Chapter Twenty-Two
ORAZIO
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He awoke to banging on his door.
He started to sit up. The feel of Monique resting against his chest stopped him. He paused to stare down at her. A smile crept across his face as he watched her. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was dreaming about.
Probably him. His grin widened. Was she dreaming about the way he’d fucked her mere hours ago? Or was it round two that she was dreaming about? They’d fallen asleep, only to wake up and go at it again. Then they’d fallen back to sleep, wrapped up in each other. He’d never slept so well before.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Shit! The door. He’d forgotten that quickly. He eased Monique onto her own pillow, then took his time climbing out of bed, careful not to awaken her. Once he was on his feet, he quickly began searching the room for his pants. Found them . He slid one leg into his pants as he rushed toward the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Raz gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to call out for the person to hold the fuck up. He didn’t want to wake Monique up. He’d worn her out last night. She needed her rest because he fully intended to wear her out again today.
By the time he reached the door, he had his pants on and buttoned up. He unlocked the door and pulled it open.
“What the fuck...” he whispered loudly, then paused. “Dad!”
“I called first.” His dad pushed past him to enter the room. “You didn’t answer.”
Monique. Raz turned and grabbed his dad’s arm. His father stopped and looked back at him.
“What are you doing?” his dad asked.
“I have company.”
His dad’s eyebrow raised. “You do?”
“I do. She’s sleeping. Let’s talk outside.”
His dad looked back toward the bedroom.
“Dad,” Orazio whispered.
“She must be important if you didn’t take her to a guest room for the night.”
“She’s very important.”
“Who is she?” His dad faced him. “If she’s important, why haven’t I met her?”
“You haven’t met her because she’s important, and I’m not trying to scare her away.”
Actually, if she hadn’t run yet, then maybe she wouldn’t run after meeting his dad, the don.
“You look scared,” his dad observed.
“I never look scared.”
“I know that look, son. I don’t like it.”
“This isn’t about what you like, dad. Let’s go outside and talk.”
“You’ve fallen in love, haven’t you?”
How did he always do that? One look and he seemed to be able to read their minds. It was an ability his father had possessed since they were kids. It had gotten stronger as they’d gotten older. As teens and young adults, their dad could take one look at them and tell they were up to no good.
“You didn’t come here to talk about her ,” Raz reminded his father.
“But since there is a her , we should talk about it.”
“We will. Just not tonight. What brings you here at this hour? The sun isn’t even up yet.”
“I...” his dad started.
“Let’s step outside to discuss it,” Raz interrupted, not wanting to wake Monique and not wanting her to hear their conversation.
A surprise visit from his dad at this hour meant something was wrong.
“I’m here at this hour because of you. And no matter what the hour is, I shouldn’t have to stand in the hall to talk to my son.”
“Let’s go to another room, dad.”
His dad stared at him for a long time. Finally, his father sighed and said, “Lead the way.”
“You first.”
His dad smiled. “You don’t trust me?”
“I know you.”
His father chuckled before casting another glance toward Orazio’s bedroom.
“I’ll leave it alone for now, son. But I must meet her if she’s really important to you. The men in our family don’t have a lot of luck when it comes to women. I can help you decide if she’s right for you or not.”
“It’s already been decided.”
“You don’t want my input?”
“No. Just your blessing.”
“Hmmm. We’ll see after I meet her, which I hope is soon.”
With that said, his dad turned and left the room. Orazio followed behind him, carefully closing the door.
“You’ll meet her when she’s ready. Not a day before that,” Raz told him, still facing the door, hating that he had to leave Rosa’s side.
“Look at you,” his dad said from behind him. “Man up. She’s still there. She’ll be there when you return.”
That’s true. Knowing that didn’t make leaving her side any easier. She’d confessed that she was falling for him. That meant she belonged to him now. She wasn’t going anywhere. A sense of contentment washed over him.
Facing his dad, Orazio nodded to the left. “After you.”
Shaking his head, his dad headed down the hall with Orazio following behind him. They took the elevator to the floor beneath Orazio’s.
“Is all of this necessary?” his dad asked after they reached the guest room.
“For our type of conversations, it is.”
