Chapter 16 ~ Alexander #2
Carlos wakes me up once we land in Redding.
It’s eight at night and even though I slept for a few hours, I’m tired as hell.
The car is waiting, and we climb in. Once at the hotel, we grab a room with two double beds.
I don’t need a fancy suite. I want to be in and out as soon as possible and get home.
I toss my duffle bag on the floor and face plant on the bed. “Fuck.”
Carlos tosses his bag at the end of his bed and sits down; leaning back on the headboard, he flips his feet up, crosses them at the ankle and folds his hand on his stomach, notching his fingers together.
I lift myself up on my elbows and look over at him. “Hungry?”
“Starving” He doesn’t move, just stares at the wall.
He is in process mode. So, I sit up, grab the phone, and call the front desk.
Burgers and fries with a couple of cokes.
I stand up and go to the closet to hang up my suit jacket as I kick off my shoes, undo my tie, and toss it on the nightstand.
I sit back down on the bed and rest my elbows on my knees, just looking at the floor.
“So, there’s no way out for her, is there?”
I asked him the question burning in my head for the last six hours. I already know the answer, but I just want to hear him say it, or maybe he can find hope where I can’t see any.
“Only one, and it depends on tomorrow.” He says coldly.
I bite the inside of my cheek. He has more faith than I do. Without her, the whole thing wouldn’t work; the money wouldn’t be transferred or accepted. The accounts are all in her name.
“Food should be here in 15 minutes. I’m going to take a shower. Wash this fucking day off.”
Carlos just nods. I grab my duffle bag and dig through it, grabbing my jogging pants and t-shirt. I close the bathroom door and turn on the shower, letting the water run. I take off my suit, slip it on a hanger and climb in and let the hot water slide down my back.
I grabbed the tiny little bottle of shampoo and put some in my hand to wash my hair. No matter what I do, no matter how many scenarios I come up with, I can’t think of a way to save her. Even though she’s my wife, and Robert made damn sure she would be.
That ring on her finger doesn’t mean shit when you’re stealing millions from an organization this big. No one is immune to the punishment for that kind of disloyalty, not even if that person is my wife.
I don’t know if he thought that would buy him more time to take us out and take over the chair. These are questions that I have no answers to. I have no answers to anything right now. I don’t even know why I’m bothering to think of how to save her.
I can’t.
Carlos knocks on the door and says food is here, so I turn off the shower, step out, and dry off.
Slip on my t-shirt, pull out my jogging pants, and open the door, letting the steam fill the room.
I’m hungry and I just want to go to bed.
Everything hinges on the bank tomorrow, and it opens first thing in the morning, so we’ll have breakfast, get in there, and get out.
I send a quick text to Sasha asking about Isabella. She replies,
Sasha: She is sleeping but didn’t eat her supper.
~ ~ ~
We wake up in the morning and head down to the restaurant in the hotel, have a quick breakfast, and then head out to the bank.
It’s Friday morning, and I want to get in, get out and back to Chicago with the paperwork, so we can schedule a meeting for either tonight or Saturday morning and get this shit over with.
Carlos pulls up in front of the bank and I step out, adjusting my suit and everyone on the street stops and stares at us.
Carlos steps up beside me and we move toward the bank.
To them, we look like some scene out of a movie.
A black car pulls up in front of a bank.
Two six foot three Italian men, with dark sunglasses wearing suits, step out, looking like something out of The Godfather.
Carlos holds the door open for me and I step in, heading to the first desk I can find. There are about seven people in the bank; three of them are bank tellers, and they all just stop and stare. It’s dead quiet here. I head over to the first open teller and asked for Sally Baker.
She steps away and heads to the back office. A few seconds later, a tiny older Italian woman with gray hair comes out from around the corner and approaches me.
“Follow me, please.”
She takes us to a back office and closes a door, signaling for us to take a seat. I undo my suit jacket, sit and cross my legs, clasping my hands on my thigh.
“How can I help you?”
I dig into my pocket, lift the key and twist it in my fingers. Her eyes go wide and her face pinches as she glares at us.
“Where did you get that?”
I raise my eyebrow. “Does it really matter? I’m here for what that key will open.” I say flatly.
She glares at me. “It’s not as simple as that. Your name?”
“Alexander Russo.”
“And his?” she points with her chin.
I grip the key in my fist. “It doesn’t matter what his name is.”
She lifts her chin proudly and moves papers on her desk. “Angelo Gallo was my cousin, and I was left with strict instructions to make sure that I hand this information over to the right person. I thought your father would be the one to retrieve it.”
“Well, he’s not here and I am. So, can you show us the vault or not? I have a schedule to keep.”
She smiles at us. “Cocky, just like your father. I’d recognize those silver eyes anywhere.”
She gets up, and we follow her to the back of the building, where she unlocks a large door.
We step into the main area, and there is a table in the center with two chairs.
She holds her hand out for the key, and I give it to her.
She walks over to the wall, unlocks the little metal door, and removes the tin box.
She puts it down on the table, takes out a key and hands me back the key that Angelo gave us. We both put them in and turn them at the same time. The lid pops up.
“I’ll let you boys do your business. Tell your father I say hi and tell your mother I miss her. We had quite a time when we were younger. Just leave the box on the counter and I’ll put it away. Whatever Angelo left in here, I hope you find the answers. I miss him every day.”
With that, she leaves, and Carlos and I step up to the box. I lift the lid, and inside is a brown envelope, and that’s it. I don’t really know what I was expecting; a gun, diamods, fuck anything more dramatic than another plain brown envelope.
