Chapter 22
22
LAZARO
My phone buzzes softly, pulling me from my sleep. Amara mewls from where she’s sleeping on my chest, but then settles back in. As much as I don’t want to move her, especially considering how perfect this feels, I gently lift her and place her in my spot in the bed, bundling her back into the blankets. She gives a soft sigh, burrowing even further into my pillow and pulling up the blankets to her chin.
I smile, looking down at her. She’s so fucking cute, and if I didn’t know the call was important, I wouldn’t be leaving her. I force myself to turn away, grabbing my phone and heading into the closet to answer it, softly shutting the door behind me. I glance at the name. Alessio.
“Problem?” I ask, turning on the light and moving to grab some clothes.
“Got some movement out of Leonardo and Marco’s camps. Meeting in Nico’s office,” he says briskly.
“I’ll be right down.” I hang up and quickly dress. When I emerge from the closest, Amara is sitting up in bed with the lamp on, looking tired and worried. “I’m sorry, colombina , did I wake you?”
“Oh, um, I woke up when I realized you weren’t here,” she replies awkwardly. “Is there a problem?”
“I don’t know yet. Alessio called to let me know that there have been some developments with your uncle and cousin, so I’m going to meet them to find out what’s going on. I’ll be back soon. Are you alright?”
She gives a tired nod. “I’m good. Do you need me to come?”
“No, you sleep,” I coax. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She nods and lies.
“Can you leave the light on?” she asks sleepily. “The dark is okay with you, but I’m not ready to do it on my own.”
“Of course, colombina ,” I promise softly, leaning down to press a kiss to her hair before pulling away. I can’t hang around any longer, so I force myself to go to the door. I look back and see that she’s already fast asleep, my pillow pulled up around her face, like she wants to keep breathing me in. My chest swells with satisfaction.
I quietly close the door, and turn to see Mario making his way toward me. “I’ll see that she’s not disturbed,” he tells me quietly as he stands in front of the door.
“Thank you,” I say simply, clapping him on the shoulder before I head down the hall. I barely pass Alonzo’s room when the door opens and he emerges as well. Then Urso does the same, though he looks a little more rumpled than we do. I arch a brow at him curiously, but he just grunts and keeps going. Alonzo and I share a look, but we don’t comment.
When we reach Nico’s office, I’m unsurprised to find everyone else there already. “About fucking time you joined us,” Nico snipes.
“Someone’s pissed that he’s been pulled out of bed with his wife.” Massimo snickers. “He’s a bear, so I take that to mean he didn’t get to love up on his wife either.”
“Fuck off,” Nico barks.
“Nail on the head,” Alonzo agrees with a smirk.
“What’s going on?” I ask when Nico looks like he’s going to lose his shit.
“Some of our men spotted Leonardo’s car leaving his property fifteen minutes ago,” Dante explains briskly. “I contacted our rat, and he said Leonardo is meeting up with Gregori Esposito and his right-hand man. He left in the middle of the night with minimal security to keep people from paying too much attention.”
“But Marco’s also on the move?” I ask.
He nods. “He left about ten minutes after his father, but he wasn’t as quiet about it. Took four SUVs full of soldiers and sped off. Our men are tailing them, and our tech crew is following them on the cameras. It looks like they’re heading in the same direction as Leonardo.”
“No sign of Giovanni or any of his sons?” Massimo asks.
“Nothing yet. Though if he’s in bed with the Russians, I can’t see that he’d be interested in dealing with Esposito,” Zeno answers. “I’ve been tracking him, and there’s no chatter. The men watching the house haven’t reported anything, either.”
“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have another way out,” Alessio points out grimly.
“Would your father meet them both, or is he setting up an ambush?” Pietro asks Dante, his expression hard. It’s no secret that Pietro does not like Gregorio Esposito. The bad blood between them has extended for decades, but none of us, probably not even our father, knows why or what caused it..
“I don’t consider him my father,” Dante says coolly. “He’s a fucking snake, so he could very well be setting up for the two of them to fight it out for his own sick pleasure. He’ll back the winner. Or perhaps Marco sees an opportunity to finally get rid of his father, since he hasn’t left the house until now.”
“It seems too fucking obvious,” Massimo argues, frowning. “Why wait this long to kill him? I know he’s backed by the Irish, but this seems like a fool's mission.”
“Or they’ve decided to settle their differences, and Marco is hoping to join up with his father again,” I suggest.
“No,” Nico says with a firm shake of his head. “Leonardo will never allow it. To allow Marco or Sebastian back into the fold would show him as weak. He’s more likely to kill him on sight, and Marco knows it.”
“Was Sebastian with him?” I ask.
