Chapter Fifteen
ORAZIO
––––––––
He'd handled this wrong. He should've silenced the board members permanently, not wasted his breath on negotiations. Now, he had to clean up the mess he'd made before it became an even bigger problem.
His heart raced, but not for fear of the board's retribution against him. It was Monique's safety he was worried about. The urge to be with her, to shield her from the bullshit he'd started, hummed through him.
But he didn't know who was watching this building, waiting for him to leave, waiting to see where he'd go, who he'd go to. That was why he couldn't go to her. Not yet. He wouldn't lead danger her way.
"Fuck!" The curse erupted from him before he could stop it.
Patrick chuckled. "You seem to be unraveling, nephew," his uncle drawled.
"Shut the fuck up!" Raz hissed, barely resisting the urge to put a bullet in his uncle's smiling face.
"I guess it's finally starting to sink in," Patrick pressed, looking too cocky given his predicament. "You finally realize that you can't protect everyone. That's the problem with falling in love for men like us. Love weakens you. It puts you in situations where you have to make insane choices."
"I thought I told you to shut up," Raz growled.
"And I thought I told you to sit down because the bell has rung, and class is in session," Patrick yelled. "You think you're a tough guy because you've got a gun. Guns don't win wars, my boy. Strategies do. And you rushed over here with no plan in sight. Foolish! I thought the don would've taught you better."
Raz swallowed, hating that his uncle was right. Fools rushed in. Wise men strategized. His father had taught him that. Yet, today, Raz had been a fool. He'd let his emotions rule him.
"That love you feel right now, that love that has brought fear to your eyes, that love that caused you to rush in here without a plan, that's your weakness," Patrick told him. "A weakness that can be exploited. My son is in love with a woman who walks in and out of his life whenever she wants."
Patrick laughed when Bryce raised his weapon and trained it on him again. Apparently, that no longer scared Patrick because he continued talking.
"It was Mr. Tatum's daughter who let me know that even my nephews have women in their lives that they care about. You all may not be afraid of what the board members will do. But what about the women you love?" Patrick asked. "I wonder if they will survive this mess you've created. Then there's my brother. I know he's up to something. He's had men watching me. I'm no fool. He probably sent you here to feel me out and see what I was doing. No matter what I've done, he still wasn't good at managing the business. And that part is not my fault. He handles the legit businesses the same way he handles the illegal businesses, as the don, not the president. That's not how you run a business. He's pissed off the board, made them question his sanity, his worth to them. And now you've angered those same men who can make the lives of the women you love a horror story. Bad decision. On top of that, you're enabling a president who'd rather kill a business owner to get his company than spend money to acquire it. You boys have fucked up royally this time," Patrick said and chuckled.
Raz glared at his uncle. "You say my father is handling the business wrong. But you're doing business with Tatum after what he did to Cas. My father may not be the best professional businessman, but at least he hasn't sided with someone who hurt his family."
Patrick shrugged. "What happened with Cas is not my business. I wasn't there. I don't know the truth. Maybe he did assault..."
Punching the table, Raz yelled, "You didn't have to be there! He's your nephew. Your blood. You side with him, no matter what."
Patrick smiled. "This is why you boys manage the smaller businesses. It's because you can't separate business from personal feelings."
"Will Tatum be able to separate business from personal feelings when he learns my father has his son?"
Patrick's smile faltered.
Mr. Tatum's gaze snapped to Patrick. "You told me you'd get my boy back if I showed up to this meeting," Tatum yelled at Patrick.
"Shut up," Patrick muttered.
"I won't shut up," Tatum yelled, sounding panicked. "I showed up. I lied about the president's business dealings. But you didn't keep your end of the deal. You can't even control your son and nephews. How will you get my boy back?"
"Shut up!" Patrick yelled, standing up and knocking his seat over.
Tatum followed suit, rising from his chair. "I never should've agreed to side with you. I don't need money. I only wanted the connection in name only. A marriage was all I needed to make these other businessmen fear and respect me. You swore if my daughter got Raz drunk at that New Year's Eve party, she'd be able to say she slept with him and get him to marry her. But he didn't even come to the party. You promised if my daughter said that Cas assaulted her, the don would make him marry her to cover it up. But all he did was pay me off and threaten to kill my family if I didn't let it go. Now, my son is missing, and you said if I did this, you'd get him back for me. You haven't kept any of your promises. Have you been lying to me from the very beginning?"
