Lucca ii, p.1
Lucca II, page 1
LUCCA II
(MADE MEN, #10)
SARAH BRIANNE
MADE MEN SERIES READING ORDER
Nero
Vincent
Chloe
Lucca
Angel
Drago
Maria
Dominic
Dark Ties: Dante
Lucca II
Young Ink Press Publication
YoungInkPress.com
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Copyright © 2022 by Sarah Brianne
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Edited by CD Editing
and Hot Tree Editing
Cover Art by Young Ink Press
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All rights reserved.
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
Content Warning
Prologue
1. The Day I am Made
2. From Child to Man
3. Little Psychopath in the Making
4. How Long Have You Smoked?
5. The Glock and God had Spoken
6. The Death of a Friendship
7. Two Deals in One Chapter
8. Why They Called Him One-Shot
9. The Day He Had Been Waiting For
10. A New Era
11. UMW: Ultimate Mafia Wife
12. Back to the Old Ways
13. Taking Down the Patriarchy
14. The Village Idiot
15. WWMD. What Would Maria Do.
16. I Told You I Wouldn’t Whack Him
17. I’m So Sorry, Sweetie; We’ll Pray for You.
18. A Promise Only a Boogieman Could Keep
19. A Suspect
20. Surprise, Motherfucker
21. Pro Tip: Give Adalyn Skittles to Make Her Shut Up
22. Do You Know Who He Is?
23. Take a Lucky Guess
24. His Father’s Son After All
25. Loose Ends
26. Where the Flowers Grow
27. Meant to Be
Epilogue One
Epilogue Two
Reincarnate
Desired By Doom
Jamie Begley
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
CONTENT WARNING
Strong violence and more fucked up shit lies ahead…
PROLOGUE
THE RETURN OF THE BOOGIEMAN
Lucca dropped the white paper bag covered in grease stains, letting it slip through his fingers. The second it hit the cold concrete floor, you could hear the harsh clanking of chains as the dirty creature crawled from where it had been hiding in the darkened corner and into the glow of the light.
Taking the metal chair from the wall, Lucca unfolded it and placed it in front of the ravenous being before he sat down. There were two feet of cold floor separating them—the first foot was for safety, but the second was for his nose, because not even the strong scent wafting off the bag could mask the stench.
The thing before him had once been human, even though his name, Lucifer, said otherwise, and while he had lived up to his name with his once wicked ways, he was still human, nonetheless. Now Lucifer Luciano, the former mob boss of the Luciano family, was closer to being an animal than a man.
It was fitting, Lucca supposed; he always thought made men were just animals hiding beneath their expensive Italian suits. He knew it because …
He was one, too.
He was known as the Boogieman of Kansas City, and there was no one left to rival his cruel reputation as his enemy now sat in chains. He figured, in another universe, the roles could be reversed. It might have been Lucca shoving the burger and fries down his throat as if he were a dog eating his last meal while Lucifer stood above him. Thankfully, however, in this world, that wasn’t the case.
There wasn’t much that could turn Lucca’s stomach, but slowly watching the outside of Lucifer match the inside had been something else entirely. The transformation seemed to even resonate with a part of Lucca’s own sick brain because …
What lived in Lucifer lay dormant in him.
The sickness that lurked just below the surface only stayed there because he had taught himself control, letting it only seep out during opportune times, if it could bring him closer to his ultimate goal. Lucifer’s, however, didn’t ever live beneath the surface; his sickness cocooned him, only getting thicker with age. But now the hard shell had been cracked with Lucifer’s loss of power, as Lucca had forced him out, blooming the disgustingly helpless creature into its final form.
The sight of it all should turn his stomach knowing he, too, could have ended up just like Lucifer … but then he would remember why Lucifer had come to be here in the first place, and suddenly, the rotten smell of flesh became satisfying enough for him to move his chair a foot closer.
At the movement, Lucifer cowered mid-bite, only returning to his ravenous ways when his captor didn’t make another move.
Lucca didn’t have to do anything else. Having him cower before him was enough to satiate the thoughts that ran through his head.
It was the scars carved into a young girl that had brought them both here, inside this concrete room. Unluckily enough for Lucifer, the carvings he had cut into that young girl’s porcelain skin many years ago had become the scars that Lucca had fallen in love with at first sight. That scarred girl was also the reason he wouldn’t be the one on the cold, hard floor, because she alone kept the monster within.
