Chapter 11 #2
Dominick pulls out his phone and starts typing, and a minute later, he curses under his breath. “Thirty minutes north of here, on several acres, there’s a house in his name. Thank you,” he says to Maria. “And for the record, we never blamed you …”
“Oh, I know,” she says. “But I appreciate you saying that. Your mother and I keep in touch. And honestly, Joseph wasn’t a bad man. Not like …” She doesn’t have to say Andrey for us to know who she’s referring to.
We all know that Andrey was an abusive piece of shit who manipulated everything and everyone to get what he wanted.
“Joseph and I made a grave mistake that created a horrible domino effect,” she adds, “but he wasn’t a bad husband or father.
He was just controlled by money and power and greed.
It’s a slippery slope. When you come from nothing and get a taste of how the other half lives, you crave it.
I was raised in a wealthy family, so I never thought about it.
So was Giuseppe. But Joseph and your father knew what it was like to be at the bottom, so they did everything in their power to ensure they remained on top.
Even in Joseph’s death, he cut his son out.
He’d rather leave Anthony with nothing than risk him tarnishing his name. ”
Dominick and I both nod in agreement because we know firsthand about that, thanks to Andrey.
“How do you want to go about this?” Dominick asks as we walk back to his car.
“We need Eddy to get eyes on the area so we know what we’re working with.
Daniella mentioned he had men watching the place, so we don’t want to get ambushed, and I’m not risking her getting caught in the cross fire.
Enrique flat-out told her he planned to kill her, so we have to make sure he doesn’t have a chance to do so. ”
“Who the fuck is this guy?” Dominick shakes his head.
“More like what is he?” I volley. “A dead fucking man walking.”
When we get back to Dominick’s house, Damien runs straight for him, and Dominick lifts him into his arms, hugging him and telling him he loves him.
Peyton gives me a soft smile from the couch, where she’s holding their twins.
“I’m glad you’re out,” she says. “And you look to still be in one piece.”
“Thanks.” I chuckle.
Speaking of which … I pull my phone out and text Lorenzo’s temporary phone.
When he doesn’t reply, I text the guard we have on payroll.
Greg: He was jumped and sent to the medical ward.
Fuck.
“What’s wrong?” Dominick asks, making me realize I cursed out loud.
“Uncle Matty said a bad word,” Damien chides. “That’ll be ten dollars.”
“Ten?” I hiss, glaring at my brother who thought it would be smart to start a swear jar when he caught Damien cursing a couple times.
When we curse, we gotta put money in, and since Damien doesn’t want to give up any of his money, it has stopped him from cursing. Me, on the other hand … it’s only causing a dent in my damn wallet.
“Thought it was one,” I tell Damien, pulling out my cash, thanks to my wallet being given back to me.
“Infalation,” Damien says.
“You mean inflation?” I laugh. “What the hell do they teach kids in preschool?”
“That’s two ten dollars.” Damien extends his hand, and I slap a twenty into it.
He lights up and runs over to show his mom.
“Lorenzo,” Dominick prompts, used to me getting off track.
“He’s been jumped.”
I pull up the number to the only person in the jail who might be able to help him and send him a text.
Me: 20K to put Lorenzo Russo in isolation.
Thankfully, a few seconds later, he texts back that it’s being handled.
“They’re putting him in isolation, but I need to get him out of there as soon as we get Daniella out. I’m going to your office to call Eddy.”
“Uncle Matty, I go with you?” Damien asks, running back over to me.
“I have to work right now, little man.”
His face falls, and my heart clenches in my chest. I hate to see the disappointment in his features. One look at him, and I understand why Dominick will stop at nothing to give him the world.
“But,” I continue, kneeling in front of him, “how about once I’m done working, we’ll go swimming? Okay?”
“Okay! And we’ll play Toothpaste?”
I quirk a brow, wondering why little kids are so strange. “You probably shouldn’t play with your toothpaste. You need it to brush your teeth.”
Peyton laughs. “It’s a game. Go handle your business. We’ll teach you how to play Toothpaste later.”
I shake my head, confused by this generation, and head to Dominick’s office.
“Eddy, what do you have for me?” I ask once the door is closed and Dominick has joined me. I sent Eddy the info on our way to Dominick’s house so he’d have time to search.
“Nothing,” he says. “It’s off the beaten path, on a private road. I could get a drone out there but—”
“I’m not waiting for that.” I glance at Dominick. “Thanks, Eddy. I’ll call you back.” I hang up. “I’m going to grab some guys and go in blind.”
“Okay,” he says. “When are we leaving?”
“We’re not. You have a family, and if you don’t make it back alive, I’ll be forced to marry and procreate with your wife,” I joke, recalling the time he made me promise to take care of his wife and son if anything ever happened to him.
One joke about taking care of her, and he almost put a bullet in me.
Dominick growls, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You need to loosen up, bro. When’s the last time you got laid? Wait, never mind. Don’t do that. Every time you two fuck, you knock her up.”
I text several of my guys, letting them know we’re heading into a suicide mission to save Daniella and where to meet me if anyone wants to join.
The guys know they’ll be compensated well, so most will come.
A few who have families, like Dominick, will sit this one out.
I always give them a choice though. The last thing you want is a man being forced or threatened to be on your side.
That’s why, instead of creating allies out of fear, like Andrey did, ensuring they don’t respect you, we’ve created mutually respected business relationships.
I consider sending a text to Daniella to let her know that we’ve found where we think he has her, but if by some chance this Enrique fucker sees it, he’ll know to expect us.
So, instead, I head out to meet my men, and hopefully, we’ll formulate a plan that will end in getting Daniella back, killing Enrique, and getting Lorenzo out of jail.