Dante shakes his head. “No. None of our men have seen him, not even out with the soldiers.”
“Antonio is much the same with Leonardo,” Urso agrees. “He sent Dario to Europe after Sienna, but not him.”
“I want to know where Marco ends up,” Pietro scowls. “Aurelio, have our men help Nico’s to get as much information as possible. There’s something going on here, and I don’t fucking like it.”
“With them all pairing up with other people outside of their own family, it gives them access to other technologies and options that we don’t have,” Alessio chimes in grimly. “And it’s been too fucking quiet since Lazaro and Amara got back.”
Dante’s phone chimes, and he curses quietly. “That’s our informant in Gallo’s camp. He wants a meeting as soon as possible. Has some info that we’re going to want to hear.”
“Set it up for half an hour from now at the library, same as before,” Nico orders.
“Alessio, you and Lazaro go with him,” Pietro orders. “Get any important information back to us as soon as possible. The faster we move, the faster we figure out what the hell is going on. My gut is telling me it’s nothing good. The rest of you, figure out where the hell Marco is going, and what Giovanni and his men are up to. We can’t trust that this isn’t some kind of set up.”
Everyone’s moving, and despite the scowl on Nico’s face, he doesn’t argue. We head for the door while Dante calls for a car and I call for backup. “Two or three cars?” I ask Dante.
“Two,” Nico answers briskly. “And we’re leaving here quietly. I don’t want any of the others seeing us leave. Dante, SUVs only, we’ll be in one, and the men can be in the other. Only enough to offer protection, not enough to show our hand.”
“Already done,” Dante answers. “Eion will meet us there as requested.”
“Won’t Seamus notice him gone?” I ask curiously as Nico puts his hand on a scanner at the end of the hall, and a door to our left opens with a barely audible click. We walk through, and we’re met with a set of stairs that descend into pitch-black darkness. The moment the door shuts behind us, the room fills with light, and I see the platform at the bottom. “You doing some of that Bat fucker shit down here, Armani?” I ask curiously as we start our descent.
“Bat fucker shit,” Dante replies, snickering. “You mean Batman?”
“That’s what I fucking said, didn’t I?” I snap at him. “This fucking place has so many tunnels and secret entrances and exits that I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“He has a point,” Dante agrees after a second, with a smirk at Nico. “Could be your new nickname.” Nico doesn’t grace that with an answer, but if looks could kill, Dante would be riddled with bullet holes already.
“Back to my question, won’t Seamus notice him gone?” I ask again.
“Possibly, but he’s one of the few with Seamus’s trust, and has freedom most don’t,” Nico answers. “And if he does, he already knows the danger he’s in and he doesn’t care.”
“Why is he turning on Seamus?” he finally asks.
“He raped and killed his wife,” Nico says simply. “The man loved her more than his own life, and more than his own children from the sounds of things, since I’ve already warned him he’s put their lives on the line too.”
Before now, I might have thought that a fucking stupid move, but after Amara, yeah, I get it. “His sons are young?”
“No, grown, but barely. They also feel the same, according to him, but who the fuck knows. He’s aware of the risk, and that’s not my concern. I want his information and I’m going to use it to get what I want,” Nico says simply as we reach the bottom and enter a large garage full of vehicles. Most of them are sturdy cars, trucks and SUVs, with a few sportier ones in the mix.
Four soldiers are already waiting beside running SUVs in front of a wide garage door. I recognize two of them as Davide, and the former soldier, Caesar. Davide, I don’t have much respect for, but Caesar, we’ll see. The final two men are our own.
Dante and I climb in the front of one of the SUVs, with Dante behind the wheel, while Alessio and Nico climb in the back. The guards file into the other behind us. When we pull out of the garage, I take in the tree-covered drive barely lit by the moonlight overhead. We’re at the back of the property, which explains how we’re getting out without being spotted.
The drive to the library is tense but uneventful, which is probably why Alessio can’t help himself. We’re almost to our destination when he asks, “So, how are you going to refer to me, Boo Bear? Lover? Best Friend? Confidant? Love of your life?”
I turn in time to see Nico’s fist slam right into Alessio’s gut. “That answer your question?” he replies calmly. Dante chuckles, and I’m torn between amusement and exasperation. Can the man not take a joke?
“Love of your life it is,” Alessio wheezes, rubbing at his stomach, just as Dante pulls down a narrow alley, shutting the headlights off and carefully rounding the corner at the end of the building. I scan around, looking for anything that might be off. Nothing stands out, but I’m not taking any chances. In the back, Alessio and Nico have gone silent, though I can feel the anger radiating off the latter easily.
