The Vendetti Soldier (The Vendetti Famiglia #7)

Chapter 2

I just wanna be around you… Next to you, on top of you, underneath you, on my hands they don’t need me adding hyped up on caffeine to their toxic midst. Bad enough they already say I’ve become an asshole since Cris’ ex died. They believe I was foolishly in love with her, but they’re wrong. Sure, I had a soft spot for the woman, but it wasn’t what had me stuck in my head with her death. Rather, it was me beating myself up over the fact I missed the signs we were hurting our younger fratello with our trysts. Now, I don’t look twice at his wife, Arianna, even though she’s hot. I don’t want him getting the wrong idea, that I’d ever fuck his moglie and hurt him on purpose.

“My head, bro. It’s splitting. How did we end up here?”

He grins, looking like a million bucks even though I saw him drink more than I did. “You don’t remember leaving the shops?”

I shake my head and have to momentarily clench my eyes closed to get everything in front of me to stop swimming.

“Here, take these.” I don’t ask what they are, just toss them back and pray they work quickly. “The owner and the personal shopper of La Fringe who were helping us with the clothes last night traded off sucking us dry. Once you came down both their throats, you decided you wanted to sleep, so the owner had her driver drop us off here. She wanted to come up, but you told her no and that you had your eye on someone else.”

“I said all that?” Cristo, I’ve always been sensitive to bubbly alcohol; it’s why I typically avoid it. “I’m blaming you for this wretched hangover from hell.”

He chuckles, unperturbed. “Better than having to walk down the aisle today.”

Rolling my eyes, I scoff. “It won’t be like that for us; you’re being dramatic. The woman we saw could be for Valentino; he’s probably next anyhow.”

“Dramatic, am I?”

We literally had to trick Violet, Matteo’s moglie, because she had no idea she’d been betrothed. My other sisters-in-law knew they were getting married ahead of time and had a brief moment to plan before the actual ceremonies. I don’t expect my and Luciano’s weddings to be any different; they’ll be swift and probably catch us off guard.

“Cazzo,” I swear again as my cell rings and Matteo’s name pops up. I show mio fratello with a glare. “You did this. I’m blaming you and your shopping.”

I answer with a pained sigh, “Matty.”

“Are you with Luciano? Why isn’t he answering his phone? I checked the tracker, and it shows you two are together.”

Lifting my hand, I flip Luc off. The ass is ignoring our oldest fratello, and in the end, it’ll only make things worse. He laughs, rinsing his cup out before putting it in the dishwasher. The maid only stops by once a week here unless we request more, so we have to somewhat clean up after ourselves. “He’s here and is fine. We drank too much, so we stayed in the city.”

“As long as you are both safe. I need you to come home; something has happened.”

“We’ll leave immediately.”

“See you soon,” he says and hangs up.

I glare at mio fratello again. “If he’s pissed when we get home, you’re dealing with him, not me. He said something has happened. Any guesses?”

“Just means he’ll be distracted, and we’ll be in the clear.” He waves the worry away and starts grabbing his belongings. I follow around, doing the same. I must’ve walked in and tossed my clothes wherever I saw fit because there’s stuff everywhere. The night’s a blur, and I’m beginning to think maybe that’s for my advantage.

“Can’t believe my clothes are all over the place, and I didn’t fuck anyone here last night.”

“You drained your cock twice; I was surprised you could do that much with how quickly you were throwing the alcohol back. I had one in me, then I couldn’t get it up again.”

I immediately start laughing, wanting to rub it in. “Well, not all of us have the stamina of a bull like I do.”

He snorts, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, come on. I had all of our purchases set up to be delivered this week, so we don’t have to worry about anything but ourselves. Including everything you picked out for Violet. Cristo, you had the ladies at the shop wondering if you had a girlfriend since you insisted on buying Violet jewelry right after you had an epic blow job from them both.”

Tossing him the key fob, I grumble, “It’s nearly her birthday, and you know everyone will spoil her. Of course, I was thinking of our sweet Violetta while we were at the shops. By the way, you’re driving. I need to try and sleep on the way home.”

“You just downed a cup of coffee.”

Shrugging, I flash him a droll look and quickly head to the kitchen to put my cup in the dishwasher. “I’m blaming all this on you, remember? We need donuts too.”

“Oh, you must be hungover if you’re going all in with the sugar this morning.”

“Shut up. Dante will make me sweat it out when he’s in town next, so I’ll be fine.”

“I wasn’t saying otherwise, you brute. After watching you model for the little shopkeeper, I know you’re in the best shape of your life.” He grins, teasing me. “And refer to Violet as sweet and spoiled in front of our fratello. Matteo will carve your fucking face off.”

I flip him off again. Maybe I am extra grouchy today after all.

“ T wo things,” Capo mutters as we make our way into his office, and I know we probably shouldn’t have given him this much time to think by leaving yesterday. There’s a massive painted portrait of him and Violet on the wall behind his desk. I think he put it there so everyone who visits will be reminded he’s the one in charge, along with the matriarch of the famiglia. He’s worked his entire life to sit in that seat, including taking the brunt of the tasks off our shoulders when we were younger. I’ve never respected or admired anyone so much in my life as I do him.