I pull it out and flip it around, looking at it. Nothing is written on it, and it’s sealed. I hand it to Carlos and drop the lid.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here and go back to Chicago. I want to know what’s in this.”
Once back at the hotel, I text my father and he is setting up a meeting for tonight. We grab our shit and check out, heading to the airport. I check my messages on the way and there's one from Danny. I just shake my head. What now?
Isabella wants to read by the pool today, and the sculpture I ordered is en route. Anna won’t be on hand to set it up. So, he’s wondering if Isabella can handle it for him. I just text a simple yes, I don’t want to discuss her.
Another one of my dumb ideas to make her happy. I haven’t bothered to check the camera feeds ever since last night. I don’t want to look at her face. Every time I think of checking the feed, those green eyes make my stomach turn. I click off my phone and put it in my pocket.
We get to the airport, we unload, and I climb up the stairs, sit down in my seat, and buckle myself in. Janice asks if we wanted anything and after the last couple of days, I think I’m due for a whiskey. I’m not going to get hammered, but I definitely could use a drink.
Carlos comes and sits beside me, straps himself in and stares out the window and says nothing. I think he’s waiting for me to say something, talk about Isabella, but I really don’t know what to say.
I spent a good part of the flight answering my emails and texts.
I’m setting up dinner for tonight. My father texts back and says that Christopher’s men have arrived and will join us this evening.
We’re about ten minutes away from landing and my stomach knots.
I thought if I came home, I would feel better. I don’t.
Carlos comes and sits in his seat across from me and puts on his seat belt. After an hour of silence between us, he finally got up and played video games in the lounge area.
“Are you ready for this?”
I rub my face with my hands. “No, not exactly.”
“It could go either way, Alex. Just be ready for both. The ride is just starting.”
We land, and the car is waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
I grab my duffle bag out of the overhead compartment and trot down the steps, opening the back door and getting in.
Carlos takes the keys from the chauffeur, gets in the driver’s seat, and takes off.
It’s about a half-hour drive to the house.
The closer we get, the more anxious I feel.
We arrive, and I see that my father’s car is already in the driveway and Sebastian’s car is parked off to the side of it. The boys have already beaten me home. I get out and Carlos comes over and grabs the bags.
“I’ll take care of these. Just head in. I’ll meet you in the dining room.”
I nod my head and trot up the stairs, opening the front door. I can’t help it. I look up the stairway to her room. She’s one flight away from me. I could go in there and demand answers, but I know I’ll lose my temper again, so I head straight to the dining room.
I open the door to find my father sitting in my seat at the head of the table. Sebastian’s on his right, and my chair is open on the left. Christopher and his men haven’t arrived yet; Danny is sitting a few feet down. I pull out my chair, undo my suit jacket, and sit down.
My father looks at me, “How was your flight?”
I grab that coffee carafe in front of me and pour myself a cup.
“Long. I don’t understand why Angelo had to have a bank in California.
Especially when he lived here. According to his cousin, he wanted to make sure that this information was protected.
She says to say hi to you and Mom and that you had a lot of fun when you were kids. ” I wink and smile at him over my cup.
My father covers his grin with his finger and looks at the table.
“Yes, we did.”
Sebastian pipes up and says Christopher just texted he’ll be here in 5 minutes. I ordered a light meal for us. It’s not much, but it’s something to eat while we chat and I’m starving. A knock on the dining-room door gets my attention and Sasha pokes her head in.
“Sir?”
I look around the table and excuse myself. “I’ll be right back.” Standing up, I go to the door and step outside into the hall with her.
“What can I do for you, Sasha?”
“I just wanted to inform you I took soup and tea to her room and left it on the table by the door. I’ll hang around until Danny’s done his meeting and then my shift ends.”
What the hell? I didn’t say starve her. “Soup and tea? Why is she drinking only soup and tea?”
Sasha’s face goes red, and she puts her hands behind her back, widening her legs in a defensive stance. “She sustained some damage to her throat and cannot speak or swallow very well. So, for the next week, it’s clear liquids and easy to swallow foods.”
I close my eyes, rub my forehead with my hand, and put my other hand on my hip.
In a matter of a split second, every emotion hits me all at once.
I feel like an asshole, but she pissed me off so badly I saw red and did what I do best. Lash out.
She’s plotting with her father to destroy us, and I’m down here feeling like the biggest dick on the planet because I put bruises on her throat.
“Thank you, Sasha. This might run late, all things depending. I’d appreciate it if you would check on her in an hour or so.”
“Yes, sir.” She turns and leaves, and I go back into the dining room, closing the door. My father watches me as I approach the table.
“Is everything alright, son?”
I pull my chair out and sit down, waving my hand. “It’s fine.” Carlos comes in not long after and sits down beside me. A few minutes later, Christopher comes in with his two guys.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Jasper, and this is Charles. Two of my best guys.”
Christopher and his men sit down, and we wait for Rose to hand out the plates, along with some little brunette she has tagged along behind her. No one says anything as we eat. The tension is thick in the air. The envelope hanging around our necks like a noose.
My father finally stands and places his napkin gently on the table.
“Gentlemen, I would like this evening to proceed. I will meet you in Alexander’s office. We have business to conclude, and I’d like to get on with it.”
The sound of chairs scraping on tile is all you can hear as we all rise and follow him into my office.
I stand for a few minutes as everyone follows my father out of the room.
I never wanted her to die. I told her she signed her death warrant.
But I don’t really want that to be true. I wanted her to be mine.