The moment Dante parks the car, I’m out, gun ready and head on a swivel. I don’t trust this not to be an ambush. I don’t trust these Irish fuckers, especially not one from within Seamus’s inner circle. It’s the perfect way for them to get to us, and Nico’s an idiot for trusting the man as much as he is.
It takes another full minute before I feel confident enough to let Alessio leave the car, but I’m careful to keep myself between him and anything that might come flying. Alessio gives me an eye roll, but then he’s back in Underboss mode, face hard set with the air of a man you don’t cross.
The other soldiers head into the library ahead of us, with only Davide waiting back for the rest of us. That displeases me immensely, but I keep my mouth shut. I make a mental note to have Urso and Zeno look into him. One of them will find something, I’m sure, because there’s something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on.
When we finally make our way into the empty library, my senses are once again on high alert, especially when we make our way to a small, windowless room in the back corner. Inside sits a large man looking far too relaxed for a traitor of his own leader. “Up,” I bark sharply, stepping inside before any of the others.
Eion eyes me for a moment, assessing, but then he stands without much of a fuss as I search him. He’s almost as broad as me, but I still tower over him by a couple of inches. His hair is a dark red, eyes a sharp green, and there’s a hard edge to him that tells me he’s been at this shit a long time. I’m quick, efficient, and not gentle, but he doesn’t make a sound. He knows the drill. When I step back and say, “He’s clean,” in brisk Italian, he turns and takes a seat.
I step back, allowing Nico, Dante, and Alessio into the room. Dante shoots me an annoyed look, clearly unhappy that I’ve taken charge, but I ignore it. Out of the two of us, there’s no fucking way I’m going to let anything slip past. Nico takes a seat across from Eion and orders simply, “Talk.”
Eion doesn’t look at the rest of us as he leans forward in his seat, eyes hard and mouth set in a grim line. “Shit’s about to hit the fan,” he rumbles in his thick Irish accent. “A few hours ago, a call came in to that shit-for-brains Marco De Luca about finding a missing girl he’s been looking for here in the city. Told him that he could find one of them at some little no-name stripper club up in the far corner of De Luca territory. Borders right on where ours and yours split off, and also the same direction as Esposito’s place. Something about she’s been working there under the name Lainey, but her real name is Lucina Prescott. She’ll be off work by three in the morning, and if they’re looking to take her, she walks home. Marco jumped on it, and he already sent men to scope her out. Once he confirmed that she was there, and that she looks like his other sister, the one married to you now, he went in to talk to Seamus. Feels this is the perfect time to grab her and start making some moves to cripple Leonardo.”
“Not Giovanni?” Nico asks.
“Said he’s not worried about his uncle because he’s too stupid to know what to do with real power,” Eion replies with a shrug. “I heard one of his men reminded him that Giovanni met with Ivan Morozov, but Marco brushed it off. Said something about Ivan and Giovanni having too much bad blood to ever truly work together. Something about Giovanni trying to sleep with Ivan’s wife, and they’ve hated each other ever since.”
“So Marcus is out there attempting to grab a woman off the street that he believes to be his long-lost sister?” Nico asks, steering the conversation back. I pull out my phone and start typing out a message to Urso, to start digging for any truth on this information. He and Papa will have the info for us quickly.
“He met with Seamus an hour ago, with the idea that now is the perfect time to strike. Whoever called him also told him that Leonardo and Giovanni were aware of the girl, but they were letting him know first since whoever this person is wants the next generation to run things, not the old men who let the girls get away in the first place.”
“Playing to his ego,” Alessio remarks.
Eion flicks a glance his way but nods. If he’s wondering who Alessio and I are, he’s not about to ask, though if he’s any head of security worth his salt, he already knows. “Marco’s a hot-headed prick and Seamus knows it, but he’s enjoying the entire situation, seeing the De Luca empire crumble from the inside out. Seamus agreed to send men with him to find the girl, and to get ready for an attack on Leonardo while they’re all out looking for her. He’s not worried about Giovanni, but no one knows where he’s hiding out. He’s no longer residing at the home he was using with that other asshole that was with him before.”
“He’s gone underground so we can’t retaliate against him,” Dante agrees. “We’ll find him soon enough.”
Eion looks back at Nico. “But that’s not the end of it. Seamus may have given Marco men to find the girl, but he doesn’t for a second believe that it’s a good lead. I wasn’t in the room until midway through the call, but about ten minutes after he decided to send men with Marco, he made a call out to another number. I walked in and heard him tell whoever he called that he would meet him at Esposito’s in a couple of hours, to discuss next steps against his son and how to deal with Giovanni.”