With a last bite, Lucifer licked his fingers, sucking off any grease left behind, along with any crumbs left under his nails. Lucca could see that, like a starved animal, once his hunger was satiated, a trace of the old Lucifer returned to his black orbs.
“What’s the occasion?”
“The occasion?” Lucca asked, not knowing what Lucifer meant while carefully noting a hint of his prisoner’s old voice had returned, as well.
“The suit.” Lucifer dropped his eyes to Lucca’s all-black, custom-made garment. “I’ve only seen you wear it a handful of times … when the Boogieman has business to attend to.”
A sly smile began to touch Lucca’s lips.
“So, what’s happened to grace us with the return of the Boogieman?” Lucifer asked again with hopefulness in his voice.
Ah … Now I understand.
Lucifer was right; there was no hiding the monster underneath when he was dressed to kill. When he wore the black suit, the Boogieman came out to play.
Lucca reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He gave the bottom a hard hit before he removed a stick and placed it between his sneering lips. “Today isn’t the day you die, Lucifer.”
The old Lucifer vanished, and in its place, the creature returned. “When?” it wailed as it began begging at Lucca’s feet. “When are you going to finally fucking kill me?”
“Your body might belong to me,” Lucca said, lighting the end of the cigarette, the glow from the flame dancing over his handsome face, “but your soul isn’t mine to take.”
Lucifer hadn’t been a fearful man before he’d entered this cell, but that was all that remained of the man he’d once been. Now, fear dripped out of his every crevice, because if Lucca was saving him for someone else, then that was a person he didn’t want the misfortune of meeting.
The prisoner gave up, and his chains rattled as he flung his back to the ground and lay there, helplessly wishing for death.
That was just no fun for Lucca.
Rising from his chair, he placed it back against the far wall, in its place.
Lucifer turned his head from where he mindlessly stared up at the concrete ceiling to the leaving back of his captor. “You didn’t tell me the special occasion,” he commented curiously, glaring at the suit. Even though Lucifer Luciano was a piece that had been wiped off the board in the mafia world, he was always going to want to know if he had been a part of the winning or losing side.
Inhaling deeply on his cigarette, Lucca spun on his heel. Then, as a smoky cloud escaped with each word, he said, “That’s right. You haven’t been able to hear the good news.”
It wasn’t the creature that waited on bated breath for Lucca’s next words but the once Luciano mob boss.
“Kansas City has a new king … and you’re looking right at him.”
ONE
THE DAY I AM MADE
LUCCA, AGE 17
Lucca stared at the closed sign on the Italian restaurant then checked his watch, having to move up the sleeve of his new, all-black Italian suit that he’d had made especially for today. It was a special day, and he’d decided to dress for the occasion.
He adjusted the heavy duffle bag back on his shoulder, wishing he had time for a cigarette. However, the insistent groaning beside him reminded him he didn’t.
Taking a deep breath of air, Lucca remembered the promise he’d made himself this morning.
Today will be t
Lucifer and his men filled the entire restaurant as he sat at the table next to his underboss, Anthony, and his oldest son, Dominic. His nineteen-year-old son was only a year into being a made man, and even though he was a quick learner who held a lot of promise, it wasn’t the kind of son I wanted. Unlike him, he felt emotions, and in this business, you were better off without them, ’cause feeling anything but powerful … made you fucking weak.
The ding from the bell above the door should have caught their attention, but it was the sound of something heavy being dragged in that had every Luciano turning their heads to find a body being heaved in. Every gun would have been drawn if it weren’t for the one who was doing the dragging. You see, it wasn’t the shock of who was being dragged in that held them all in place but because of who was dragging him in.
“Lucca Caruso,” Lucifer drawled out his name with a sinister smile as he looked him up and down. “My, my, don’t you clean up nice.”
Usually, his adversary, Dante’s firstborn son, ran around looking like he belonged on this side of the tracks, but they were all quickly reminded just how old he had gotten and which side he stood on based on his expensive suit alone.
“I solved our little rat problem,” he said, dropping the body and duffle bag on the ground with a hard thud.
Our? Lucifer’s eyes slightly narrowed. He was only seventeen; there was no way … “Were you made, kid?”
“No.” Lucca’s strange eyes shifted from green to blue. “But I will be after this.”
They were shocked to find the man beaten to a pulp was still alive when the kid grabbed a fistful of hair to bring his face off the ground and ripped the duct tape off his lips.
The man instantaneously started running his mouth. It was like hearing a pig squeal for its life.