So, that was how all of this started. Even the bullshit that happened to Cas was their uncle's doing. Raz chanced a glance in Cas's direction and noted the pained expression on his brother's face.
It had to hurt to know that his own uncle had been behind a situation that still bothered him today. Don't worry, baby brother, Raz thought to himself. I won't let either of these bitches get away with what they've done to you.
"We're wasting time listening to these fuckers, Raz," Cas's voice broke through his murderous thoughts. "And I'm pretty sure uncle is stalling for time. What's the next move?"
Right! This did seem like a stalling tactic. They needed to make a move. Raz couldn't let this shake him. He couldn't allow his emotions to make him irrational. He shoved his fears for Monique's safety aside and focused on a plan to keep her safe.
"Cas, call Leo," Raz snapped. "See if it's too late to stop the board from leaving. Some may still be in the parking lot."
"On it." Cas pulled out his phone, his expression cold as he glared from his uncle to Tatum, who sat silently, watching the scene unfold with fear in his eyes.
"Rome," Raz continued, turning to his other brother. "I want the addresses of every man who was just in this room."
"Done," Rome confirmed, his fingers already flying across his laptop. "Their addresses, next of kin, close connections, I've already got it."
"Good. I want men stationed near all their homes. Every fucking move they make, I want to know about it."
"Consider it done," Rome answered, pulling out his phone.
Orazio couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the dark side. If Monique were hurt, if anything at all happened to her, he'd lose it. His fists clenched till his knuckles turned white. He wanted to tear out of this place to check on her. But he couldn't. Not yet. He had to calm down.
"Raz," Cas called to him, his voice cutting through Raz's dark thoughts.
Orazio's head snapped toward him. "What is it?"
"Leo said the board members raced out of here in a hurry. He said the one who was shot stopped and stared around the restaurant as if he was looking for someone. Leo believes it was the wounded one's men who'd been guarding the front of the restaurant. But the man didn't ask any questions on his way out."
So those men had been Frillman's, not Tatum's.
Frillman had nearly fooled Raz with that weak act he'd put on during the meeting. The bastard was probably the head of the board, the leader who'd convinced the others to side with Patrick. That was fine. Raz would soon sever that head and send it to Mrs. Frillman. She deserved to see her husband one last time.
"Leo also said," Cas continued. "That before they came out, he put tracking devices on the bottom of each of their cars."
Finally, some good news.
"Tell Leo to track each car's movements and report to me if any head in the direction of the hospital where Monique, her friends, and my father are," Raz ordered.
Cas relayed Raz's orders to Leo. Orazio's gaze then locked onto Bryce, who stood rigid at the front of the room, a statue of contained violence. His cousin's eyes never strayed from Patrick, who seemed too excited, considering this was probably his last day alive.
"Bryce," Orazio barked, pulling Bryce from the silent standoff with his father.
Bryce faced him. "I'm listening."
"Contact the family. Tell them we're all on high alert. Explain the situation."
Bryce nodded. "I'll take care of it. I need to call my mom also so that she can go to my place, where Tati's at. They'll be safe there."
"Will she?" Patrick's taunt slithered through the air. He smiled, an expression devoid of warmth. "Will your mother be safe there, son?"
Bryce's answering smile held no humor. "Yes, she'll be safe there. She's much safer now that you're no longer alive."
"But I'm right here, alive and well," Patrick chimed.
"You're a ghost who hasn't realized he's dead yet," Bryce replied. "And you'll never see my mother again. I'm sure she'll shed no tears when I tell her you're gone and left everything you own to her."
"I'm sure my lawyer will disagree with that," Patrick drawled.
"Your lawyer is a ghost, too," Bryce replied. "Ghosts don't get to make decisions."
Patrick's response was only laughter. But Raz saw the look in his uncle's eyes. Though he was trying not to let it show, Patrick was worried.
"You boys really are funny," Patrick drawled. "You stormed in here but didn't even do a sweep of the room."
"If you had a gun on you and weren't scared to shoot it, you would've already pulled the trigger," Raz stated, trying to see where Patrick was going with this little speech.
"I never said I had a weapon," Patrick explained. "Tatum made us hand them over before we entered the room. He thought the two men he placed outside, along with the two he allowed Frillman to bring in, would be enough to protect us. I knew better," Patrick said. "Which is why I made sure this room was bugged."
"Liar," Rome announced. "I secretly scanned the room the moment we sat down."
