Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
Marchello
I emerged from the back room off the bar, uncertain as to how I wanted to proceed. These powerful men could strengthen my position in New York, but at what cost?
“Well?” Lucas asked as we entered the lobby. “What are your initial thoughts?”
“It could be beneficial.” I checked my watch. “They have a lot to offer, but I have to assess the risks. I need time to think about it.”
“That’s exactly what your father would do.” Lucas scanned the lobby. He nodded across the room. “Who is that with Lissia?”
I turned in the direction of where I had left her not twenty minutes ago. Dom was with her as I had instructed, but there was also a man I recognized from earlier in the evening standing way too close to my wife.
I motioned for my team to follow me as I hurried toward her. The closer I got, the more distressed her face became.
“Marchello,” Lorenzo called after me.
“Who is that?” I asked as I made my way to Lissia.
“That’s Diego Medina.” Lorenzo caught up to me. “The man I told you about earlier.”
“What business does he have with my wife?”
I didn’t appreciate this stranger sniffing around my wife while I met with the men he came with. It seemed too convenient.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure you’re about to find out.” Lorenzo kept pace with me as I lengthened my strides.
“Marchello.” Lissia ran to me. “This man… He…”
“Mr. Accetti.” Diego approached me as my security team took their stances in front of me and Lissia. He offered me his hand. “We haven’t had the opportunity to meet. I’m Diego Medina.”
“Don’t shake his hand.” Lissia gripped the hand I would have extended. “He’s not our friend.”
“Why would you say that?” I studied her worried expression. “Did something happen?”
The agitation in my chest grew more prominent as each second passed. If she was this upset, this matter needed my attention.
“I was just getting acquainted with Lissia,” Diego said. “Such a feisty girl.”
“I don’t know who you are, but I expect you to show my wife respect.” I glared at him. “I also don’t appreciate that you waited until I was occupied to approach her. What is it that you want?”
“Marchello.” Lissia stepped in front of me. “He sent the warning.”
“What warning?” My muscles tensed. She couldn’t possibly mean the car explosion. How would she know that?
“It was him.” She looked at me with enough alarm to rock me to my core. There was such certainty in her eyes. “He’s also the man who tried to buy me at the auction. He said three million would be a bargain for me.”
I clenched my fist at my side, trying not to pull my gun in the middle of the lobby.
“You better start explaining yourself.” I nudged Lissia behind me, glancing at Dom to stand next to her. I situated myself between my men so that I was face-to-face with Diego.
“Your wife is right.” Diego smirked at Lissia. “I purchased her in an auction. I was promised her by her father in exchange for the money, and I held up my end of the bargain.”
The words landed like a punch to the gut. My wife—my Lissia—reduced to a transaction. It didn’t matter that she was mine now. The thought of her ever being anyone else’s burned through me, fanning a fury I’d barely begun to unleash.
“You’re disgusting,” Lissia snapped. “And my father had no right to?—”
I raised my hand. “That’s enough.”
She would not be fighting this battle.
“Marchello, I?—”
“Lissia.” I kept my voice calm and steady as I turned and stared at her. “Go back to the villa with Dom.”
Back down.
She gazed into my eyes, probably trying to gauge my temperament. If she knew me at all, she would know this wasn’t the time to challenge me.
“You’ll handle this?” she asked.
“I will.”
“I’m ready to go back to the villa now, Dom.” When she leaned in and kissed my cheek, I rubbed her back. “Make him pay.”
I nodded and waited for Dom and Lucas to escort Lissia out of the lobby.
“She can obey,” Diego said. “All of the information I received on her indicated otherwise, but I guess you were the man who could tame her.”
“Listen to me, you sick fuck.” I stalked toward him. “If you speak about my wife as if she is a piece of property that you tried to purchase again, you’re going to wish you were in hell.”
My blood heated, threatening to bubble over when he talked about her in terms of paperwork and transactions, as if she were a racing horse he had acquired.
Lorenzo moved beside me as three men who I assumed were with Diego came to stand with him.
“There is no need for violence, Mr. Accetti.” Diego held up his hand, waving off his men. “I’m a victim in this situation, and I thought it best for us to meet in person so I could be refunded for the merchandise I didn’t receive.”
I heaved back my arm and nailed him in the jaw with my fist, sending him crashing into his men.
