Chapter 18 #2
“Of the fact that Priest is settling down with someone,” Lucky explains.
“Ha!” Saint laughs. “You think I want to settle the fuck down? I’m too busy sampling every wet pussy I can find.”
“Charming,” I drawl.
“And this is who you entrusted your wife to last night,” Scorpion adds wryly.
Damn it.
The good mood I woke up with has gone straight to hell.
“Enough of this stupid, childish squabbling,” I say gruffly, ready to tuck into my pastries because I’m fucking ravenous. “We have a lot on our plates this morning. Let’s focus on that. You’ve all been tasked with various duties. I want reports. Right now.”
I’ve switched the subject abruptly, and it shows on everyone’s faces. But no one will dare to contradict me. We’re brothers and we bust one another’s asses like anyone, but at the end of the day, I’m the fucking don.
Scorpion goes first. “I spoke with my Bratva connection. He reassured me that they weren’t behind Antonio or Tomasso. They knew Antonio had just moved into their territory, but he wasn’t putting a dent in their operations.”
“I can believe Antonio wasn’t anything more than a mosquito buzzing around their heads,” I allow, “but why not act on it? Not sure I buy them allowing Antonio and his boys to set up shop that far into Bratva territory without retaliation.”
“My contact was firm.”
“It benefits the Russians to deny it,” Saint points out, “particularly if they’re planning something bigger.”
That’s what I’ve been worried about.
“Something bigger like what?” Lucky wants to know.
I pass a hand over my jaw. “They could be looking to take some of our turf. The Bratva has been getting deeper into gambling, especially with the DA cracking down on their drug chain.”
Recently, a handful of Russian Mafia have been arrested. The high-profile cases have been splashed all over the front pages of the news and across the internet. It’s not a good look for a group trying to hide in plain sight.
Our casino is legal. But that’s just to keep the feds off our asses.
Basically, a front. We also run an extensive network of underground, illegal gambling and betting operations, and that’s where the big money is.
I’ve been hearing rumblings about the Bratva wading their toes into the water for a while now.
It stands to reason that if they wanted to crowd in on our territory, they’d strike us.
“They want to work with us, not against us,” Scorpion insists.
“You sure you trust your connection?” I ask again, my voice sharp.
Somehow, it feels like there’s so much more on the line now. More than ever before. I can’t afford to fuck this up. I want to know that when we emerge from the safe house, Luna won’t have a target on her back.
My brother holds my gaze, unflinching. “I’m really fucking sure, Priest.”
I nod, then take a sip of my espresso.
“Could be Amedeo the Animal,” Saint adds.
“Or one of the other families, trying to sow discord,” Lucky adds. “Could be that word of the alliance between the Revellos and the Andrianis got out. Someone found out about the wedding and decided to make a move.”
“Fuck.” I set down my espresso.
We’re not any closer to an answer, and I can’t keep hiding Luna away from the world down here. Sooner or later, she’s going to have to emerge.
“We sent a security detail over to Amedeo this morning,” Rocco chimes in. “Three of our best guys. They’re reporting back to me.”
I nod. “Good. The sooner we can see his movements, the sooner we can rule him out or clip him.”
I take a bite of one of Zia ’s pastries. Madonna , the woman knows how to bake.
Despite my show of goodwill last night, I don’t trust Amedeo the Animal Revello either.
History has proven that if it looks like a snake and acts like a snake, it’s a motherfucking snake.
But I’m not stupid. I know that I can’t make any moves without provocation, especially with our tentative alliance so newly formed.
Amedeo’s no fool. He’s more than aware of this, and that’s just one more reason I’m suspicious of him.
“I vote for clipping him either way,” Saint says. “Never did like the bastard.”
I swallow another bite of pastry. “If only it were that easy. With the families newly aligned, we can’t risk starting a new war with the Revellos by doing Amedeo without proof that he’s the one behind Tomasso and Antonio.”
Saint knows I’m right. He nods and wolfs down a pastry in three bites. I wonder how many he’s already devoured. At least he’s not slurping cereal like a fucking five-year-old this morning.
“How’s other business?” I ask, changing the subject again.
Each of my brothers handles a different part of the Andriani family empire. Saint, aside from being my consigliere, oversees construction. As the figurehead of the family, I helm the legal casinos we own. Scorpion controls the underground gambling operations we have going. Lucky runs the drugs.
It’s a new way of operating for the Andrianis, and one I put into place when I became don.
Our father used to control everything with an iron fist. And while I would say he was a good don, he wasn’t necessarily the best businessman.
He had too many things on his plate, and half of them fell off.
None of the businesses were being run properly, and we were getting taken advantage of by middlemen.
I listen as my brothers give me a rundown of all our operations. Things are looking good for us. Our businesses are growing across the board, and we just had our strongest quarter yet. We’re in the best position we’ve ever been in.
All we need to do is figure out who’s behind these latest moves and take them down.
When my brothers finish their reports and I down the last bite of Zia Maria’s pastry, I’ve made up my mind.
“We’ll give it another week,” I tell them. “One week of tailing Amedeo. One week of watching the Russians.”
After that, I can’t keep hiding Luna away in the safe house. It’s a bad fucking look for a don who just merged a new family into this one. If I can’t keep my own wife safe, how the hell am I going to run an empire?
And I’ll keep Luna safe if it’s the last thing I do.
Because I protect what’s mine.