He wanted to keep this as far away from Monique as possible. Raz used his all-access key card to open the door. It was supposed to only be used for emergencies. But he was the boss. And this could potentially be an emergency. Once they were in the room, his dad faced him.
“Bethany’s father called me tonight. We have a problem.”
Fucking Bethany! Should he rethink his code of not killing women?
“Did you hear what I said, Raz?” His father asked. “Beth’s dad called me. We have a problem.”
“Yeah, I heard all of that.” Raz shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about what she did to Cas?”
“He told you?”
“Yeah. Kind of.”
“Did he tell you or not?”
“I invited her here, not knowing she’d done that to him. Because I was left in the dark, I invited the woman who tried to ruin him into his personal space. He never wanted to see her again. But I made him look at her. I wouldn’t have done that if I’d known what happened between them. You should’ve told me.”
“He didn’t want you to know.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You should’ve told me.”
“Tone,” his dad warned.
“Why should I watch my tone when you keep me in the dark about stuff like this?”
“Because I’m your father.”
“And I’m his brother.”
“Yes. But I’m his father . And my son told me not to tell you. Was I supposed to go behind his back and reveal his secrets?”
“Yes!” Raz shouted. “What’s more important, secrets or protection? How can I protect them if I don’t know their secrets?”
“Are we still talking about Cas?” his dad asked.
No . He was thinking of Monique, too. If he didn’t know her past, how could he know what he was up against? How could he properly protect her?
“Or are you talking about the woman sleeping in your room?”
Raz strode over to the sitting area and sat down.
His dad approached. “Who is she?”
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s talk about Bethany. What did her dad want?”
His father sat down on the couch to Raz’s right. “First, tell me what happened tonight.”
Not in the mood to go back and forth with his dad, Raz simply nodded. He proceeded to tell him about Monique’s friend and how Cas was pretty much obsessed with her. He told him about Cas not wanting Meka to leave his room, which was why Raz called Bethany, hoping she would be a distraction for Cas.
He then told his father that Meka had already known about Bethany, which meant Cas had confided in her before tonight.
“He’s acting like he’s known Meka for a long time,” Raz said, thinking out loud.
“Ahh, so he’s found her?” his dad muttered.
“Found who?”
“The woman who makes him feel like his world isn’t ending. I must admit, I didn’t think she was real.”
“Wait! What?”
“That’s a story for your brother to tell you.”
Raz took a deep breath to keep from getting any angrier than he already was. So many fucking secrets.
“Cas isn’t leaving you in the dark on purpose,” his dad told him. “He’s always been closed off. Sure, he meddles in everyone else’s business. That’s only to keep you all from meddling in his. By the time he’s done irritating you, you don’t have the energy to ask him what’s going on with him. It’s a defense mechanism. He’s been that way since he was a kid.”
Raz frowned. “Really?”
Why the fuck hadn’t he noticed? Now that he thought about it, his brother talked a lot but rarely about the things going on in his own life.
“Shit.” Raz massaged his forehead. “I thought I knew him. I thought he knew he could come to me with anything.”
“He knows,” his dad said, leaning back against the couch cushion. “He just doesn’t want you to worry about him.”
“How can I not worry?”
“That’s the part he’s never gotten. He doesn’t realize that in trying to keep us from worrying, he only makes us worry more. He’ll talk when he’s ready, Raz. Give him time. I’m not here tonight to discuss Cas. I’m here to talk about you.”
“Why me?” Raz frowned.
“You’re the one who called Bethany.”
“And?”
“After the incident between her and Cas, I signed an agreement with her father stating we’d never bother them, and likewise, they’d never bother us. Tonight, you broke that agreement.”
“Fuck that agreement. Fuck them.”
“Raz...”
“No. Fuck them. His daughter lied on my brother. Why the hell did you sign an agreement with them?”
“Cas was set to invest in some businesses with them. Because of the incident, those businesses fell through, costing Beth’s family a lot of money. The only way I was able to get her father to not take his daughter’s false accusations any further was by paying him off and signing that agreement.”
“That’s the dumbest shi...”
“Watch your language, Raz.”