“You’re telling us that Leonardo and Seamus are working together,” Nico states, gaze hard and unbending on Eion.
“They are,” he nods. “I only caught the tail end of it, but Seamus made a comment to me that he needed me to have men on Sinead tonight, to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble while he’s out. I put three of our best men on her, because that little witch is crafty.”
“What time is the meet up supposed to be?” I ask. If this meeting is happening any time soon, we need to get people in place quickly, but something isn’t sitting right with me about this whole situation. I just can’t put my finger on it.
“They’re meeting at Gregorio’s summer home in an hour,” Eion answers after checking his watch. “I’ll be heading there with him, along with his eldest son and four of our best men. I don’t trust Esposito one inch, and neither does Seamus, but he feels it’s the better option.”
“Marco and Giovanni would know immediately what’s up at Leonardo’s, but Leonardo has a strong alliance with my uncle,” Nico replies. “If Seamus is meeting with Leonardo, it stands to reason that he has no intention of staying with Marco to assist him with this entire situation.”
Eion shakes his head. “He’s using him as a way to get intel on the inner workings of Leonardo’s operation, and for information on you as well. He plans to ride this out until one or both of you is out of the way, before he takes over.”
Nico gives him a sharp smile. “Seamus always was a stupid fuck.”
Eion nods sharply, which surprises me. The man’s hatred of his boss is deep enough that he doesn’t hold back how he feels. I can respect that, even if I don’t want to. “He’s been obsessed with expansion. Our territory is starting to feel too tight; profits aren’t growing at the rate he wants. He believes expansion will solve the problem. He wants it all, just like I’m sure you do. But he’s got a good thing going with Marco. Marco won’t stop bragging and saying everything he thinks Seamus wants to hear to trust him more.”
“Seamus knows that Marco is planning to double-cross him, doesn’t he?” I interject, my mind starting to put pieces together. “I’d wager he’s known all along. He’s probably been in talks with Leonardo before now, as well.”
“Seamus and Leonardo have never been friendly,” Dante reasons. “Not to mention, Seamus working with Marco is a betrayal that he’ll never be able to endorse.”
“The possibility of war, with an outcome of more power and profits, can change a lot of things,” Alessio reminds him. “Giovanni working with Ivan and the Russians makes that clear enough.” I can tell he has more to say, but that will be for later. We’ll stick to the common knowledge for now.
“Was there anything else?” Nico asks, cutting off any further disclosure.
“Nothing until we meet at Esposito’s. Marco will be busy with the girl, but I’ll have more of my men keep an eye on that situation. Seamus told him they will attack Leonardo’s home in the next few hours, but I’m sure they’ll hold off long enough to talk to Leonardo before they do anything stupid.”
“Alright. I want to know what’s said in that meeting,” Nico orders, and Eion nods his agreement. Nico stands and we start to move toward the door, with me and Dante protecting Alessio and Nico by falling in behind them.
“Oh, one more thing,” Eion says, halting us. Dante and I turn carefully, still shielding the other two men. “One of my men heard that Marco has been bragging to his own men that Giovanni has no idea he’s getting information from someone right under his nose. I’ll leave you to figure out who that is, but thought you should know that in case it’s important.”
We leave the library and return to the SUVs. I’m on edge for the next few minutes until I’m sure we’re not being followed. Then I ask, “How much do we trust him? Did he tell us all that to throw us off?”
“He’s given us good intel so far, so I tend to believe him,” Dante answers simply. “As for the rat in Giovanni’s camp, that has to be Orlando. He’s their tech expert, and he’s the only one who has the balls to go against his father to tell his cousin.”
“You think it was Orlando who gave Marco the tip on this other girl?” Alessio asks.
“Still doesn’t explain why he would tell his cousin over his own father, if they did find one of the other girls,” I argue, trying to work all the angles out in my head. We’re missing something. I can feel it. “I mean, he might supply Marco with information, but he’s not going against his father openly. It could be that he doesn’t give a shit if Marco finds his sister, but they will care about the second girl, Orlando’s own sister. He won’t want Marco having access to her.”
“Especially not if they have a deal with Ivan,” Alessio agrees. “Even if he doesn’t agree with his father, you said he’s a wild card. Maybe he has grand plans of his own, to overtake his father and side with the Russians if he gets the chance.”
“The way things are, that wouldn’t surprise me,” Nico agrees darkly. “That whole fucking family is broken, right down to the youngest, which means if they see a way to jump ship to what they feel is a winning side, they will.”
“If they found the other daughter, why the fuck is Leonardo not going after the girl?” I wonder aloud. “I mean, he’s not going to want his son to get his hands on her. Seamus calls and says ‘I think it’s a hoax’ and that’s the end of it? He just believes him?”
