Chapter 20
Skylar and Dante
Skylar checked his watch for the umpteenth time that morning, resenting how anxious he was for this meeting.
Especially after reading the documents Dante had forwarded to him about the Montgomerys.
Although he had no idea what was in the letter Edwina had sent to his father, he had a gut feeling Dante knew and wasn’t telling him everything.
When he questioned Dante about it, he only shrugged and said there were things about the entire situation that Skylar needed to find out for himself.
He’d suggested Skylar begin by reading the reports on Edwina’s other four children and her ex-husband. So he had.
He had spent the last two nights reading about the Montgomerys and now knew about Edwina’s husband, Jeremiah.
The man had refused to file for a divorce for five years after Edwina ran off with another man, taking her newborn baby girl with her.
Edwina had claimed the child belonged to the other man, but Jeremiah believed the child was his.
In the end, Jeremiah had been right. That also meant that when Edwina gave birth to him, she was still legally married to Jeremiah Montgomery.
There was no doubt in Skylar’s mind that Mario, Dante’s father, who had been his Silas’ security expert, knew the implications of that, which is probably why Mario had put the fear of God in Edwina Montgomery.
At the time of Skylar’s birth, he had two fathers.
One biologically and one legally. Had Silas not paid Edwina for him, he would have been born with the last name of Montgomery.
He was sure that whatever documents Mario had Edwina sign gave Silas full custody of him.
However, things could have gotten messy if Jeremiah Montgomery had taken a mind to fight Silas’s custody claim in a court of law.
Skylar was glad that never happened. From what he’d read, Jeremiah hadn’t known he existed.
Obviously, Edwina had recently told him. Why now?
Also, from the documentation Dante had given him, Skylar was aware that his three brothers were successful men in their own right.
Logan, a plastic surgeon; Lyle, a heart specialist; and Lance, a relationship guru.
He recalled that while in college, The Playa’s Handbook, was the talk of the town, and both men and women were devouring it, but for different reasons.
He would even admit to reading it himself, but only for entertainment purposes.
Last but definitely not least, he’d learned about his sister, Carrie Montgomery-Hargrove, who was a social worker.
Skylar knew all about Edwina’s blackmail scheme involving Carrie, and how her brothers, along with the private investigator Carrie had hired and later married, had brought Edwina’s extortion attempts to an end.
However, that hadn’t been what had landed her in federal prison, where she was currently serving time somewhere in Oklahoma.
Her incarceration was due to another federal offense—the details were sketchy--for which she was now serving a twenty-year sentence.
Skylar wasn’t sure how Dante had been able to access all the information he had so expeditiously, but there was no question of its accuracy.
Over the years, the investigative and information network at his disposal was vast. After reading the report, Skylar felt as prepared as he could to meet with Logan, the oldest of his brothers.
In addition to discovering that his siblings were successful, he’d also learned that their father, Jeremiah, had remarried almost a year ago, after remaining single for over twenty years.
Even with the mysterious meeting with Logan today, Skylar remained positive.
His week was going great, both business-wise and personally.
And he’d come up with a plan to deal with his absences from Haven.
To avoid a situation like the one the week before, when people had begun filling Haven’s head with foolish thoughts about her not being good enough for him, he made a decision to talk to her every night before retiring.
She would excitedly tell him about her day, and he would tell her about his.
He’d come close to telling her about the call he had received from his brother and the upcoming meeting, but he wanted his time with Haven to be all about them.
He refused to let any mention of Edwina soil their conversation.
Haven was excited when he told her that for the next two weeks, he had arranged his calendar so that he could work from the Ursula Hotel.
That meant, unless some unexpected business matter came up that needed his personal attention, they would spend every evening together.
She told him she had social functions this coming Friday and the Friday of her final week at the hotel.
He thanked her for the information and said that he would plan accordingly.
When he heard the knock on his office door, he said, “Come in, Dante.”
Dante entered, dressed as a suave businessman.
However, with his hair tied back in a ponytail and a single small hoop earring in his right ear, he looked very much like a Mafia hitman.
It wasn’t surprising, since Dante’s great-grandfather, Aldo Alvera, had been just that for the Romano family in Italy.
When Skylar’s great-grandfather, Sergio, was killed by an assassin’s bullet, so was his trusted bodyguard and occasional hitman, Aldo. The two had been set up and ambushed.
That was when Skylar’s grandfather Savino, who’d been in his early twenties, had made a decision.
Instead of a quick and bloody retaliation, Savino had met with the remaining Italian Mafia families, the Brunos and Lombardis, and told them enough blood had been shed, and it was time to end the hatred, division, and quest for dominance.
Savino planned to move to the United States, get married, and begin a new life.
However, he made it clear that if they chose to continue the feud, he had already contracted with a ruthless cartel to finish it for him.
He’d put out a hit on each of them—and their families ─ which meant there wouldn’t be future generations of Brunos and Lombardis.
They believed him and accepted the armistice he had offered.
That had been close to seventy years ago, and the Brunos and Lombardis were still co-existing in Sicily in peace.
“You and Ricco are the only people my administrative assistant feels she doesn’t have to announce.”
Dante grinned. “Smart woman, that Patricia.”
“Whatever. You’re early.”
“Better early than late, Sky.”
Skylar nodded. His dad said that all the time, which was the reason Skylar was a stickler for promptness. “I read the report, Dante.”
“And?”
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Yes. However, there are times when you have to trust your gut instincts about certain things. Trust me on this one, Sky.”
Skylar nodded at the exact moment the buzzer on his desk phone sounded. “Yes, Patricia?”
“Your one o’clock appointment has arrived.”
“Thanks. Please send him in.” Both Skylar and Dante stood.
“He’s early as well,” Dante noted. “That’s good. It means he knows the value of time.”