The Accardi Twins: A Mafia Romance Duet

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Joshua

T hree things are responsible for my perpetual shitty mood this past week—the run-in with my ex, Lavinia pulling the wool over my eyes for the past couple months, and Gia’s dinner date with that Irish prick on Saturday. Blood boils in my veins every time I think about the way he treated her. I was listening in live, and I almost puked when she turned off the audio for obvious reasons. Thinking about her blowing that asshole makes me want to riddle the fuckface with bullets. For the first time, I’m regretting suggesting this assignment for her. It feels wrong to force her to do these things. Even if the photographic intel from his desk has proven useful. Gia wasn’t able to properly capture each document, but we have enough to piece together the evidence.

Liam had detailed blueprints of the plant in Cali on his desk. This means the mole could be on the Colombian side, rather than in the city. Or the mole is within our ranks, he got his hands on classified intel, and they are planning a hit on our plant to disrupt our production and completely fuck up the supply chain. Either way, it’s not good, but at least we are one step ahead this time.

Massimo and Fiero were in Florida when the intel was confirmed, and they quickly hopped on a plane to Colombia where they met with their plant manager, Juan Pablo. He has denied any involvement, and Don Maltese and Don Greco believe him. Not sure the rest of us do. Anyway, they installed surveillance equipment without his knowledge, and we’ve sent a team of fifty trustworthy men to guard the plant and report to us. We also have drones in the area, and if anything goes down, we’re confident we’ll capture it.

“You seem preoccupied.” Ben materializes beside me at the window of his home office, staring out at the vast secluded Greenwich estate.

Sierra and Ben are hosting Thanksgiving this year, and the whole crew is here. Including Gia and her family. I’ve been hiding from her, but I know my reprieve is only short-lived.

“What’s troubling you?” my uncle asks.

I shrug, not sure I want to discuss it with him. But if I was going to confide in anyone, it would probably be Ben.

I’ve always looked up to him.

Always gone to him for advice.

I’m close to Ben in a way I’m not with Leo.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Leo. He’s good to my mom. He is a good stepdad to Caleb and me and a great father to Leif and Rosa. I’m just not as close to him as Caleb is.

I can’t say why Caleb confides in Leo and I confide in Ben. Or why neither of us go to Luca more. He’s our consigliere . It’s his role to advise us, and he ran the business and sat on The Commission for years after Dad was gunned down while we were too young to take on the responsibility. We do consult him on all relevant matters, but more often than not, we rely on Ben or Leo. Having them support and mentor us has been a godsend these past two years since Caleb and I took our rightful seats at The Commission.

“Would this have anything to do with Gia?” he asks, moving to his liquor cabinet.

“Why would you ask that?” I turn around and watch him fixing drinks.

“Call it a hunch.” He adds ice cubes to his bourbon and my scotch.

“She’s part of the issue.” I have never lied to Ben, and I’m not starting now.

He hands me my drink, and we walk toward the leather couch in front of the blazing fire. “Is Bettina the other?” I stare at him, and he answers my unspoken question. “Made men talk, Joshua. They’re worse gossips than women sometimes. She was seen running out of Chelsea market in tears. It didn’t take much to connect the dots.”

“I don’t regret the things I said to her, but it was reckless to place Gia in danger like that. I drew attention to us in public. Anyone could have seen and reported it to Liam.” It’s part of the reason I’ve been in a foul mood. I should have walked away from my ex and protected Gia. Instead, I let emotions overrule me, and I made a bad judgment call.

“True, but Gia seems competent, and there’s nothing you can do to change it now.” He swirls the amber-colored liquid in his glass. “Is the baby Cruz’s?”

I nod.

“Fuck.” Ben claws a hand through his hair. He will be fifty next year, but he doesn’t look it. He has a few lines on his face, but he’s in great shape, and there is no hint of gray in his dark hair. “Alesso will be furious.”

“I don’t know why he cares when Anais barely gives him the time of day.”

“She’s his last link to the father he never knew, and she’s family.”

“If she was my family, I’d have cut her loose a long time ago.”

“I’m with you, but Alesso is not us. He cares about his cousin even if it’s not reciprocated.”

I knock back my drink. “Cruz is a loose cannon. Are we sure he’s not involved in this? I wouldn’t put it past him to try to usurp us. He knows we’ll never let him join the board, and as long as Cristian holds a seat, he’ll never be the New York don.”

“Cristian visited him this week. He didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary.”

“Cruz is a prick, but he’s smart. He’s not going to risk his brother seeing anything, and they hate one another. It’s not like he’d ever confide in him.”

“Agreed.” We turn around as Caleb saunters into the room. “I know how we can get the intel we need,” he adds, confirming he was eavesdropping.

“No.” I shake my head, already knowing where this is going.

“She’s already messaged me wanting to meet up. Anais is the perfect person to spy on Cruz. She hates him, and she’ll want to bury him when she finds out he knocked Bettina up.”

“Alesso will string you up by your balls, Caleb.” Ben stands and moves in front of the roaring fire.

“He can try. This is bigger than all of us.”

“You have no proof Cruz is involved,” he adds. “You two have had a hard-on for him since everything went down. Don’t let bias cloud your judgment.”

“I don’t need proof.” Caleb claims the seat Ben just vacated. “He’s a power-hungry motherfucker who hates us all for various reasons. We know we have a mole on the inside. We know it has to be someone senior. Cruz has links between Vegas and New York, and he bought an airline last year. Red fucking flag if you ask me.”

Ben scrubs a hand across his chin. “It’s suspicious for sure, but going after another don could cause a full-blown war, and we can’t afford that right now.”

“Which is why my plan makes sense,” Caleb crosses an ankle over his knee.

Ben slowly nods. “I hate to agree, but it’s the easiest way of keeping tabs on him.”