He continues, “First of all, you’ll both be meeting someone later.” He states it cryptically, without further detail directed at me and Luc. I know it’ll drive mio fratello crazy not knowing who it is. Luc is level-headed, but he’s still a nosy fucker; we all are. Matteo glances at each of us and says, “The second issue is the Irish hit the Russians.”

“Damn,” Cristiano comments from the other side of the room. He’s leaning against the wall that separates his office from Matteo’s. He obviously got plenty of sleep last night, unlike me, as he’s looking like a mini-dominate Matteo all put together in his three-piece navy pinstripe suit. He probably tied his woman up last night, whipped her until they both got off, and hit the sack by ten.

“I thought they were laying low,” Salvatore chimes in from the seat next to me. Luciano is posted up just inside the main doorway, and Valentino is nowhere to be found. Not that I’m surprised; things are tricky when it comes to him and the Irish. He momentarily fell for the leader, and Matteo’s been punishing him ever since. Ironic, considering he was our number two for as long as I can remember and is a pretty boy psychopath. I’ll never forget the day Matteo found out Valentino had fallen for the Irish puttana; I thought he was going to kill our fratello and make us the Vendetti six. He didn’t bleed our fratello dry, but he did have him on his knees begging. Never thought I’d see the day, as Valentino’s a mean motherfucker. The face of an angel with a soul forged straight from hell.

“I thought the Irish would take more time too, especially after everything Dante went through with them in Chicago, but it seems they’re tired of hiding again.”

Cristiano mentions, “The Bratva, though? You have to be brave or just plain stupid to mess with them. Russians are suicidal when it comes to protecting their bosses.”

“Sì. Same can be said about us,” Matteo agrees, then pins his gaze back to me and Luc. “I need a few soldati to take care of some things.” We wait on bated breath for his orders, silently watching as he grabs a sticky note and jots down an address. He hands it to me since I’m closest. “Take some men to this address. Go in two vehicles, stay out of sight. You know the deal.”

I nod.

“Zalinsky is supposed to be hiding out inside. Expect four to eight men there.”

“The Russian accountant?” Cristiano interrupts. Matteo flashes him a glance as Salvatore follows his question.

“The Russians get hit by the Irish, now we’re taking some Russians as well?”

Matteo holds my stare and says, “He was supposed to marry a Russian princessa but got caught fucking their famiglia over. We’re taking him out because he needs to die. Capisci?”

A Bratva princess, no doubt. But why are we doing favors for the Russians?

“Sì, Capo.” Luc immediately concedes while the questions spin through my mind over and over.

“Consider it done,” I agree as well.

Something isn’t quite adding up, and I have a feeling there’s much more to this our Capo isn’t telling us. But, like he said, we’re only soldati. We’re lucky if he tells us anything; if he weren’t also our fratello, we’d know next to nothing when it comes to mob business.

“Play this old school. Slash their throats and dump them out in the O’Harvey construction site.”

Leaving dead bodies in the middle of land owned by an Irish-based company will send another message whether they’re with the mob or not. Our Capo dei capi is playing with fire, but given who Matteo ‘Ruthless’ Vendetti has always been, I’m not surprised. We’re known for messages and keeping promises when we make them.

“Any cops or security that we know of?” Luc questions, thankfully, because my head is too busy wondering why we’re helping the Bratva in the first place to worry about other important details.

Salvatore speaks up, “Mm. O’Hagan has made it his pet project. He and his nephew are always keeping an eye on the place. I haven’t seen any private security companies. So the cops must be on the take.”

Matteo nods. “Leave their bodies with the others,” he orders, and I do a double take. We’re putting down Irish cops now too? I knew things were going to get bloody, but usually, we stay as far away as possible from hurting any law enforcement. You put a cop down, and too many flags get raised, then people start asking questions that wouldn’t normally be brought up. I don’t say anything about it, of course, as it’d come off as defying orders, and in this famiglia, such things don’t happen. Valentino tried, and he fell so fast from grace, I’m surprised his neck didn’t snap on the way down.

“I spoke to Dante earlier. He knows to watch for any more oncoming heat in his area. His woman has the Table of the Five Famiglia’s locked down. Joker is furious with the Irish right now; he didn’t elaborate why. I guess Joker didn’t put up a fight when they spoke about the future of the city, so they must be seeing eye to eye with our opinions of the Irish mob moving in on territory.”

Matteo tilts his head, thinking for a beat before meeting Cris’ stare, saying, “Maybe you should return to Chicago for a little while. Watch Dante’s back. We know Joker wants the city for himself, and it’s not going to happen, especially not after the mess Dante went through in that godforsaken city. I’ll take out every member of his organization before I lay down our territory to him.”

“Dante knew you were going to say as much. He told me to tell you he’s got it handled. Joker won’t let a soul touch his niece and has backed off Dante. He, uh, mentioned they’re getting along.”