Raz sighed. “That’s the dumbest mess I’ve ever heard.”
“At the time, it was the best way to settle things. The agreement part was my idea to protect Cas and keep Beth away from him. And the agreement worked. She stayed away until you called her.”
“Yeah, I fuc.... Messed up. But that agreement was unnecessary. If her dad was giving you issues, we could’ve just taken him out.”
“After what happened with Beth, taking her father out would’ve made Cas the main suspect. That damn police chief was looking for any reason to have my boy locked away. I wasn’t about to give him one.”
“Damn.”
Raz swiped his hand over his face. If it was him, he would’ve just put a bullet in Beth’s father and let that be the end of it. Was his dad going soft as he got older? In the past, that would’ve been the way his father handled this, too.
“I couldn’t go that route at the time,” his dad continued. “But that option is still on the table.”
“Okay. So, I called Bethany and broke the agreement. What now? What does her dad want?”
“He wants what he’s always wanted, to be connected to our family. I’ve offered him money. I’ve offered him land and buildings. He turned all of that down. He wants our families to be united.”
“United? What the hell does that mean?”
“Marriage, Raz. He wants one of his daughters to marry one of my sons.”
“You put that in the agreement?”
“Hell no. But he doesn’t want what’s in the agreement. He doesn’t want the money I promised him if our side broke the agreement.”
“Then fuck him. This isn’t a fast-food place. He can’t have shit his way.”
“My thoughts exactly. Except, he says if he doesn’t get it, his lawyer will be going to the press. And guess who his lawyer is?”
“Who?”
“Trevor Wilks, our former consigliere.”
Fucking Trevor.
“I would’ve handled this myself,” his father continued. “Or had someone handle it. But, I know you’ve been looking for Trevor. Apparently, he’s been working with Bethany’s family.”
Fucking Trevor!
Raz stood up. “I’ll take care of this.”
“I knew you’d want to. But, because of Bethany and Cas’s past, you can’t simply go on a killing spree.”
Right. Shit. Doing that would implicate Cas.
“You have to be smart. Her father wants to meet with me in two days to discuss things. Do you want to come with me?”
Raz shook his head. “There won’t be a meeting. In two days, I’m going to send Beth’s father a gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“A gift that lets him know we’re not to be fucked with.”
His dad smiled. “I guess we should go shopping then, son.”
“We will. But not today. I’ll call you tomorrow, dad.”
“Are you that eager to get rid of me?”
“It’s late. I’m tired.”
“You’re not tired. You want me to leave so that I don’t ask questions about the lady in your room.”
“That’s not...”
“Monique Rose. Former wife of Trevor Wilks,” his dad drawled.
Shit.
“You’ve hired people to investigate her,” his dad continued. “She lives on...”
His dad proceeded to list her street address. He even rattled off the name of her parents and where her father worked.
Raz glared at his dad. “It looks like you had her investigated too.”
“For the first time, my eldest son has taken an interest in a woman that has gone above the normal bed and dismiss. Of course, I had to investigate her.”
Raz folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t want to ask this, but he desperately needed to know what was on his father’s mind.
“What do you think of her?” Raz asked.
“Does what I think matter?” his dad countered, still seated on the couch as Raz stood over him. “Sit down. I don’t like looking up at you. Have a seat.”
Raz did as his father asked. Perched on the edge of his seat, he watched his father. There was no point in trying to read his dad’s mind. He hadn’t been able to figure his dad’s thoughts out in the past. He wouldn’t be able to do it now.
“What do you think of her?” Raz asked again.
“If I said I didn’t approve, would you give her up?”
“I can’t.”
“You can. Anyone who isn’t blood-related can be given up if needed.”
“Not her.”
“So, if I don’t accept her, you’d go against me?”
“I’d give you time to get to know her so you can change your mind.”
“If I didn’t change my mind, would you leave her?”
“I wouldn’t.”
“What if that was the only way to keep her alive?”
Fuck! Raz and his father glared at each other. Neither man blinked. Neither looked away. Raz knew his father was capable of taking Monique from him. The question was, was Raz capable of doing whatever it took to protect Monique from Don Cattaneo?