“Provided she says nothing to him. She’s not exactly reliable.”

“You leave Anais up to me. I know how to handle her.”

We conduct a quick conference call with Don Greco, and he approves Caleb to approach Anais to spy on her husband. I really hope it doesn’t blow up in all our faces. Then Sierra calls us in for dinner. I take a seat at the farthest end of the table from Gia, sitting beside Sierra and Serena’s mother Georgia and her husband David and across from Rowan and Raven. With twenty-five around the table, it’s easy to avoid looking at her.

But my reprieve ends twenty minutes after dinner when Gia charges over to me with a determined look on her face. Caleb chuckles as we finish stacking the dishwasher. “She’s going to roast you over the coals, brother.” He slaps me on the back. “You should just fuck her and get it over with.”

I glare at his retreating back as Gia stomps up to me. “I’m done with this avoidance bullshit.” She tugs on my arm. “We’re going for a walk.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” I calmly reply, removing her hand from my arm.

“Well, I have plenty to say to you.”

“Don’t care.” I cross my arms over my chest.

She waves her finger in my face as her nostrils flare. “I didn’t take you for a coward, but you are one.”

“I’m not a coward. I just don’t want to talk to you.”

“Liar, and you don’t get to say that.” She cocks her head and smiles sweetly. “You’re my handler on this assignment. You need to make yourself available to me.”

“You want to talk about work stuff, fine? But everything else is off-limits.”

She glances over my shoulder and smirks. “We’re having this conversation whether you like it or not. It’s your choice if you want to do it with an audience.”

I briefly close my eyes before turning around. Mom, Sierra, Serena, and Frankie are stopped in the doorway watching our interaction go down.

“Want some popcorn?” Caleb asks them with a wicked glint in his eye.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Sierra grins.

“Fine,” I grit out, glaring at Gia. “I’ll walk with you.”

“I’m not mad if that’s what you’re thinking,” I say as we’re walking through the woods at the rear of the estate. It’s dark out now, but there are spotlights bordering the path, guiding our way, and tall lamps are sprinkled along the walking trail every now and then.

Her brow puckers as she rubs her hands through her gloves. “Why would you be mad?”

I pull my collar up and tighten the scarf around my neck. “I know you had to do it. He backed you into a corner.”

“You think this is about Liam?”

“Isn’t it?” I arch a brow as we walk close together.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk about, but if you need to get something off your chest, go for it.”

I don’t hesitate to accept the offer, which is not usual for me, but I’ve been feeling out of sorts for weeks, and I’m sick of it. I’m going to put it all out there, and she can do with it what she likes. “I hate you have to spend time with him. I hate you have to kiss him. I hate your mouth was anywhere near his vile dick.”

“How do you know it’s vile?”

“Are you saying it’s not?”

“I’m just wondering when you got up close and personal with McDermott’s cock.”

“Gia. Stop.” I rub at my temples. “You’re giving me a headache.”

A pregnant pause ensues for a few beats. “Why do you hate him so much?” she asks in a softer tone.

“Because he gets to do the things I’ve been fantasizing about doing,” I blurt without a second thought.

She stops, yanking on my arm. “You’ve fantasized about me blowing you?”

“Multiple times.” I peer directly into her blue peepers. “Especially since I saw you naked. You’re exquisite, and I can’t get you out of my mind.”

She stretches up and brushes her lips against mine. It’s only fleeting, but it heats all the frozen parts inside me. “If it helps, I’ve been daydreaming about you too.”

“Is it as annoying for you as it is for me?” I ask as we resume walking.

Laughter bubbles up her throat. “Extremely. I don’t understand this”—she moves her hand between us—“like at all.”

“Makes two of us.” I shove my hands in the pocket of my coat before I’m tempted to grab her and kiss her.

“What do we do?”

I shrug. “Fuck if I know.”

We’re both quiet as we walk. “I hate him. I scrub myself raw in the shower after every time I’m with him. He literally makes my skin crawl. I have to purposely tune out to kiss him and work extremely hard not to flinch or shy away when he touches me, which is far too often for my liking.”

I’m glad we only have audio. If I had a visual of every time he grabbed her, I’d have stormed his place and put him six feet underground by now. “It was wrong to ask you to do this.”

“No.” She pulls me over to a bench, and we sit pressed against one another through layers of warm clothes. “You were right to assign this to me. At least we’ve gotten some intel now, and I know I can get more.”

I turn to face her, loving how cute she looks tucked up in a woolly hat with flushed cheeks and a red-tipped nose. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I’m being careful.”

“Neither of us are being careful.” I drill her with a knowing look. Searching his bedroom when he was in the room directly across from her was reckless as fuck. “I shouldn’t have argued with my ex in public while you were there. I risked exposing you. I’m really sorry, Gia. I should have showed more restraint and put your safety above my need for revenge.”

She blinks several times, and I quirk a brow in silent question. “You’re being nice to me. I can’t decide if I like it or not.”

A genuine smile ghosts over my mouth. “If this is the benchmark for niceness, you haven’t set it very high.”

“Well, I have been hanging out with that sexist pig. Most any man would measure higher against that misogynist prick.”

“True, but I meant it. I am sorry for putting you in danger.”

She places her hand on my arm and smiles. “Don’t beat yourself up. Nothing has surfaced online, and Liam has been normal with me, so he’s not aware of our ruse. We got away with it.”

“Let’s agree not to put you in a similar position again, and that goes for you putting yourself in danger. Don’t take unnecessary risks, Gia. You’re not dying on my watch.” Even the thought of it sends shards of pain hurtling through my chest.

“I’m going nowhere, Joshua, and I’m going to find more intel. I know we need more to go after Liam, and I’m determined to get it.”