Thirty-Eight

Luciano

My head shot up in surprise. There! I had heard it. A fucking gasp. Someone had seen us and before shit could hit the fan, that person would have to be taken care of. I glanced at Ripper, one of the men with me. They had all heard that sound. Giving them a nod, I dropped the branding iron back in the coal stove and watched Ripper lift the dead man on the floor.

Was I brutal?

Fuck yes, I was. To remain in power, to remain at the top, I needed to be as brutal as possible. The mafia world was a lion-eat-dog society. And I was that Lion.

The bastard had thought he could sell out my location to the Castello and feel fucking good about it. I made sure he understood the shit he had caused before he died. It was that simple. If I wasn't always prepared, fuck, if I was anything like previous mafia Lords, I would be six feet under by now. Peeling off my gloves, I dragged a hand through my hair and glanced in the direction of the sound we had heard.

There was no movement which m