Matteo glowers while the rest of our mouths drop open. Dante getting along with the Chicago Crew mafia? I find it hard to believe, and it makes me wonder if he’s secretly killed them all, hidden the bodies, and taken control of everything. It was the initial mission, so I wouldn’t put it past him, especially with his crazy Jekyll and Hyde personality.

“I can go,” I offer immediately without a second thought. It’s my turn, after all. Our brothers have flown back and forth to offer Dante backup, and I’m far overdue from visiting my older fratello. I’ve been lucky and have gotten to stay home more, while the others have put in the time traveling to and from Chicago.

Matteo’s calculating stare pins back on me. “No. I have other business for you and Luciano.”

I want to protest, but I know when to choose my battles, and this isn’t the time. Whatever he has up his sleeve directed at me and Luc sets me on edge a bit, especially after witnessing him and Violet with the beautiful, mysterious woman. Maybe Matteo’s marrying off Luc, and he knows mio fratello will need me here for support? Who knows, but if that’s the case, we better find out soon because I don’t want Luc having any of those attacks and not being able to breathe, especially if I’m not with him when it happens. Mio fratello and I have always been more attached to each other than with our other fratelli; there’s just something inside me that knows he needs me more than the others do. “Get out of there with the bodies as quickly as you can, then torch the house.”

A knock interrupts his orders, making the room grow quiet. The door opens a moment later from Violet’s office, and she peeks in. “Scusa for interrupting, darlings , but Matteo, amore mio, there’s an important call for you.”

“Grazie, mia fiore.”

She blows him a kiss before ducking back into her office. She leaves the door open this time, knowing our meeting is officially over. Violet could’ve sat in if she wished, but there was no need, as Matteo gives her the cliff notes version on any important information. Besides, she needs to heal from having another bambino. The stubborn woman still makes her way down to do business a few times a day when the bambino sleeps. We all want her resting and healing, but she won’t listen unless Matteo does the same thing. Each day, he takes a long lunch to lay in bed with her, eat, and cuddle. We all stop by their suites each day as well to see if she needs anything and check in on the bambino. My tiny nephew is adorable, just like the other mini Vendettis running around the Estate.

We say our goodbyes and quickly head for the garage. Luciano texts rapidly, so I know he’s assembling the men without me having to do anything. One thing about working with mio famiglia all my life is that we make a great team. I’m guessing since our absence yesterday wasn’t mentioned, then Matteo either didn’t catch us leaving the Estate or he chose to ignore it. Most likely the latter, because mio fratello rarely misses a thing when it comes to the famiglia.

“They’re bringing everything we need?”

He shakes his head. “I told them not to. We’re going to stop by the cabin on our way out.”

Good call. I don’t like taking weapons from home; I always have an irrational fear mio famiglia will need them and they won’t have enough. I know it’s ridiculous, as the Vendetti Estate has enough to arm at least a hundred men and then some.

We pass Arianna, Cristiano’s wife, in the hallway, walking with Annabella, Salvatore’s wife. They flash bright smiles, and we return the sentiment. “You guys aren’t staying for lunch?” Annabella asks.

I thought she hated me for a while, but in her defense, I was kind of a dick to her and Salvatore when they first got together. Valentino was the same, but he’s always an ass to everyone to test how far he can push them. At that time, however, we were both dealing with our own set of demons. I realize now it’s no excuse, and I need to man up to my shitty behavior, so I attempt to be as nice as possible to her whenever she’s around. I instantly hit it off with Violet when I first met her; I feel terrible about not offering the same friendship to these two women right away as well. I’ll probably never be close to Arianna, but that’s through my own actions with Cristiano’s first wife and has nothing to do with her. I actually like Ari, and especially for my younger fratello; they’re so in love with one another it’s kind of gross at times. After everything they’ve been through, especially Arianna, they deserve all the lovesick happiness life can offer them.

“Sorry, ladies, duty calls.”

“See you at dinner, then?” Annabella presses. She grew up with a close famiglia, and she expects the same here. It’s good because famiglia is everything to the Vendettis; it’s literally why we work so hard to make the Empire successful.

The legacy is for all of us.

Luciano leans in, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and purrs, “We’ll be home soon, bella. Now, go before your marito gets jealous that you think we’re handsomer than he is.”

She rolls her eyes.

Arianna giggles and says in her heavy Italian accent, “Ciao and be safe.”

“Ciao, ladies,” I murmur, watching as Luciano kisses each of their cheeks before joining me the rest of the way. “You should stop kissing them,” I mention to him, worried. “Our fratelli grow more jealous and possessive of them with each bambino they have. One day, they will cut off your nuts, and then you will never have your own famiglia.”

He scoffs. “They are mia famiglia. And no, I won’t stop kissing them. I love them, they are the mothers to my nieces and nephews, the sisters we never had growing up. They deserve to be worshipped for that alone. Our fratelli know I would not cross the line unless they themselves requested me to.”

Shaking my head, I mutter, “Not me. Never again, after learning Cristiano was hurt. I was blinded in my lust, and I will never hurt our fratelli again.”

“Our fratelli have nothing to worry over; you and I share our lovers, and it’s more than enough for me. Let’s be done with this. We have more pressing matters to handle right now than who we fuck together.”