~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.”
EPILOGUE
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.
EMPIRE
Eagle Elite Book 7
Empire: Organization, Kingdom, Business. To rule or have power or authority. Command, control, dominate; e.g., He built an empire. He refused to see it crumble beneath his feet.
PROLOGUE
Frank
THE DAY MATCHED MY DARK MOOD. I clenched the umbrella tight within my hand, the sensation getting more and more difficult to feel with my arthritis creeping in. 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.
Rain pelted against my umbrella, 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 been sure of it. 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 had a hand in watching him die.
It wasn’t my fault.
I didn’t pull the trigger.
But I knew the dangers in what we did.
I knew the cost of our chess match.
I just wish it would have been me—instead of him.
A few more feet and I was in front of the large grey stone. I knew Luca wouldn’t want something elaborate—after all he 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 against my eyes.
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 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 took 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 could 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.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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 Rachel’s New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
ALSO BY RACHEL VAN DYKEN
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
London Fairy Tales
Upon a Midnight Dream
Whispered Music
The Wolf’s Pursuit
When Ash Falls
Renwick House
The Ugly Duckling Debutante
The Seduction of Sebastian St. James
The Redemption of Lord Rawlings
An Unlikely Alliance
The Devil Duke Takes a Bride
Ruin Series
Ruin
Toxic
Fearless
Shame
The Consequence Series
The Consequence of Loving Colton
The Consequence of Revenge
Other Titles
The Parting Gift
Compromising Kessen
Savage Winter
Divine Uprising
Every Girl Does It
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
EPILOGUE