There is the distinct smell of smoke in the air, so subtle I can almost not notice.
My gaze shoots up and scans the upholstery sofas in front of me. Javi is busy with his phone as he is seated on one of them. Behind him, I'm greeted by the cool backdrop of the city at night as a cool breeze blows around the balcony.
I turn behind me to see Vito, the youngest of us and my brother. He leans on the edge of the balustrade and his gaze is on the spread of the palatial estate below us. He has just lit a cigarette and is taking a long drag.
The glare I give him speaks volumes. He knows the rules about drugs. We don't tolerate them at all. In whatever shape or form. Because we have an endless supply. That is our trade and our trade depends on the dependency of others not our dependency.
He sends me a dirty look as he pulls the stick out of his mouth and then stumps it with his boot.
Our cousin, Javi, chuckles quietly and I drum my fingers impatiently on the table before me. My gaze darts very frequently to the closed door that separates this space from the room beyond it. Inside it is my father, Don Riccardo D'Angeli, with the Don of one of our rival families. The Coppola. This family has held New York in their grasp for the longest time and in doing so, they've stepped on several people's toes, including ours.
While I am perfectly comfortable with never-ending family wars, such things weren't good for business and so every once in a while, families tried to see if they could reach mutual agreement; see one another's side. For the good of business. That is the aim of my father's conversation with the Don of The Coppola.
The conversation has lasted an hour now and it's only taking all of my patience to not tear the door down and ask what the hell they're still discussing up till this moment... because I don't trust these Coppola bastards one bit. My father is in there with their Don, Manfredi Capitani and said Don has a guard with him. Though I know that my father can take care of himself, still, waiting is not one of the things I do best.
I almost need Vito's smoke now.
"Will you try to relax?" Javi turns to me, looking at me seriously. "Your impatience is leaking everywhere."
"You know I don't trust these people."
"They won't try to fuck with us," Javi says with conviction. "They know that if they try to do anything, it will end in a war they won't get out of until they pay with all their lives."
"Their deaths won't be quick either," I mutter under my breath.
"Remind me again why we need to see eye to eye with these bastards?" Vito asks. He turns to Javi and I who are seated around the balcony center table. "The Coppola are our second worst enemies after The Sacra. Our family histories go way back. I want to blow this place up."
"For the first time in a while, I agree with Vito," I say calmly. "A little spring cleaning in this city shouldn't hurt anyone. They certainly won't be missed."
Javi grins and I sit back in silence. "You D'Angelis are crazy fuckers, you know that?" He says. "One has a deathly calm and the other works like an inferno is always brewing inside him. Yet, both are just as dangerous and unstable as each other."
"Where does that put you?" Vito asks him. "You seem to forget that you're also a D'Angeli."
"I'm the sane one," Javi says. "I restore order and sanity because you two need it."
Vito lets out a bark of laughter. He looks like he's in a better mood than he started with. I still have my ever present scowl on my face. My mood has not changed in the slightest, but then, it's difficult for anyone to tell. With me, it's always a cold, hard mask. I've been told several times.
*We're doing this because The Coppola apparently has links with The Syndicate," I start. The words are bitter in my mouth. "And we need The Syndicate on board because we want to use their territory to transport a very important shipment and we want this to happen without incident. Expansion is a very delicate thing. It comes with a bit of sacrifice...like our current plans for an alliance with The Coppola."
Turns out The Syndicate hates our guts even more than The Coppola does. Definitely, this has something to do with Manfredi Capitani and so the plan is to deal with the opposition at its roots.
"The wife of the Don of The Syndicate is unfortunately our host, Manfredi Capitani's daughter," Javi continues.
"Well, fuck." Vito relaxes, realizing how important this meeting is; how course-changing it can be.
My gaze locks on the door as a sound comes from it. In seconds, my father is exiting the room with Manfredi Capitani by his side as the ornate oakwood door swings open. While my father is taller with broader shoulders, Manfredi is stockier and a few inches shorter. His black, close-cropped hair is dark brown unlike my father's which is black.
They're both fucking smiling when they join us on the balcony. Javi's gaze meets mine and whatever communication he expects, he doesn't get it because my stare is blank. Vito is beside my father as he walks to the recliners to meet us.
My father and Manfredi shake hands again as they communicate in low tones.
"I hope this is the first step to ending the war between our families. Now that we're family, hopefully, it is easier." Manfredi has a solemn look on his face. He tries to break his expression to accommodate a smile. It fails.
The only thing that I register in my head is his second statement and I want to ask my father what the fuck is going on.
My father finally motions to us and I rise to my full height. Javi gets up too.
"Gentlemen," my father addresses us. "Today, Manfredi and I have come to the agreement that The Coppola and The Mazza will unite in marriage."
My brothers have the same expression on their faces. Like me, they're wondering if he assumes that any of the D'Angeli sons are husband material. I am sure my father is aware that we are too crazy for that. Maybe Javi would manage, but between me and Vito, it's a bloody gamble.
"I am offering my oldest daughter, Teodora, for the marriage and The Coppola has accepted for her to marry their son," my father continues.
Even worse, he's marrying one of my sisters off for this, not one of the sons of the family. For a deal. That's how fucked up the whole thing is. In our kind of life, as sacred as the institution of marriage is, it is up for cheap use whenever the occasion comes.
Through marriages in the mafia, wars have been stopped between clashing families, and peace treaties have been sealed. It will be used here too. And one of my sisters will be the item. Messed up. But they've known before now that this day would come. And my father would only marry them to other high-ranking members of other families and not some loverboy of their choice, hence their fates were already sealed. Better a marriage that brings the family some benefit than not. Marrying outsiders is not allowed.
But I am sure my father is aware that the person that would make me do anything but what I wanted has not been born yet.
"Your family must treat her well," I finally say. "If your son hurts her, I will fucking carve him out on a slab."
"Bear in mind that not just peace, but the heads of every single member of your family is at risk if something happens to her." Javi sizes Manfredi Capitani up quietly.
Vito is closest to Manfredi Capitani yet his voice is loudest. "The women in our family are treated like fucking royalty, understand?"
While my father's gaze seems to say we could all do better given that this man is our new in-law, I cannot ignore the glimmer of pride in his eyes as we unite in our sister's defense through our threats. But my father is a pain in the ass so he still berates us.
"I believe from now on, you will speak to your in-laws with more respect."
Javi slips his hands in his pockets and leans back. My face is expressionless.
"You have enigmatic sons," Manfredi says as he lets out a deep belly laugh. "They remind me of my son too. Let it be known then that just as your threats aren't empty, our promises to your family in this marriage are not. This is a new beginning. Let us celebrate it."
My father smiles and despite our earlier animosity, the atmosphere is not so tense any more.
I stand silent as my father and Manfredi talk some more about the marriage, my mind drifting in and out. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I excuse myself to the edge of the guard rail and pick up the call.
"We've finally tracked the home of the spy." This is one of my father's Made Men who days ago was charged with the responsibility of finding out the location of a spy that we'd unwittingly let into our midst. This spy had run away with information that could ruin us. So the fact that we now know where he lives sounds like good news to me.
As my father's second-in-command and Underboss, it is my job to handle things like this. The family is my primary responsibility. So is protecting it and its secrets.
"Bring him to me tonight," I reply. "His death will be slow and painful. I will enjoy every moment of that torture before he passes."
"Yes sir."
My night is finally looking up.
I join my father and brothers. They are about to leave. Great. I can't wait to be gone from this place.