.”
“So she knew about my brother?”
“Yes.” Terzo swallowed. “She warned me, but I didn’t listen.”
“Then my father found out who killed Tomas.”
“Yes. He hired a radical group to take down the jet that carried Wallace and his son on their way to Canada for medical treatment.”
“Oh, my God. What happened?” I stared at Gaetano and his son in disbelief.
“I got an intel late. I immediately called Maverick when my call couldn’t get through to Winston. They were escorted by fighter jets to intercept airborne ranged weapons, and the people from Hover and Osmium neutralized the ballistic missiles before they touched down.” The Hover? The multi-billion-dollar company? Wow.
“Oh, thank God. My father did that?”
“I understood his desire for revenge. I would have done the same thing if it happened to my family. Dani, I wish you were married into a family without threats and enemies. I can’t guarantee your safety, but I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my word. In the meantime, you have to stay here while I am sorting out this issue with your father,” said Gaetano.
“Why did my father ask Terzo to bring me to him?”
“I made a deal with Francesco after that jet fiasco. He wanted to marry my daughter, Celestina, to pay for blood debt.”
“Wait a sec.” I stared in shock. “My father? My 67-year-old father wanted to marry your daughter, about my age. Is he insane?” So Terzo was telling the truth about the marriage. “Jesus Christ.”
“That’s one of his demands, not to come after my son. Instead, I agreed to bring you home and free my daughter.” I had a strong feeling there was more.
“He’s supposed to marry you for a business alliance,” Gaetano said. “Well, I suggested to Terzo. I’m willing to ask your father for his blessings if my sons only wait a little longer.”
My nose flared. My chest heaved as I glared at Terzo. “Then why didn’t I hear that demand from him?”
“Dani, your father already made it pretty clear that you would be marrying someone else. The marriage between you and my son will only happen if my daughter and your father’s wedding doesn’t happen.”
“Great.” I snorted and rolled my eyes at Terzo. “So now that I’m married to a Siciliano and I’m back in Italy, I suppose your blood debt is done, right? You’re free now. Congratulations on the job well done. I guess your plan worked without involving so many people. You didn’t even sweat it. Yay.”
“I didn’t mean it—”
“Oh, great.” I threw my hands in the air. “That’s even better.”
“Dani,” Gaetano called my name. “Your father might not honor your marriage to Terzo.”
Oh, shit.
Terzo looked pained. “I didn’t mean it like that. What I was trying to say, I was willing to give up everything just to free my sister, but I didn't want to make you feel I misled you to marrying me for the blood debt. I would marry you one way or another if our parents agreed on a marriage between us. And I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve caused you. You should know that it wasn’t intentional. I could only wish—”
“I don’t wanna hear it.” I stood up and faced Gaetano. “Your son took my brother’s life, whether he was a terrible person or not, he deserved to be judged in court and not by an executioner. I can never forgive him.” I walked out of the office with nowhere to go until I ended up in the backyard with a beautiful garden and plants that were regularly trimmed.
I took a seat at the empty iron bench. The compound would have been a great place to start a family. It looked peaceful, aside from cameras set up in every corner of the house.
“It’s the best place in the compound,” said the American accent behind me.
I turned my head. A blond man in his early thirties joined me without an invitation, offering me a mug of coffee.
“I thought you could use some caffeine.”
“Oh, thank you.” The aroma alone was delightful. I took a sip, which shocked me, that was exactly how I ordered and made my coffee.
“T ordered me to make that for you,” he said as if he just read my thought. “I’m Magnus Tucker. You must be Dani, the new member of the family.” He offered his hand. “Welcome to the Siciliano households.”
“Hi.” I briefly shook his hand and sipped again. “What brought you here?”
He laughed. “You won’t believe me if I tell you.”
“Last week, I would have told you you’re crazy if you told me I’d be here with the Sicilianos, married to one of the most dangerous and powerful people in Italy. So try me.”
“Well, I first met Terzo when I kidnapped London Vanderford.”
“Wait.” My eyes widened. “The London Vanderford of London Hester?”
“Yes. She’s my ex.”
“What the hell? Then how did you end up with the Sicilianos?” I whispered the last part.
“Instead of putting me in jail or killing me, Moses Braddson gave me a second chance. He told Terzo to bring me here. Since I was a struggling tech entrepreneur, also majoring in accountancy, I managed Gaetano Siciliano’s company finances.”
“Wow. Your life just turned 180, but you seem to have adjusted pretty well.”
“Yes. I could have resigned, and they would have allowed me to go, but I love this family, I love Sicily. And honestly, they’re not bad people like how most people portray them. Besides, 75% of their business is legit. The Sicilianos have compassion, good hearts, just don’t target their family, and they won’t come after you.”
“Right.” The sarcasm in a single word could suffocate someone.
“And once you fall in love with the place, you don’t wanna leave.”