Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
GRAYSON
I couldn't get Sofia out of my head.
For over two weeks, I'd been walking around with the ghost of her touch on my skin. The way she'd felt beneath me, wrapped around me. Perfect. Like she was made for me and I for her.
I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat of my car and gripped the steering wheel tighter. That was the third time I'd tried calling her today. Each attempt went straight to voicemail.
Any other man would take the hint, but I knew what we'd shared wasn't just physical. I'd seen it in her eyes, felt it in the way she'd held onto me. Sofia was fighting something—herself, her past, whatever it was—and I wanted to help her through it.
Last night, I'd gone to a bar downtown. A beautiful blonde had approached me, all curves and invitation. In the past, I wouldn't have hesitated. But when I looked at her, all I saw was that she wasn't Sofia. I'd left alone, frustrated and wanting only one woman.
I pulled into the parking garage beneath the Donati building, killed the engine, and grabbed my phone. One more try.
"This is Sofia. Leave a message."
I sighed and ended the call without speaking. What was I supposed to say that I hadn't already said in my last text to her? That I couldn't stop thinking about her? That I wanted more than just that one night?
I'd agreed to give her space, but now, it was clear I couldn't. I needed to let her go, but the thought was crushing me.
There was no going back to how things were before. Where we barely spoke, and I fought my attraction to her when we met in person. We'd fractured that old relationship, and going back was not an option now.
The elevator ride to Leo's office gave me time to compose myself. I needed to focus on business, not on the woman who'd somehow managed to crawl under my skin after just one night together.
No, she'd been digging under it long before then. She'd just become caught when she'd finally given herself to me. I'd said she was mine, and I had meant it. But actually making that come true was not proving easy.
Maybe I needed to try another method. Flowers, gestures, all of that.
I just wanted to talk to her, to hear her voice, to discuss if it was truly a lost cause or if I could find a way to make it work. Find a way that she'd allow it to work.
Leo was waiting in his office, paperwork laid out across his desk. He looked up when I entered, arching a brow.
"You look like shit," he said by way of greeting.
"Good to see you too." I dropped into the chair across from him and loosened my tie. "Let's get this over with."
For the next hour, we went over the expansion plans for both our legitimate businesses and the less legitimate ones. Lion Freight Services was growing faster than we'd anticipated, and we needed to discuss how to handle the influx of new "products" coming through our shipping routes.
"We need more men on the docks," Leo said, marking something on the paper in front of him. "The Malatestas are getting antsy about their cut."
"I thought we settled that after the whole thing with Tullio."
Tullio Matatesta had organized a faction of his family to attack us after the death of his son Cosimo, who'd been murdered by an associate of our dead father in an attempt to frame Leo. That mess had been handled, and Tullio had been cast out of the family and the entire country by his own brother, Fiorenzo, for taking matters into his own hands and acting behind his back. Despite the bloodshed brought on by it all, the Donatis and Malatesta had an alliance once more.
"We did, but Fiorenzo's looking to renegotiate now that things have calmed down."
I was about to respond when Leo's phone buzzed. He glanced at it, and his expression shifted to one of confusion and slight unease, before morphing into frustration.
Never a good mix.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"Ernesto Savoca was seen in the city yesterday. He's Sofia's uncle, father of the current head of the family."
My blood ran cold. The Savoca family had mostly kept to themselves since Sofia's father was killed years ago and they'd moved their business and family to a smaller city where they could reign supreme, although that hadn’t exactly worked out. Another growing family from Ironstone, the Ferences, had followed, and they’d been competing for power ever since. If Ernesto was here, something was happening.
"You think he's here for her?" I asked, reaching for my phone.
"I don't know, but it can't be anything good."
"She hasn't been answering my calls." I dialed her number again, listening to it ring until her voicemail picked up, ignoring the intrigued look Leo was giving me. "Fuck."
"I'm going to see what's going on," Leo was already on his phone, and he began speaking rapidly to someone on the other end.
I listened in, my chest tightening when Leo repeated Marco Savoca's name, and asked for a confirmation. That wasn't a good sign.
"What is it?" I asked once he hung up, not liking the slightly bothered expression he wore.
"Marco Savoca is dead. Ambushed and killed outside his own restaurant not that long ago."
The pieces clicked into place. That was why she'd been so distant. She'd said patients had died, but had that call in my car been…
I fired off a text to her, saying I was worried, praying she'd respond quickly and I just needed to know she was okay.
Why couldn't she answer the damn phone?
"You seem rather bothered, Gray," Leo said carefully.
"She's Meredith's best friend, she's family," I shot back.
"Right." He didn't sound convinced, but I didn't care. "Let me find out what's going on."
Had she been dealing with this alone? Was that why she'd pulled away? The thought of her facing her family's drama without support made my chest tight. She was so independent, but right now, this was not the time. I knew she'd been close to Marco, that he was the reason she was out of the family. We'd done our checks when she'd first come into Meredith's life.