“I’m sorry, Lucifer. but I got pinched, and they were telling me I was facing twenty years! I didn’t want to snitch anymore, okay? So, I thought it would be mutually beneficial for all of us if I got my hands on enough cash to get the hell out of he—”
Blood spurted like a hot geyser out of the side of his neck when Lucca’s blade entered his throat to the hilt. Slowly, he dragged the knife to the other side of his neck, slicing him from ear to ear as more blood flowed out, turning from a geyser into a river.
When the last breath of life had been taken, Lucca released his grip and the lifeless head fell to the ground, causing some of the blood to splash up on his young face.
“Odd how the rat was from your family, but the stolen cash was Caruso money.”
Like everyone else, Lucifer could only stare in awe as Lucca picked the duffle bag up and threw it over his shoulder.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll be seeing you around, then.”
“Oh, you will,” Lucifer said with a tilt to his lips, certain they had just witnessed history being made and, next time he saw the kid, he’d be made. That, I’m sure of.
He watched the kid leave into the night like he had entered as if he were the boogieman, and even though only two years younger than his own son, Lucca Caruso was going to be the youngest man to ever become made and …
That was the son he had wanted.
TWO
FROM CHILD TO MAN
“He’s still a child!” he heard his mother cry from the other room.
“We both know Lucca is far from a child, Melissa,” Dante said calmly, under no disillusions of what exactly his son was.
“He’s still only seventeen!” she wailed. “I thought you couldn’t be made till you were of age?”
“The only rule is a child cannot be made, and what he did”—he paused for a brief moment, as if picturing the things his son had done—“no longer constitutes him as a child.”
Even though Lucca couldn’t see them from the other side of the door, he could still hear his mother’s tears as they fell upon her cheeks. When the door flew open, however, nothing would prepare him for the look in his mom’s eyes …
* * *
“Mom, please.” Lucca rolled his eyes heavenward. It didn’t matter how much he dragged his feet, he still found himself going farther and farther down the aisle as they passed each pew.
“That demon is coming out …”
He couldn’t help but laugh, knowing it was one of their inside jokes. She didn’t mean any harm by it because, everyone but his mother believed him to be a lost cause …
“I see the goodness in you, and no matter how much you pretend you don’t, I know you have a heart, Lucca.”
Sure, he did, but figuratively speaking, it didn’t mean he felt the way everyone else did. And while he felt more for his mom than any other person, it was nothing compared to how she felt for him. He wished he could return even half her love, but he was thankful she didn’t hold it against him that he couldn’t. He did what he could to make her happy, though, by spending time with her while she taught him to do her favorite things—gardening and cooking—which seemed to be enough for her.
But, as they drew closer to the confessional, his voice echoed across the church. “This is stupid!”
Mellissa suddenly stopped as her emerald gaze bore into him. “Saving my son’s soul could never be stupid.”
* * *
That had been the first time his mother had taken him to confession, and it was just a week ago when she’d dragged him to his last. Both of them now knew it, yet Mellissa still went to her knees, begging for him to go confess his sins, knowing where he was going and what he was about to do …
Lucca took both of her hands in his, holding them as tensely as he held her emerald gaze. “Mom, there’s no saving me after what I did.” His words were not only clear in tone but in meaning.
It hadn’t hurt to say it, but it shocked him that it did hurt when his mother could finally see that he was right. For her to see that her child was no longer a child but a demon after all.
“Ready?” Dante spoke softly after watching Melissa wipe her tears as she walked away. It was clear the battle between being a good husband and proud father was beginning to take its toll.
Lucca nodded. It was time to take his code of silence and speak the omerta as he went from child to man.
Lucca, Age 18
The sun was setting as he walked through the garden, the colorful flowers swaying in the gentle breeze. He approached his mother, seeing she was on the ground, fussing with the herb part of the garden. Thankfully, Melissa was the kind of mother from Christmas movies and children’s books, the kind of mom who could even love a monster. So, while she had now seen the true evil in him over this past year, she still loved him the same as when she had first laid eyes on him after she had birthed him.
Attending church was no longer something they did together, but he tried to make up for it by spending any extra time he could with her in the kitchen, cooking, or in the garden, gardening. After being made, though, it wasn’t as much time as he liked, but it was still the only way he knew how to return her love.
“I thought you told me not to garden when you’re too stressed or emotional; otherwise, they won’t grow?” he teased his mom at seeing the bit of stress on her features.