“Could be Leonardo sent men to get her, too, and we just haven’t seen them rush in,” Dante points out. “They might wait until Marco nabs her before they step in, take her from him, and dispose of him and the men with him. Let him do all the hard work.”
“That does sound more like Leonardo’s style. The issue now is Giovanni. Where is he and what is he going to do?” Alessio queries. “He wants the power, and if there’s a chance he can get to this new girl before any of us, then I can’t see him hesitating. But if he works something out with the Russians, it’s more likely that he won’t send his own men to try and take her, he’ll get Ivan to. He’s already lost too many, and other than his own sons, he’s got little options. And with Lorenzo gone, he’ll probably want to keep them close.”
“I want to know more about the girl,” Nico says. “How is it that they found this girl and we haven’t? Something’s not right.”
On cue, my phone rings. “You’re on speaker,” I announce to my father.
“Girl’s a diversion,” Papa says briskly. “The woman at the club they’re talking about is a plant for the Russians. Her name is Priscilla Titova, and she’s one of their best assassins.”
“So it’s an ambush,” Alessio remarks gravely. “Pull back our men; we don’t need any losses, but tell them to keep an eye on things in case anything important happens. Don’t engage, intel only.”
“Already done,” Papa replies. “Another thing. The calls to Marco and Leonardo came from a cellphone that we’ve been able to link to Giovanni and one of his sons. They tried to make it look like the call came from some burner in the middle of the city, but their tech guys are amateurs. Urso determined that the call was made from the middle of a park near Giovanni’s home. On a burner, of course, but it’s still showing as active, so they probably just dumped it and walked away.”
“They don’t care if it’s traced,” Nico agrees. “They know that Marco won’t question it, especially not if it’s Orlando feeding him information anyway. Leonardo probably had his men look into it, but I doubt they looked very far.”
“It was deep in there,” Urso calls out. “I had to dig for it, and it took me and Zeno a few minutes to follow the trail. It’s a set up if I’ve ever seen one.”
“If Giovanni is laying false trails, he’s planning big moves,” Nico states grimly. “Get us back to the house, Dante, now.”
“If he’s planning big moves, wouldn’t he have let us know too?” I ask as Dante pushes the SUV to go faster. “Why is he only going after Leonardo and Marco?”
“Maybe he figures they’re smaller and weaker than us, and wants to take them out first,” Alessio suggests.
“Or it’s a distraction to get us to send our men out, leaving us weaker,” Nico suggests grimly. The tension in the vehicle increases. “He blames us for the death of his son, and we have his daughter and two nieces. He’s not going to go after his brother and nephew with everything he has yet. Maybe he wants them out of the way to avoid having them interfere with his plans.”
“You think he’s going to hit us again so soon?” Urso asks, skepticism lacing his voice.
“He has a whole new backer, so he has nothing to lose. Especially if he’s expecting Amara as part of the package. Help him get her out, he marries her off, they have an alliance, and Ivan gets a chance to take out all the big players. It’s a win-win for him,” Dante replies grimly. My gut becomes a raging inferno at the suggestion. “Ivan isn’t as cautious as Seamus; he’s got a thirst for bloodshed. If he was waiting to make a big move, now’s the time.”
“He’d be stupid to hit the house again so soon,” Alessio argues. “Giovanni will know we’re on the lookout now, and we’ll have sealed off any and all entry points that Tommaso could have told him about.”
Dante’s phone rings and he grabs it from the dash and puts it to his ear. “Speak.” Silence. “ Fuck . We’ll be there soon. Not one inch, you fucking hear me? You don’t let them get one inch away before we get there.” He hangs up and grits out, “Or he’s going to create another diversion that affects all of us. Ivan’s men just hit four of our warehouses at once, and has opened fire on one of the nightclubs downtown.”
“Lock it down, Aurelio!” Alessio barks. “Secure the women. No one in or out until we get there. There’s no fucking way they’re not going to try and use this to hit the house too. Send men to help Nico’s with their issues, but make sure we have enough to handle anything that might come sneaking.”
“Incoming!” Urso suddenly screams. “We got a whole convoy of SUVs heading our way, and I see some men trying to come in through the back of the maze.”
Papa curses. “Get your asses back here, we’ll hold them off until then.” Then the line goes dead.
Tires squeal as we race, Dante barking orders over the phone to the other SUV.
My heart stutters in my chest and I try to fight back a rising tide of fear. Amara is alone, with only one guard on her. I pray that Mario will get her to safety. If anything happens to her, what remains of my soul will all turn to black.
The night is about to burn, and I’ll be the one to light the fuse.