I looked to Leo, who was checking in with his security team. It sounded like he was being transferred to Jackson, who was with Meredith today as her driver and guard since Roman was here downstairs.
"You've got news on Sofia Savoca?" Leo got right to the point, nodding as I waited for him to share what he was learning, wishing I could hear.
Thankfully, my phone sounded off, and I glanced down at the text.
I'm fine. I just need to deal with some things.
The message should have eased me, but it only worried me more.
"Got it, thanks. Make sure you hang around and be on the lookout. The Savoca family is up to something, and I want them both watched." Leo ended his call and focused on me. "Sofia's at home. I'm assuming safe if she's just called Meredith, who's headed over there."
I was already dialing my sister's number before he'd finished speaking. She answered on the third ring to my relief.
"Gray? I'm kind of busy right now."
"You're going to Sofia's."
Her voice changed to one of surprise. "How did you know that?"
"Leo told me. Jackson's driving you, right?"
"Yes, we're almost there. What's going on?"
I leaned forward in my chair. "Has she seemed off to you lately? Since the wedding?"
"Yes. She's been distant, distracted. I thought maybe she was just busy with work." Her voice was off. She knew something and she wasn't sharing.
"What do you know, Meredith? A Savoca family member was seen in the city, the Donatis need to know," I said, my voice tight as Leo's brow furrowed. He wouldn't be pleased if she'd not shared something important like that with him, but she also knew better. I had to assume she didn't know.
"Fuck, one of them is here? She didn't say anything about that. It's her cousin. Marco's dead, she's been grieving and dealing with it, she only just told me this morning. She's asked me to go over, that she just needs someone to talk to about it all."
"That's all? She's not said anything else?" I pressed, relieved to know she hadn't had a clue about any of them being here.
"That's all, Gray. If she says anything I think either of you need to know, I'll tell you. I'll ask her about the Savoca too. Who was it?"
"Her Uncle, Ernesto, Marco's father. I would assume he's running things now, so perhaps there's more going on involving Sof if he's here," I said, meeting Leo's gaze, who nodded the confirmation.
"That's not good. I'll see what I can find out. She wants to talk, so I'll update you both, especially if it's something major."
"I just want to know she's okay," I said, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.
"You seem to care an awful lot about Sof all of a sudden. Something I should know?" Her voice hitched with intrigue, and I ground my teeth in frustration.
Leo was also watching me with interest. "She's family to you, which makes her family to me. We look out for family."
"Right," Meredith said, clearly not buying it but letting it go. "I'll let you know if there's anything serious. I have to go, we're here."
She hung up before I could say anything else. I set my phone down and found Leo still watching me.
"You and Sofia Savoca," he said, not quite a question.
"Drop it."
To my surprise, he did, turning back to his computer. "I've got people looking into Marco's death. And—" His phone buzzed again, and he checked the message. "Shit."
"What now?"
"The Ference family is in town too."
My stomach dropped. The Ference family, the main rivals of the Savocas, known for their brutality in our circles, especially toward women. Their main business was human trafficking and prostitution—the kind of operations Leo and I refused to touch.
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered.
Leo was already on another call, his face growing darker by the second. When he hung up, he looked at me with an expression that was not promising in the slightest. Whatever was going on was not something we were going to like.
"There are rumors of a marriage alliance being arranged between the Savoca and Ference families."
Now it all made sense. Sofia was from the main line of the Savoca family. The thought had my blood boiling. She'd wanted out, it was the reason she'd told me no, that she wanted nothing to continue between us. If this was happening, then it was not her wishes. It couldn't be. She'd never agree.
But I'd heard the rumors of Ernesto Savoca and why he'd missed out on being the head of the family. He was a cruel man just like Sofia's father, but he made bad calls without a care for the family.
"No," I muttered as I grabbed my phone and called Sofia again, my heart pounding. Voicemail. Of course. So I fired off a text instead.
Please call me. It's important.
The thought of Sofia—my Sofia—being handed over to someone from the Ference family made something primal and possessive rise in me. I'd only had her once, but it was enough to know I wouldn't let anyone else have her.
Especially not someone from that cruel, twisted family.
"We need to put eyes on her," I said, my voice tight.
Leo nodded, already texting someone. "I can probably have someone hack into her security system, it's the same company who did ours."
"Do it. And I want men watching her house. Not just Jackson. We need her safe."
"Gray," Leo said carefully, "you need to tell me what's going on with you and Sofia. Sure, as Meredith's best friend, I don't want this for her either, but if she's agreed, it's a matter of another family, one we don't want to get involved with."
"She never would have agreed unless threatened. We both know she wants nothing to do with this world anymore."
"She's still remained friends with Meredith, odd for someone so desperate to have no connection to this world," Leo said, his voice neutral.
"Meredith was not involved in this world then."
"But she is now, and Sofia doesn't seem to have an issue with it."
