Chapter 24 - Jude
Walking into the sitting room—where apparently we’re having family meetings from now on—with Nicolo and Nario, I make a beeline for Hollis and Tennant. Hol takes one look at the cane in my hand and stands, setting his tablet aside.
Holding him in my arms, feeling the strength in his slimmer frame, a rush of what feels like relief washes over me.
Finding him panicking and bleeding in his office, holding him as he broke apart, then as Doc drugged him…
Those images will never leave my head. Hollis is the strong one, the one who holds us all together.
To see him fall apart… It’s a horror I never want to face again.
“You okay?” he asks.
I huff and shake my head. “I should be asking you that.”
“I’m…not fine, but I will be.”
“Are you lying?” I watch his face carefully, looking for the slightest tell.
Hollis smiles. “I’m not one of your Boys, I don’t answer to you, so cut that shit out, but no, I’m not.
I will be okay, though. Moreso when we have Roman and Lio back.
” He kisses me, hard and deep and claiming.
It warms me more than seeing him up and alive does.
I have to trust that he’ll be okay, and if he’s not, he has to trust that I’ll be here for him until he is.
Moaning into the kiss, I give him some of my weight, surrendering to him in a way I don’t with anyone else.
Hollis breaks the kiss. “Thank you, Agnellino. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Don’t thank me, Hol. Ever. Not for being there when you need me.”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t call me that.”
I press another kiss to his lips before pulling away fully. “Do either of you know what this meeting is about?”
“No,” Tennant says. “But it better be important. Doc is easing up on Benjamin’s meds, and I want to be there when he wakes.”
Hollis retakes his seat and I follow, sitting next to him, while Nicolo and Nario stand off to the side of the two-seater couch, much like how Tennant is doing on Hollis’s side.
The only thing that would make this better is if Roman were here to squeeze in between us, while Antonio and Lio sit on the floor at our feet.
Surrounded by those we care about…that’s the end goal for this.
Jayden and Ignacio come in. The physical therapist doesn’t stay, but watches as Ignacio slowly shuffles his way into the room and sits on the couch.
Jayden helps him with the walker he’s using, setting it off to the side.
I wish I knew the Martellis better, that I had time to get to know and study them, and not just their files.
Yes, I’ve had ample time now, but with Ignacio’s injury, he’s been kept away from the full force of the family.
Watching him slowly reintegrate into the family is hard, because I don’t know how much of what I’m seeing is him, or him in recovery mode.
I want to see the Chaos beyond the tattoos and recovering frame.
Keegan and Carter come in next. Keegan keeps a hand on the Boss, helping Carter into the chair opposite where Hollis and I sit.
“Should you be out of bed?” Ten asks.
“Doc approved…” Carter says, breathing a little unsteady. “So long as I don’t overdo it, and someone walks with me.”
“Where are Marcus and Antonio?” Ignacio asks.
“That is what we’re here to discuss,” Leandro replies before anyone else can.
He comes into the room with Boston and Midas in tow.
He takes a look at the configuration of the room and moves himself to sit near Carter and Keegan, giving me a direct line of sight to him as he says, “I sent Marcus and Antonio on an errand early this morning.” He voices and uses SEE, which I appreciate, as Keegan jumps in next.
“Which is the second time you’ve used Marcus to do your bidding!”
Carter places a hand on the other man’s arm.
Leandro doesn’t blink. “Lucky for you and Carter, he followed my orders this time and didn’t fuck up. In fact,” he glances at the tablet in his lap, “he should be here any moment.”
“What’s this about, Leandro?” Carter already sounds tired to my ears, but anyone dealing with the boy usually does. He is…a lot.
“I gave those two a task to put trackers on Cecily Dowing’s vehicles. She makes a stop for coffee every morning—the place isn’t even good, so maybe that’s why she’s such a bitch. I figured it would be a good way to get them together, maybe force them to talk.”
“You need to stay out of people’s issues,” Tennant tells him. “You cannot make people do what you want.”
Leandro flashes a grin, there and gone so fast you’d have to be looking in order to see it. The ease with which he can change expressions and show what he wants you to see…until he doesn’t, and the real psychopath underneath comes out to play, is…both impressive and worrisome.
