Roman takes a step forward and his impressive height towers over his uncle, even from across the foyer. “My father is … unavailable.”
Louis pauses, a flicker of nervousness glistening in his eyes. “What have you done?” he says, immediately catching on as he takes a discreet step back toward the door, more than ready to haul ass if he needs to. It’s not odd for the boys to have been here. They were invited regularly for meetings and dinners, but having them here without warning definitely isn’t the norm, and he’s right to be nervous.
“My father was getting a little too comfortable in his role, don’t you think?” Roman questions, the tone of his voice sending a shiver trailing down my spine.
“I’m not here for your games,” Louis says. “Where’s your father?”
“That’s just the thing,” Levi says. “Nobody knows. We ran him out of here over a week ago, and since then, he’s been nothing but a ghost.”
“Ran him out of here?” Louis repeats with a heavy suspicion in his tone, silently putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, but judging by the confusion flashing in his dark eyes, he’s putting them together wrong. “Tell me now, did you kill my brother?”
“If only,” Roman breathes. “Bastard got away before we got a chance, but don’t be fooled, we will end his life the second his miserable ass steps out of hiding.”
Louis raises a brow, clearly deep in thought. There’s no question about it, he’s tossing up his loyalties, trying to figure out which path will get him killed quickest and which will save him. He should know better than that, in this world, there are no guarantees. “Okay,” he says slowly, his gaze flicking between the three of them, making sure no one makes any sudden movements. “Let me ask you this. Did you three have anything to do with my son’s death?”
Roman shakes his head. “I believe you’ve shown up on the wrong brother’s doorstep if you’ve come searching for answers.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Louis roars. “What do you know of this?”
Marcus lets out a heavy breath, a smirk resting over his lips as he takes a step toward his uncle. “Tsk, tsk,” he starts. “Did your big brother not inform you of what happened to your only son, his youngest nephew?”
Louis snaps his glare to Marcus, and for a moment, I fear for his safety, but he’s not stupid enough to make a move like that with his current company. “What do you know, boy?” he spits. “I want answers now. I will not grovel or beg for the likes of you three. Tell me what you know, now.”
Roman pulls the gun from his waistband and steps into his uncle, pressing the barrel to his temple and hastily shutting him up. “I wonder if you would grovel and beg now?” Roman mutters. “What about when our father finally takes his last breath and we rule over this family? Would you grovel then?”
Louis glares at Roman, and I don’t doubt that this is his first time in this position, though it would definitely be a first time facing off against a man as unpredictable as Roman. “There ain’t no killing your father. He’s a slippery motherfucker, always has been. You may have run him off for now and are up here in his home playing happy family, but he will prevail. That bastard always does. Do not fool yourself, boy. He will come back with a vengeance.”
“I assume that means your loyalties lie with him.”
“My loyalties lie with the head of this family, and until you can bring me proof of death, that position will remain your father’s. Now tell me what you know of my son’s death.”
Roman slowly pulls back on the safety, releasing it with a soft click that sounds louder than a gunshot in this room. “And what if I told you that my father has known who killed your son since the moment it happened? Hell, he knew it was happening before Ronaldo did, yet he did nothing to prevent it when one word from him could have ended the whole thing. What would you say then?”
Louis’ eyes flash with a heated anger that sends waves of guilt soaring through me. This is all on our shoulders. We started this war, we killed Antonio to use as bait, and in return, he lost his only son and is left without answers. But that’s just the world these boys live in, and Louis is more than aware of that. If he wanted to protect his son from the dangers of Mafia life, he should have kept himself away just as Giovanni’s other brother, Joseph, does. Though, from what the boys have told me, Louis is a dangerous man. For the most part, he’s cool, calm, and collected, but if you push him enough, he’ll burn the whole family to the ground.
“You’re a liar, Roman DeAngelis. You always have been. You forget that I have known you since you were born into this family,” Louis says, his eyes sharp and filled with venom. The way Roman is skirting around his son’s death clearly has his feathers ruffled the wrong way. “You claim to be a man of your word, yet I haven’t heard a snippet of truth being told since I walked through that door. You are not fit to rule in your father’s place. You play games and enjoy destruction. Now, tell me what I’ve come all this way to know.”
Roman stands in silence for a long moment, the tension growing thicker by the second as Louis attempts to hold some kind of dominance over Roman, though it’s not possible. Roman was born for this and watching him now, it’s as clear as day. “I’ll tell you what you wish to know, once you tell me what I need to know.”
Louis’ brows furrow and he pulls back, watching Roman with uncertainty. “There is nothing that I know that could possibly benefit you.”
“When was the last time you spoke to my father?”
Louis shakes his head, deep in thought. “I don’t know, weeks ago. We spoke briefly at the last business dinner. I told him he was a fool for allowing you three a week of freedom. He should have kept you locked up in that big castle. How is this important?”
Roman clenches his jaw. “My father killed my fiancé and took my newborn son,” he spits, that word fiancé killing something deep inside of me. “If you know where he would go, then you need to tell me right now.”
Louis shakes his head. “You’re a smart man, Roman. I see how you watch everyone, learn of their relationships so that you can exploit them later. You know just as well as I do that I don’t know the answer to that question. You want to find your father and your son, then you need to speak with Victor. Wait too long, and you know the likelihood of finding that baby alive just as well as I do.”
Roman narrows his eyes, holding Louis’ stare a moment longer, the anger burning brightly within him as the fear of what could happen to his child haunts his every thought. “You want to learn what happened to your son, then I suggest you take the same course of action and seek out Victor.”
Louis glances toward me and Marcus before flicking his gaze in the opposite direction to Levi. He meets Roman in the middle. “Why on earth would I need to speak to Victor? What does he have to do with this?”
“You search for answers on your son’s death, so perhaps start with the man who killed him.”
Louis’ face falls and he shakes his head. “What are you saying? Victor killed my only son? No, he wouldn’t do that. You’re lying.”
“Suit yourself,” Roman tells him. “I’ve told you what you’ve come to know. If you choose not to believe me, then that is your own problem. Victor killed Ronaldo in retaliation, and your precious son slaughtered Antonio when he caught him balls deep inside his wife.”