He was wrong there. She had an issue with it. She was willing to remain as our friends, but not be further involved. Although, in my mind, she was just as deep in it by remaining best friends with Meredith than if she was with me. She classed Meredith as family, a sister, which made her a part of this in a way she was pretending she wasn't.
"You're right, but I still know how she feels about it all. I spoke to her at the wedding, we got… close," I said slowly, and Leo's brow lifted ever so slightly. There was no point hiding it, he already knew, well, he suspected. "We spent the night together after your wedding. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. She said she didn't want it going further because she didn't want to be pulled back into this world."
"That was stupid of you to do, considering who she is, Gray." Leo didn't bother to sugarcoat it. "Your sister's best friend, and a Savoca."
"You married my damn sister!" I shot back.
"She's not part of a rival family, the Cassaro's are not a potential enemy anymore, you and Meredith are all that's left really. We always knew we had to be careful with Sofia. Sure, we knew her intentions were true, but we knew that by just bearing that last name, she was someone we needed to keep an eye on. Getting involved with her was never something to be considered," he said, although his words were not as harsh as one would expect.
Then again, he'd crossed a similar line, and we'd accepted it. Pot calling the kettle black was something he was being understanding of apparently.
"I can't explain it," I admitted. "There's something about her. I can't get her out of my head now. I tried fighting it for ages, ever since I met her, I liked her."
Leo studied me for a moment, then sighed as he moved to look out the window overlooking the cityscape. "I'll help you keep her safe. But you need to be careful. The Savocas aren't people to mess with, and if there's an alliance with the Ferences in the works... whatever this is between you two, you need to find a way to let it die. She said she didn't want in with you, but if she's agreed to it with the Ferences, then we need to respect that. You're as much a part of the Donati family as Meredith is, and we can't go causing bad blood."
"I'm not letting them marry her off to some Ference piece of shit, we know their reputation."
"That's not our call to make." He turned back to me, and I had to bite back the curse that wanted to escape.
He was just looking at it from a business point of view, a logical one.
I was running on emotions right now. But the thought of allowing some Ference to have her was not something I wanted to entertain.
Leo's phone sounded off, and he checked the message before moving to the laptop at his desk.
"There," Leo said, turning his laptop around. On the screen was a feed from what looked like a security camera, showing Sofia's front porch. "I'm in her system. Let me see if I can access the interior cameras."
That was fast. Then again, he had the money and connections for such things.
I checked my phone again. No response from Sofia after I'd told her to call me. The sick feeling in my gut intensified despite knowing she was home safe. She was keeping this from me, avoiding me, and I knew it.
"Here we go." Leo clicked a few buttons, and the screen split into four views—living room, kitchen, front door, and what looked like a hallway. So Sofia had cameras all over her house. Even she knew she'd not be fully safe from this world.
The thought was both relieving and yet distressing.
Then again, after everything we’d been through, maybe they were newly installed.
"I need to see her." I pushed up from my chair. "I need to make sure she's okay. Find out what's going on from her."
"Meredith's with her. Let them talk first." Leo's phone rang again, and he answered it, his expression shifting to one of frustration once more. After a brief conversation, he hung up and looked at me. "The Ferences are staying at the Grand Hotel downtown. Juan Ference is with them."
Juan Ference. The name made my skin crawl. He was the eldest son, known for his cruelty and his particular taste for breaking strong-willed women. He’d been the reason the Ferences had expanded so rapidly, stepping up and doing the work his father hadn’t, despite his father still calling the shots. He’d take his father’s place before we knew it.
There'd also been whispers he'd murdered his last fiancée when she'd tried to end things.
Was it possible he was the one here for his future bride?
"If they think they're going to give Sofia to that monster?—"
"We don't know if that's what's happening," Leo interrupted. "Let's get more information before we do anything rash."
I knew he was right, but every instinct in my body was screaming at me to go to Sofia, to take her away from all of this. I checked my phone again—still nothing.
"We should set up surveillance on the Ferences too," I said. "I want to know their every move."
Leo nodded. "Already on it. And Gray?" He waited until I looked at him. "Be careful. This isn't just about you and Sofia anymore. If the Savocas and Ferences are aligning, that changes the balance of power in this city. They may be operating from Vintmere, but the Savocas and Ferences were here not that long ago. They may be wanting to make a move in Ironstone once more."
"I know."
I understood how this was bigger than my feelings and emotions, how I had to be careful of my movements now. But I also had to know that she was okay, to find out exactly what was going on, and waiting for Meredith to tell me was not good enough.
My patience was too thin right now. I'd get to her place in less than an hour with the local traffic at this time.
I headed out of Leo's office, my mind running wild.
I made a silent promise that no matter what was happening, no matter what forces were aligning against her, I wouldn't let her face it alone.
I wouldn't let her get hurt or sold off like some damn dog.
Even if she didn't want my help.