“Chello!” Lorenzo grabbed my arm. “Not here. Not in the middle of my lobby.”
“I warned him. I will not have him speak about Lissia that way.” I gritted my teeth. “If I could shoot him here, I would. I can’t guarantee that I fucking won’t.”
“Is that a threat?” Diego asked.
“I don’t have to threaten you. I’ll do what I say.”
“Is there a problem?” Martino Cross, one of the men I had just met with, joined us with two other men from the meeting. “I prefer not to make a scene when I’m in negotiations.”
“I only make a scene when it is completely warranted,” I said. “Like when a man who tried to purchase my wife in a sex trafficking operation running through my territory without my consent approaches her without me present.”
Diego was biting his lip to stop the blood from gushing.
“Is this true?” Martino asked.
“I told you I had business with the Accetti family,” Diego said. “You didn’t want the details.”
“I said I didn’t need the details, but you never said you were going to involve Marchello’s wife.” Martino looked at me. “I apologize.”
“This is the type of man you associate with?” I asked. “Because if that’s the case, I’m not sure I can do business with you.”
“Marchello.” Lorenzo let out a frustrated breath. “Don’t be hasty.”
“It’s okay, Lorenzo,” Martino said. “I can understand Marchello’s reservations. However, my business with the Accetti family has nothing to do with Diego.”
“You brought him with you and made sure he had access to me.” I patted my chest. “In our world, that could be considered a sign of bad faith. A betrayal even.”
“I can assure you, whatever Diego has done to you and your bride has nothing to do with me,” Martino said, motioning between me and Diego.
“Martino’s not lying.” Diego pointed at his swollen lip. “This is definitely considered a sign of bad faith.”
“You deserved that and a hell of a lot more for disrespecting my wife.” I clenched my jaw, trying to restrain myself from killing him where he stood.
“She wasn’t your wife when her father promised her to me.” Diego pushed away the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes when I hit him.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be trying to buy a woman who is being trafficked through a territory you have no idea who controls.” I glared at Martino. “You should be more careful about who you deal with.”
“Diego.” Martino sighed. “What is it that you want with Marchello? It’s clear Gian Gallanti is the one who entered into an agreement with you that he had no business making.”
“Considering he’s dead, I can’t exactly get a refund.” Diego held up his hand. “I’m sorry if you don’t like me speaking about your wife as a purchase, but that is exactly what she is to me.”
“Marchello.” Lorenzo grabbed my arm before I could launch another blow to that smug bastard’s face. “Mr. Medina, perhaps you should just tell Marchello what it is that you came here for so that we can all resume our business.”
“Since I can’t have what I paid for…” Diego smirked.
“I’m going to fucking kill you.” I glared at him. “And it’s going to be slow.”
“Now that you’re working with Martino, you may want to rethink that.” Diego nodded at Martino. “You owe me.”
What did I get myself in the middle of? Who were these men?
“That’s why you wanted to come,” Martino said. “You’re cashing in our favor now.”
“I am.” Diego stared at me as he spoke to Martino. “If your new associate really wants to work with you, he’ll understand when you tell him he can’t eliminate me because I am under your protection.”
“No one tells me what I can and can’t do.” I ignored Diego, dealing directly with Martino. “He is not part of our negotiations.”
“He isn’t,” Martino said. “But if I can help the two of you work out your differences, that would make it easier for all of us.”
“Would you work out your differences with a man who tried to purchase your wife? A man who set up a bomb to go off just feet from where she stood to get your attention?” I asked. “Because the only way I can move forward is if he’s dead.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Mr. Accetti.” Diego laughed. “I don’t want your wife, although she would have made a stunning companion.”
“Fuck you.” I stepped toward him, but Lorenzo held me back as Diego’s men came forward. “You’re going to need more protection.”
“Marchello.” Martino faced me. “I want to work with you. I do apologize for Diego’s poor judgment, but I do owe him a debt of gratitude for something he did for me a few years ago.”
“I don’t owe him anything,” I said.
“If you want to do business with me, I’m going to ask that you spare him.” Martino shrugged. “Now, of course, I’m not going to get in the middle of what’s between the two of you.”
“What?” Diego frowned. “I thought I had your protection.”
Idiot.