Before Leandro can respond, Marcus storms into the sitting room.
Fury rolls off him and I tense. The temperature in the room seems to plummet as Marcus heads straight for Leandro, the dogs jumping to attention.
Boston stands in front of her handler and lets out a short warning bark when she deems that Marcus is too close.
Midas moves a little closer to the man and lets out his own warning.
“You fucking asshole!” Marcus growls, loud enough that the pitch makes my ears ring from the feedback of my hearing aids. Messing with the settings means I miss whatever he says next, but he takes another step closer and Boston’s ears go back as she bares her teeth. “...Fucking set us up!”
“What?” I bark. “Where’s Antonio?” Glancing to the sitting room door, I hope to find my Bel Fiore walking through it with his cocky smirk and bruised ass, but he doesn’t. “What the fuck happened?” I look at Marcus.
“Ask this asshole! He told me to fucking “stand down. Let it happen. It needs to be this way.” He set. Us. Up.” He takes another step and Boston lunges. She nips at Marcus, and he curses, as Midas presses forward again as well.
“Leandro…” Hollis says firmly.
The boy sighs but calls the dogs back. They stay on guard, but do give a few inches of ground.
“Are you okay, Marcus?” Hollis asks.
“Yeah. It’s just a scratch.” He looks at his hand.
“She is well-trained. She went after you because she perceived you as a threat to me, but you’re a friend—for now—so she didn’t want to hurt you, just get you to back off,” Leandro explains.
Marcus scoffs. “What do you know about being friends? Lio is yours, or he’s trying to be, and yet you sent one of his men—his friends—off to his possible death!
He’ll be tortured at the very least.” His eyes narrow as my heart clenches at the thought of my beautiful Antonio enduring more pain in his life.
“I swear to fuck, if anything happens to him, I will make it my life’s mission to end yours. ”
“Enough!” Tennant moves, grabbing for Marcus and getting an arm around his throat. I don’t know what threat he whispers in Marcus’s ear, but the look on the other man’s face darkens, even as Ten’s arm flexes and he tightens his grip.
Keegan moves to save his lover, while Hollis reaches for the knife strapped to my side. I stop him just as Keegan reaches Ten, and Carter stands from his chair.
“Stop.” The Boss’s voice is hard and firm, and just loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of other voices.
Everyone seems to freeze in place and look at Carter, who, even injured, stands proud and straight in front of us.
“Let Marcus go, Ten.”
“He threatened what’s mine,” Tennant shoots back.
“And you made your point. Let him go or I’ll let Keegan make you.”
“Playing favorites, Carter?” Ten asks carefully, his voice calm and collected, though we can all practically feel the storm vibrating under his skin.
Carter has the decency to not roll his eyes. “You know I don’t. But you will not disrespect anyone in this Family. Yes, Marcus shouldn’t have gone after Leandro, but Leandro is also at fault. He is playing at things he shouldn’t be. Someone should have been aware of what was going on.”
Tennant slowly releases Marcus, but doesn’t come back over. Instead, he stays near Marcus, who moves closer to Carter, with some urging from Keegan, both of them casting wary glances at Leandro and Ten.
Carter nods once he’s satisfied no blood will be shed and takes his seat again, wincing at the exertion.
Marcus and Keegan start to fuss over him, but he waves them off.
“Keegan and I were discussing how this Family is still operating as if there’s a divide between us.
I understand why, given the way we broke away from Allesandro and Cristian…
we pledged loyalty to each other, in the structures that made the most sense to us.
Except that is not how we operate. This Council, it is one.
I trust Roman and Lio will agree with me, we are standing on the cusp of something revolutionary.
We must stand together, not three Families with three Bosses, but a true Council with one large and sprawling Family.
United, we will take our enemies down. Separated and at odds?
We will be no better than those that came before us. ”
Carter looks to Leandro. “With that being said, there will be no missions that do not get run by me or the Seconds. I do not care if you spearhead them, you know what to do and how to get the results you need. I trust you.” Marcus scoffs.
“But you cannot order our people around without letting everyone know what’s going on. Do you understand?”
The two men stare at each other for a long moment, looking so much alike that you can’t help but see the truth beneath the poorly hidden secret.