Chapter 79 NEUTRAL GROUND
••Luciana••
"Roman, Roman!" I called after him as he stormed out, clearly angry. My heart was racing, not just because of the tension in the air but because of the anger that was radiating off him. I looked at Theo, and he gave me a signal to go after him.
I took a deep breath and followed him outside, where he stood by the wall, a cigar now dangling between his fingers. The night air was cold, but I could feel the heat of the situation burning between us.
"Don't start," he muttered, not turning to face me.
I stopped just a few feet away, standing still as I watched him in silence. Sometimes, it was better to let him be, to let the air clear.
Something like the calm before the storm—or rather, the calm after the storm.
I stepped closer, my fingers itching to do something, anything to ease the tension. So I reached for his hand, entwining my fingers with his, taking the cigar from his fingers and snuffing it out on the ground.
He didn't say anything at first, his jaw tight and his body still rigid. But slowly, his shoulders began to relax as he turned to me, his eyes less fiery than before.
"What now?" he asked, his voice softer now.
I paused, choosing my words carefully. "If two captains are put in charge of guarding important goods, what happens if one of them sights danger and doesn't tell the other?"
Roman shot me a look, clearly confused. "I don't solve riddles," he grumbled, but I could see his irritation starting to slip away.
I took a deep breath, my voice steady. "What I'm saying is, if this is about the alliance, it involves both our families. If my family isn’t informed about the danger, how can they prepare? You can’t just claim to handle it all on your own."
Roman stayed quiet for a moment, clearly weighing my words. I could tell he wasn’t happy, but he was listening. "This isn’t just about you or me. This is about the people we care about," I added, my voice a little firmer.
"How do I trust that your family won't scatter things for me?" He asked.
"You trust me right?" I asked back. "Work together with them."
"Okay, Luci, I hear you," he finally spoke, his voice calmer now. "I'll send a message to your brother about it. Is that alright?"
I nodded, relieved that he was finally seeing it from my side. "Yes, thank you, Roman."
"But they’re not involved in my plans. They can do whatever they want, but I’m handling this with my men," he added, still defensive.
I frowned. "That’s division, Roman. It makes it easier for the enemy to get in between us. You have to unite us, not separate us."
"Working together with those mother fucker brothers of yours is not an option for me."he argued.
"They are exactly not the worst. I don't know why you're making this harder."
Roman’s expression hardened again, and for a moment, I thought he would argue. But then he sighed, rubbing his forehead. " Fine. We’ll meet to discuss plans. But no calls. We do it face-to-face."
"Alright, I’ll get my brothers to behave themselves," I agreed, but Roman’s tone was still tight.
"Just make sure they don’t forget who they’re dealing with and if we are meeting it's absolutely not on their territory.," he muttered as he turned to leave.
Roman left me standing there, and I watched him walk away, unsure if we had made any progress or just taken one step forward and two steps back. He was being so difficult, and it hurt to see him so closed off.
••Luciana••
I immediately dialed Matteo’s number, feeling the weight of the situation. If Roman was going to back down, I needed to get my family on the same page. They had to understand how much was at stake.
"Matteo, I need to talk to you," I said as soon as he picked up.
"Go ahead, Luci," he replied, his voice calm.
I quickly explained everything, from Marco’s plans to the danger we faced. "I managed to convince Roman to include our families together, Matteo. This affects both our families, and if we don’t unite, Marco will tear us apart."
"Okay, I understand," Matteo said after a beat. "But we both know that working with the Orlovs isn’t easy. You want us to work with them now? After everything?"
I could hear the skepticism in his voice, but I pressed on. "Yes, I know it’s hard, but we can’t beat Marco if we’re divided. Our families need to come together to stand a chance."
Matteo was silent for a moment, then he spoke again, his voice quieter. "I get what you’re saying, Luci. But Antonio... he won’t like it.
"Then get him to see reason. We need to fight this battle as one. I won’t stand by and let Marco destroy everything we’ve worked for."
Matteo sighed. "Fine. But I’m telling you, it’s not going to be easy. I’ll talk to Antonio, but don’t expect miracles."
"Thank you, Matteo," I said, feeling a small flicker of hope.
Matteo called me back at night, and told me he was also able to convince Antonio but on one condition.
"What condition?" I asked hoping it's something that could be possible.
"That we don't meet on the Orlovs Territory." He said sternly, that's to let me know how serious they are about that.
"Alright Matteo. Thank you." I replied and he hung up.
Roman doesn't want to meet on the Morettis Territory neither does my brother wants to meet on Orlovs Territory. This is going to be hard!