“I won’t do business with the Accetti family if they eliminate you, even though walking away would be a bad business decision for me.” Martino shook his head. “But if Marchello decides to walk away from our potential association because of you, I can’t stop him from coming for you, especially after you went after his wife.”
Clearly, I had Martino where I needed him to be. He wanted to do business with me more than I wanted to partner with him. Which meant I had the upper hand.
“I appreciate that.” I pondered my options because working with Martino could be beneficial to my organization. “I’m going to hear you out, Diego. What is it you want from me that you took the time to send me such an elaborate and personal message?”
“I wired Gian a substantial amount of money, and I was promised something in return,” Diego said.
“My wife.”
The urge to pull out my gun and kill him was greater than the possibility of going to prison for the rest of my life. But when my feisty girl’s gorgeous face flashed in front of me, I came to my senses. I could never be locked in a cage while she waited for me. I wouldn’t survive that.
“She wasn’t your wife at the time.”
Diego was either stupid or really brave.
“She was under my protection, and if you didn’t know that, you didn’t do your homework before you wired three million dollars into a dead man’s account.” I smirked. “Talk about irony. Now that money belongs to the very woman you tried to buy.”
Martino and Lorenzo snickered.
“You see how amusing that is?” I asked. “So, if your intentions were to come here and demand that money back, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.”
“Why is that?” Diego’s jaw tightened, accentuating the dried blood in the corner of his mouth.
“Lissia donated that money to a charity that helps abused women.” I shoved Diego’s shoulder. “More irony, you dumb fuck.”
“That money belongs to me,” Diego said. “I want it back.”
“I could get you a one-way ticket to where Gian is and you could take it up with him.” I shrugged. “But I’d rather handle this like businessmen.”
“I believe my message was clear enough when I sent that warning.” Diego glared at me. “That’s how I do business.”
“You’re more stupid than I thought.” I turned to Martino and raised my hands. “I’m afraid I can’t enter into an agreement with you. I have to kill him. That’s how I do business.”
“Diego,” Martino said. “Is three million dollars worth your life?”
“I want my money back, and I intend to get it,” Diego said. “One way or another.”
“You’re a dead man.” I glanced at my men and nodded toward the exit. “We’re leaving.”
“You could end this by giving me my money back,” Diego said. “I’ll walk away, and you can resume your business with Martino.”
“How does that benefit me? You’ll still be alive.” I looked at Lorenzo and Martino. “Am I supposed to let him remain a threat to my family? To my wife?”
“Once I have my money, you’ll be of no use to me,” Diego said.
“And I’m supposed to take your word on that?” I asked. “You put an explosive in my car, and if that wasn’t bad enough, you approached my wife without me present. I already know what kind of man you are.”
“I’m losing my patience.” Martino raised his voice. “I came here to work out a deal with you.”
“Then you shouldn’t have brought him.” I thumbed at Diego. “I hope whatever he did for you is worth protecting him from me, because it just cost you the use of my ports.”
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave my property,” Lorenzo said to Diego.
“I’m a guest here,” Diego shouted. “You can’t toss me out on the street.”
“I’ll have my people escort you to your room and help you pack.” Lorenzo nodded for his men to come to him. “Help Mr. Medina to his room. I want him off my property in ten minutes.”
Two men gripped Diego’s arms.
“This is fucking war!” Diego thrashed out of Lorenzo’s guard’s hold. “You have no idea what you’ve unleashed.”
“Diego.” Martino walked toward him. “That’s enough.”
The two men argued as they were forced through the lobby by Lorenzo’s security team.
“Well,” Lorenzo said. “That took a strange turn.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Martino wants something from you. I could see it in his eager eyes.”
“He needs to get through New York’s ports quickly, and the Accettis are the only way he can do that.” I leaned against the chair behind me. “Working with me is his only option, so…”
“He’s going to have to break his protection agreement and let you kill Diego.” Lorenzo shook his head. “Martino will have to break his protection agreement with Diego and work with you.” Lorenzo laughed as he punched my shoulder. “You fucking knew that. That’s why you said you would walk away. You knew Martino couldn’t.”
“There will be a deal on the table in a few hours.” I glanced at my watch. “Be ready to facilitate it.”
“Your confidence astonishes me.”
“Yeah, well, let’s hope I can anticipate the next disaster coming, because I’ve had way too many surprises lately.”
How much longer could my luck hold out?