Mafia Legacy

Chapter Twenty-Charlotte/Luca

"Thank you." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"But he's almost eighteen, Char. And he's wicked smart. You've got to admit he would make an incredible asset right now."

"It's probably not the best time to tell me that one of my children would make a good asset when his father is sitting in a jail cell because of all of this bullshit."

"You're right." He nodded. "I should go."

"Yeah." I sighed.

"I'll call you later, okay?"

I nodded, still pissed off. Marco and I were supposed to be doing this together and here we were arguing now. Marco was my best friend, and usually on my side with all of this. I knew he had a lot on his plate, but this was ridiculous by any step of the imagination. How the hell was I supposed to focus on finding who the real killer was when I had to worry about him recruiting my son? And why the fuck had Luca told him I was okay with this? I had never been okay with it. We'd discussed letting our children experience a little of the business and make their own decisions when they were 18, but Leo wasn't there yet. And we certainly hadn't discussed Luca and his friends actively recruiting him.

Luca being in jail changed things for me. I didn't want Leo anywhere near this case and certainly not tracking down guns. I figured this day would come eventually, but it wasn't going to happen while I was dealing with this with Luca.

Luca

Being in general population wasn't actually all that bad. It meant more freedom, and that at least for a few hours of rec everyday I got to see Angelo. When I got outside, I looked for him immediately and headed over to the table he was sitting at.

I knew Charlotte was upset when she left, and that hadn't been my intention, but I didn't have much control over the way things were playing out. There were only three people who knew the truth—me, Angelo, and the person responsible. It was delicate and complicated, and I needed to see how Angelo wanted to handle this. As much as I wanted to keep my mouth shut, we both had families to consider. If it got to the point we couldn't beat this, we might not have a choice. It was time to acknowledge the seriousness of all of this.

"Luca." Angelo stood up as soon as he saw me and pulled me into a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better. How are you?"

"Holding up." He nodded, and we sat down. "Julia was here this morning. She's distraught, but she's managing okay. My brother and sister-in-law are there helping with the kids."

"Char came by too. She's pissed as hell." I let out a sharp laugh.

"Is that where your black eye came from?" He chuckled. "Did you tell her?"

I shook my head. "I wanted to talk to you first. It affects us both."

Angelo nodded. "I don't want to be a rat."

"Me either. But we both have families to think about now. And this could be serious time. It's different than when we were younger."

"And we can't protect him forever."

"No, we can't." I shook my head. "But he's family, too."

"It will be our word against theirs, anyway. And this is obviously bigger than just him. The cops are fabricating evidence, too."

"But that gun had to come from somewhere. He's the only other person who knew where it was."

Angelo nodded. "I thought about that, too. Which means he's willing to let us go down for this."

"I'm not willing to do that, though. Are you?"

"Fuck no." Angelo shook his head. "This is his mess. I'll back you 100% whatever you want."

"Okay." I sighed. "So, how do we prove it?"

Angelo and I talked for a little while longer before we each had to head in to our separate units. We got a little phone time during the afternoon and I called Charlotte, hoping she'd pick up and we could have a little more closure. Instead, it was Leo.

"Hello?"

"Why are you answering your mother's phone?" I frowned. Was something wrong?

"Dad? Are you okay?" Leo's voice was panicky.

"I'm fine, Buddy. I promise. How are you doing?"

"We're doing okay. We really miss you. Mom's having a tough time but we're hanging in there."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I hope you're helping her out and not causing her more stress."

"Well, mostly..." he trailed off. "She's pretty pissed at me and uncle Marco right now."

"What happened?" She hadn't mentioned that this morning, although there hadn't really been an opportunity.

"She might have overheard uncle Marco and I planning a way to get some more guns. She doesn't want me to be involved still."

Fuck. I hadn't told her that I gave Marco the okay to let Leo do a few things to help out. "Look, I know this isn't probably what you want to hear, but we need to defer to mom on this."

"Uncle Marco said you both agreed I could be a big help right now. He needs me and..."

"Your mom needs the peace of mind more, Leo. I'm sorry. I'll talk to her, but for now, you need to do what she says."

Leo was nearly 18, and I already knew he was going to be an incredible leader. And working with Marco for a while was about the best thing that could happen, but I knew it would make Charlotte crazy. It was too much for her right now.

"Fine." He huffed.

"Is she there?"

"No, she went running. That's how you know she's pissed." He laughed.

I chuckled. He certainly was right. When Charlotte was mad, she either cleaned or worked out.

"Tell her I called, okay? I love you Leo. I'm so sorry for all of this."

"I love you too, dad. Don't worry about things here. Just focus on staying safe and getting home."

I almost broke with emotion hanging up the phone. Fuck, I missed my family.