"And where exactly are you headed to? Surely not to pick a fight with whoever hit your brother... right?"
I felt my face heat up from the accurate accusation and shook my head slowly.
"N-No-"
"Your first words to me are lies?" He clicked his tongue...
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"You didn't mention that I'd have to get on a plane for this ball," I said with a laugh and he chuckled as he grabbed my hand in his, touching my fingertips intimately, "It must have slipped my mind. I always forget you're not accustomed to these things whereas with me it's always been mandatory. I'm sorry, are you okay?"
I nodded with a smile, "I am. Anything else I should know?"
He sighed, but before he could say anything, his personal flight attendant came by, "Can I get you anything, Mr. Fortgang? Ms. Castillo?"
I shook my head and she smiled, walking away as I looked to Ezra for an answer. Whatever is on his mind is bothering him a great deal.
"You told me your father died of a stroke," he said and I felt my stomach begin to twirl in knots.
What does he know?
"Yes, why?" I mustered up as much confidence as I could in my answer. He pursed his lips as he looked up to the ceiling whilst my heart was pounding. He chuckled dryly, "Your father was Alfonzo Castillo, the kingpin in the southwest American cartel. He was legendary. Then a leader from one of the biggest families in the Italian mafia swooped in and became his boss. Making that man the new kingpin and Alfonzo basically his personal puppet."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, how does he know all of this? He looked over at me and smiled softly, "I know about your sister. Savannah, is it? I know Alfonzo killed her and I know that you killed him. I know everything because..."
"Because what? Ezra, how do you know all of this?" I asked harshly, ripping my hand from his grasp and he pinched the bridge of his nose, relieving some stress, "Because while Alfonzo's boss may have been a leader of one of the biggest families in the Italian mafia, I am too."
What?
"What?" I asked, completely confused and he sucked in a sharp breath, turning towards me, "My full name is Ezra Eitan Fortgang De Luca. I never wanted anything to do with the Italian mafia, I didn't want to play a hand in anything to do with that. I wanted to build my own empire, my own legal empire. But... my father is sick. He was diagnosed last week with stage five glioblastoma. Cancer of the brain, the deadliest cancer of the brain.I'm his only child and by birthrights, I am being appointed his seat in the De Luca Italian legacy."
So... Ezra is in the Italian mafia. His dad has aggressive brain cancer. His last name isn't legally Fortgang, it's De Luca.
So the man I've been sleeping with and falling in love with, his family comes from Italian roots. He is a mafia leader in training. His destiny is to lead his family's legacy and I'm dating him. I'm dating one of the deadliest men in the world, and no one knows it.
Wow. Okay. That's okay.
I've done this before, I mean, not really. He who shall not be named was involved in these things but... he never talked to me about them. He never said anything. He told me he would move with his organization and he was my father's boss, but ultimately? He never told me about anything.
He didn't trust me like I trusted him at the time. He kept his mouth shut and worked behind closed doors. He waited until I fell asleep to work with these things. He'd leave me in the house, like at Tennessee, and do business things whilst I waited for him to come home.
I was never apart of his life like he was apart of mine, and I see that. Because here is Ezra, telling me everything. Telling me about his family legacy. Telling me about his father's condition and opening up to me because he trusts me. Because I am apart of his life like he is mine.
Because he trusts me like no one else ever really has. And I think I'm in love with him. No, I am in love with Ezra. He's my person. He is everything. He's my person.
"I-Is your dad going to be okay?" I whispered, my heart hurting for Ezra, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What?"
"Your dad. Is he gonna be okay?" I asked more confidently and Ezra shook his head, "I just told you I'm in the Italian mafia and... you're asking about my dad?"
"Yes. Is he gonna be okay?" I asked once more and Ezra cleared his throat nervously, "No. He's given up treatment and he's only got a little while to live."
"I'm sorry, Ezra," I said as tears filled my eyes and he grabbed my hand, "Don't you mess up your makeup, darling. I'm okay. My father and I were never on the best terms with me choosing college over the mafia. It's okay. Now... there's more."
I laughed stressfully, "That's great. Go ahead, just rip the bandage off."
He chuckled at my optimism, "This ball we are going to is my initiation as one of the top five leaders of the mafia. There are five families in this along with thousands of soldiers. Tonight I'll be initiated as the fifth family leader and then at the end of the night... one of the five leaders will be appointed the Capo Crimine-"
"The ultimate don," I breathed out and he placed a finger under my chin, making me look at him, "It will be ugly. It's between me and another man because the other three leaders are fill-ins if something were to happen to me or the other guy. The only reason I'm bringing you is because..."
He stopped mid-sentence and my eyebrows furrowed as he looked away from me and tensed.
"Because what, Ezra?" I asked, genuinely concerned and he chuckled deeply, nervously, actually.
"Because I love you. I'm bringing you because I love you."
