The Cardinal (The Holy Trinity Duet #2) - M.E. Clayton Page 0,1

were something you could control, you wouldn’t be addicted to it.

Now, I had vices just like everyone else, but vices were less-than-healthy enjoyments that didn’t threaten to take over your entire existence the way addiction did. Vices were just strong bad habits that could be kicked with the right incentive.

Addictions?

Addictions had me at your house, in the middle of the night, dealing with you because you’re a Benetti soldier and not just some random dickhead.

My brother, Luca, didn’t suffer fools gladly and he had strict rules when it came to being a part of the Benetti Crime Family. We always wore suits. No matter what, we were always dressed as if we were about to run into our worst enemy. We also had to work out. Even the retired men had to keep in shape. Though they were technically out of the game, there was still a chance they could be called upon and they needed to be ready for it. And, obviously, loyalty was a must. I mean, that went without saying. There was also Luca’s insistence on respect for the fairer sex. You could put your woman through a lot but striking her was like signing your own death warrant. And then there were the expectations.

No addictions.

Ever.

Addicts couldn’t be trusted and when the entire foundation of your organization was built on trust and loyalty, well, addictions were a lot more powerful than people gave them credit for. Only addicts understood other addicts.

And the reason I was here, at Constantine Ribicci’s, at goddamn two in the morning, was because while Luca was the Benetti Family Boss and Leo was the Benetti Family Manager, I was the Benetti Family Underboss, and I was the one who dealt with traitors within the organization.

At thirty-one, Luca was the oldest, and take whatever you thought you knew about Mafia Bosses, multiply that by fifty, and you got Luca Benetti. As ruthless as they come, Luca was cold, hard, brilliant, and completely unforgiving. And while I had never trusted our father, Gio, I trusted Luca in a way that cemented my loyalty to him and the organization in a way I never had before.

At twenty-seven, Leonardo was the youngest, and was the only one of us who had a conscience. Though Leo had no problem killing someone if he had to, that wasn’t his niche. Being the youngest, we had protected him a lot and he’d even gone to college for his MBA. He was smart as hell and he managed the business side of things like a professional. He was a good kid who recently married a good girl. Or, at least, she had been until Leo dragged her into our family affairs.

Me? I was the middle child and I suppose you could say I took the whole middle-child syndrome to a whole other level because I was a bloodthirsty sonofabitch. However, I didn’t feel like the middle child. I never did. Luca had been left to be raised by Gio, so I wasn’t as close to him as I was to Leo. Gio had let our mother, Carlita, have a hand in raising me and Leo, so it had kind of always felt like it had just been the two of us. Though Luca had been around, he’d been so busy being groomed to take over the family or healing from Gio’s beatings, he didn’t hang out with us like most brothers did. Then there were the people who trumped me and Leo, though we were his blood.

Growing up, Luca had formed an unbreakable bond with Ciro Mancini, Phoenix Fiore, and Francesca Mancini, and I had no doubt that if Luca had to make a choice between me and Leo or Ciro and Phoenix, he’d choose them over us with no regret.

As Luca climbed the ranks, he’d brought Ciro and Phoenix up with him. Luca was known as The Father of Morgan City as it’s always been known that he was going to be Boss one day. Ciro was Luca’s right-hand man, and known as The Son of Morgan City, Ciro was our number one enforcer. Phoenix was right there with them, and known as The Holy Ghost of Morgan City, Phoenix was our number one hit man. They were known as The Holy Trinity on the streets of Morgan City. Hell, the entire state, really.

Then there was Francesca Mancini-Fiore. As Ciro’s only sibling, Phoenix’s wife-whom he’s been in love with since they were seven-years-old-and Luca’s best friend, Frankie was known as