Bound by Temptation (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles 4)

“I started the induction process a few weeks ago. This is my first task,” Fabi said. The hand with his gun was shaking slightly. If I noticed it, Romero, Luca and Matteo definitely had. I wasn’t sure it was a good thing because his nervousness made them realize he was still a kid, or a bad thing because it made him an easy target in their eyes.

“Father gave it to you because he thought it would be an easy first job, right? Nothing bad ever happens at weddings,” I tried to joke.

Fabi didn’t even crack a smile, neither did anyone else. I exchanged a look with Aria and Gianna. We had to escape, that much was clear, but we couldn’t risk Fabi getting hurt.

“He gave me the job because he knew I was responsible and capable,” Fabi said, sounding like Father’s personal parrot. My chest tightened. What if Fabi really didn’t let us go? The way he pointed his gun at us, he appeared absolutely determined. Had he changed so much?

“You don’t really think you can kill all three of us, do you?” Matteo asked with a twisted grin.

Gianna shot him a glower. “Shut up, Matteo.”

Fabi shifted on his feet but his face remained hard. When had he learned to wear a poker face like that? “I can try,” Fabi said.

“Fabiano,” Luca said calmly. “They are your sisters. Do you really want to risk them getting hurt?”

“Why is Lily here? Why isn’t she with her husband? I want to know what’s going on. Why are you trying to take her with you? She’s part of the Outfit, not of New York.”

“I can’t stay here, Fabi. Do you remember how you told me I shouldn’t marry Benito? That it wasn’t right?”

“That’s been a long time ago, and you said yes to him today. Where is he anyway?”

I glanced at Romero. Something in my expression must have given it away.

“You killed him, didn’t you?” Fabi accused, his narrowed eyes switching between Matteo, Romero and Luca. “Was this some kind of trick to weaken the Outfit? Father always said you’d stab us in the back one day.” He raised his gun a bit higher.

Aria tried to move toward him again, but Luca practically shoved her behind him.

“He’s my brother!” she hissed.

“He’s a soldier of the Outfit.”

“Fabi,” I said. “The Famiglia didn’t try to weaken the Outfit. This isn’t about power. It’s all my fault. Benito tried to hurt me and I stabbed him. That’s why I need to leave. Father would punish me, maybe even kill me.”

Fabi’s eyes widened, making him look younger at once. “You killed your husband?”

Romero’s hand around mine tightened, but the hand with his gun was steady. He hadn’t moved it at all. It was still pointed straight at Fabi’s head. If he killed my brother…I couldn’t even finish the thought.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” I said. I decided not to mention that Benito had still been very much alive when Romero plunged his knife into his heart. That would have complicated things even further.

“What about you and him?” Fabi nodded toward Romero. “I’m not stupid. There’s something going on between you.”

There was no denying it, and I had a feeling that Fabi would get angry if I tried to lie to him. Matteo had inched closer to Fabi while we’d been talking. I wasn’t sure what he planned to do but knowing Matteo it wouldn’t end well.

“We’ve been together for a while. You know I never wanted to marry Benito but Father didn’t give me a choice.”

“So you want to leave Chicago and the Outfit for New York like Gianna and Aria,” Fabi said.

“I have to,” I said.

“You could come with us,” Aria suggested. Realizing her mistake, she peered up at Luca, who would have to accept Fabi into the Famiglia.

“You could become part of the Famiglia,” he said immediately.

Fabi shook his head. “Father needs me. I’m part of the Outfit. I made an oath.”

“If you’re not fully inducted yet, it’s not as binding,” Matteo said, which was not quite a lie, but really, he’d be treated like a traitor if he ran off anyway and the punishment would be the same.

Fabi glared. “I won’t betray the Outfit.”

“Then you’ll have to stop us from leaving,” Luca said simply. “And we won’t let you. There will be blood, and you will die.”

I stiffened and was about to say something but Romero gave a small shake of his head.

“I’m a good shot,” Fabi said indignantly.

“I believe you. But are you better than all three of us? Do you really want your sister Lily to be punished? If you force her to stay, you sign her death warrant.”

Conflict showed on Fabi’s face. “If I let you leave, and someone finds out, they will kill me too. I could die an honest death if I tried to stop you.”

Luca nodded. “You could, and they would sing your praise, but you’d be dead all the same. Do you want to die today?”

Fabi didn’t say anything but he’d lowered his gun a few inches.

“Nobody has to find out that you let us leave. You could have tried to stop us but we were too many,” Romero said suddenly.

“They will think I was scared and ran away, and that’s why you escaped.”

Luca gave Romero a small nod. “Not if you got wounded. We could shoot you in the arm. This was meant as an easy first job, nobody expects you to be capable of stopping the best fighters of New York. They won’t hold it against you if you got shot.”

“You want to shoot my brother?” Aria asked incredulously.

“What if you injure him seriously?” I added.

“I could hit the zit on his chin if I wanted to, I think I can manage to hit an unproblematic spot on his arm,” Matteo said with his shark-grin. “And we’re taking a risk by not just killing him, so an arm wound is really nothing.”

“So what do you say, Fabiano?” Luca asked quickly before Matteo could say more. None of the men had lowered their guns yet.