Patrick glared at Rome and said, "You use high-tech devices that search for high-tech devices. I'm old school." Patrick held up his hand. He was holding a flip phone that was open.
"Our entire conversation has been recorded," Patrick informed them. "There's this neat app where others can sign in to listen to the call. I needed it for all those late-night meetings with the don so the board could hear how he truly felt about them. It came in handy today, too. By now, the board already knows that their cars are tagged and that they should ditch them. They also know their families are about to be locked down. I'm sure they've put things in motion to ensure you can't achieve that goal."
This motherfucker! They'd been too lax with how they'd handled this entire situation. Fuck! Raz looked toward Bryce when he saw his cousin stalking over to Patrick out of the corner of his eye.
Before Raz could say anything, Bryce slapped Patrick across the face with his gun, causing Patrick's head to jerk to the side. Patrick spat blood on the table but kept laughing. Bryce slapped him with his gun again. Blood dripped down the side of Patrick's face.
"Stop," Raz yelled. "Don't kill him. Let the family deal with him. Get him out of here. If I have to keep listening to his laughter, I'll put a bullet in him myself," Raz yelled.
Bryce quickly pulled Patrick to his feet, causing the flip phone to fall out of Patrick's hand and clatter onto the floor. Orazio strode over and picked the phone up. It appeared to still be recording, meaning whoever was listening in could still hear them.
Raz brought the phone closer to his mouth and said, "I know you're all listening in. I hope you can hear me loud and clear. In my eyes, you're already dead. All of you. The trigger just hasn't been pulled yet. Don't waste your time sending your men after me. I'm coming to you. And when I'm done, you're going to wish you'd never heard the name Cattaneo."
Raz ended the recording, his glare drifting to Patrick, who was being dragged from the room. Their gazes met. Patrick was still laughing. Raz smiled as he thought of all the bodies he was about to drop. Patrick's gaze narrowed as he took in Raz's expression. His uncle's laughter ceased as the reality of the situation sank in.
"You won't win," Patrick yelled at Orazio. "Your father won't win. The family will see that I'm right. I was doing this for the Cattaneos. I was. I swear. It's me who deserves to be president of Cattaneo Corp. It's me who deserves to be don. I'm the one who's put in the most work. I am the don!" Patrick yelled, eyes wide. "I am the don!"
"Goodbye, Uncle Patrick. Rest in hell," Raz issued what he hoped would be his final farewell to his uncle.
"Fuck your goodbyes, you little bastard," Patrick yelled. "Rest in hell to your father, whoever the fuck Monique is, and her friends. The board heard everything. You mentioned a hospital. I'm sure they're sending their men to all the hospitals right now. I'm sure you have a black suit already. You'll need it soon."
Raz's smile fell as Bryce dragged Patrick from the room. Fuck! The recorder had been playing when he'd ordered Leo to let him know if any board members headed toward the hospital where his father, Monique, and her friends were. Shit . They had no time to waste. Raz pulled his phone out and called his casino's security manager, Reggie.
"Reggie, up the guards at the hospital where we send our team for physicals. Even if we have to outsource the manpower. First, contact some of the casino security guards from all of our casinos who are off today. They'll get paid triple to stand watch at the hospital until I tell them to leave. Tell them it could be hours or..." He paused.
This shit could last longer if they weren't able to end this tonight. Raz sighed, swiping his hand across his face.
"Or," he continued. "It could last days. Tell them to come prepared for days. Have the doctor set them up in rooms near our patients and my father."
"Yes, sir," Reggie muttered.
Ending the call, Raz faced his brothers. "Let's go. It's time to paint the town red," he told them.
"What about Tatum?" Cas asked.
Raz looked over at Tatum, who was trembling in his seat. "Kill him."
Tatum's eyes widened. But Cas shook his head as the man began pleading for his life.
"Death would be too good for him. I'll send him to the family with Uncle Patrick," Cas countered. "I'll tell them to leave this one for me. I'll call Bryce and tell him to hold up. We got one more."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Raz agreed as Rome began packing his stuff.
His brothers rose from their seats. Rome followed Raz and the other guards out of the room while Cas trailed behind them, his gun pointed at Tatum. Tonight, Raz wouldn't go home, he wouldn't return to the hospital, he wouldn't rest until every board member was dead. The first person he wanted dead was Frillman's bitch ass.
It was time to cut the head off a snake.