Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Giovanni
“Well if it isn’t sin in a suit.” My brother, Antonio, dropped down in a chair opposite me.
“It’s a little off-putting when my brother calls me sin in a suit .”
Tony smirked but didn't comment.
In our world, we operated with a hardness and indifference to the life and death we held in our hands. Inside we had our demons that we regularly slayed to keep up and grow the empire we’d inherited.
Why was he here?
Where’s your twin?” he asked, referring to Marko.
“I thought you were my twin,” I rebutted.
“Yeah, from another mother.” He laughed at his joke. Although Tony, Tano, and Massimo had the Vitale last name, they were once Di Mauros, until my parents adopted them after theirs died.
We were brothers, and the same age, but it was more than our family bond and age that made us close. It was a long friendship from the very first. I didn’t have a childhood memory without Tony in it. He and Marko were my best friends. I knew without a doubt that neither of them would ever be disloyal. The family, of course, would never turn on their own, but that bond of friendship was key to keeping the human part of myself alive.
“I’m asking if you know where Marko is.”
I felt a chill move down my spine. Was Marko in trouble? I’d taken him at his word when he said he was with a friend who needed help, but that was five days ago, and he hadn’t checked in since. I could use our IT to track him and tell me exactly where he was, but I’d never needed to before and was loathe to now. “He’s with a friend. Why does it matter?” I leaned back on the couch and spread my arms along the top of the backrest, daring Tony to question me further. I didn’t like being on the defense, especially when I was in my place of business. I gave him a look that would have most men pissing themselves, but it didn’t have the desired effect on my brother He issued one back until our silent pissing contest was a draw and we both dropped the charade.
“Shouldn’t you be watching over Papa’s gambling empire?” I hissed.
Antonio was a number genius and our father had placed him well when he put him in charge of accounting for the Vitale empire. He also gave him our gambling operation, which was Tony’s baby. Although our babies crossed, as I ran the clubs where the gambling took place, we made sure never to step on each other’s toes.
“I am, but was wondering why Almando was overseeing operations that Marko was supposed to be overseeing, but you answered that.” My brother was saying something without actually saying it.
“Do you need Marko for something specific?”
“I needed to make a point to some stronzo who owes us money.”
“Don’t you have enforcers for that shit? Why waste Marko on something simple? Take one of the other guys.” I reached for my Disaronno and knocked it back.
He nodded his head sagely, almost absently, and again I wondered if he knew something about Marko I didn’t. I was about to ask when Fausto walked in, removed one of my arms, and sat down on the couch I kept reserved for myself. I was about to tell him off, but his expression held me back.
Antonio seemed to notice too and sat forward in his seat. “What’s going on?”
“The fucking Irish, that’s what’s going on. The éannas are on the bloody warpath!”
Gone was my quiet, calculating brother, replaced by the barely contained beast that only reared its head for special occasions. It was only two months ago that we’d weeded out the Russians and their plan to take over the routes for the eastern seaboard, at least for now. I had no doubt another would soon pop up in place of Ivan Knyazev, the Russian mob leader who had kidnapped Gabriella.
His plan had been to steal and then sell Gaby to her birth father, a Russian Oligarch named Dmitri Peskov, and the plan had almost worked. Until my very perceptive brother, Gaetano—or Tano as we called him—figured out what was going on. We nearly lost him during the rescue, but the misfortune also brought opportunity.
Having used a skill set not connected with his role as head of Mercy hospital or as its leading surgeon, my brilliant brother realized he had things to offer within the family business and had decided to move away from his traditional roles into something that offered him way more time but still required his critical-thinking skills. He would still help the family as our personal physician.
We still didn’t know if Gaby was going back to school to finish her nursing degree. I knew if my brother had his way, she’d be chained to his bed until she was pregnant with his babies.
“What did they do?” I asked, bringing my thoughts back around to the present.
“They left this with a knife through it at the front entrance to one of our warehouses on the docks.” Fausto held out a faded, crumpled piece of paper in disgust.
I grasped the note from his hand before Tony could, and read it out loud. “We’re coming for you.” That was all it said. I frowned and looked at my brother. “I don’t know why you’re so upset. It’s just a note, and nothing implicates the Irish. Why do you assume it’s them and not the Russians?”
My personal server had been eyeballing Fausto since he sat down. I waved my hand in the air, indicating for her to bring us a round of drinks, and tried not to look pleased when she scrambled away to do my bidding. I handed the note to Tony, who also gave Tano a perplexed look.
Something dark slithered in my gut. A sense of foreboding and a feeling that we hadn’t yet heard the full story.
“Attached to the door with the note was Daro, upside down, with his blood drained.”
“What the hell?” Tony rose to his feet. “Haven’t we had peace with the Irish since Papa passed away?”
“We have,” I weighed in, “but their leader passed away several months ago without a direct heir and no instructions regarding who he wanted as a replacement. Four men within the clan have been vying for the position of top dog in their organization. I haven’t heard if there has been a vote yet as to who the new leader will be, or possibly is. We don’t have a lot of intel on the Irish.”
“We haven’t had to,” Tony agreed, “but it sounds like that is about to change.”
I shut down whatever Fausto was about to say, adding, “This is a calling card of the Irish, but every player knows it. Maybe this is a trick by another faction.”
Both my brothers sat back and contemplated my theory.
“Assuming it is who it seems to be…” Antonio steepled his fingers while he spoke. “You’re saying we still don’t know the name of the stronzo leading those feral Irish? Who can we use as a spy that they won’t recognize?”
“I believe that’s my problem.” Romeo sat down, followed by Massimo. It would have been a Vitale family reunion if our other two brothers had been here. Tano was in Italy for his honeymoon, fucking his new bride, and questioning his life’s purpose.
Vincent was busy overseeing renovations for the opening of another restaurant location for Buono Come Il Mamas .
“The question remains: Who do we have that can infiltrate the Irish to find out who is responsible for this?” I reiterated what Tony had already asked.
Romeo’s blank expression would have been more believable if his posture wasn’t so stiff. Out of all my brothers, our Don, Romeo, was by far the most likely to have a heart attack. With his wife pregnant, and due any day, his need for control and safety had increased exponentially and I’m sure this latest issue only increased his need to remove any threat to our empire.
In truth I’d been avoiding his over-controlling nature ever since he’d announced Vittoria was pregnant, or as he put it, ‘carrying the baby prince of our empire’. I’d laugh if the prince turned out to be a princess. That wasn’t the only way Romeo had changed. He was softer when around his wife, but mostly because he finally cared about someone more than himself and that had a way of changing a man.
Since Romeo wasn’t taking control, I did so myself, turning to Massimo. “Simo, do we have any new soldiers with the gift of spying?”
“Luca, or either of the Bianchi brothers.”
I could tell from the expression on his face that Romeo didn’t like the options Simo offered. Luca was loyal and had been with us since our father’s passing and the chances of him being recognized were high. The brothers were far too good-looking to blend in and not be noticed.
“What about Dante?” I threw in my suggestion.
Simo frowned at me. “Why Dante?”
All eyes turned to me, and I was acutely aware that my answer had better be good or Simo would dismiss it without a second thought. His dismissals irritated the shit out of me, which was usually why I avoided the heavy lifting when it came to making suggestions and kept my nose in my own business. This situation, however, could and would escalate and we needed a solid strategy before things got messy.
“He’s the dark avenger, doing Massimo’s dirty work mainly from beyond closed doors. I doubt he’s ever been caught in the light of day, as the man is stealthier than a shadow.”
Simo wouldn’t like it as Dante was the day-to-day guy for him but operated primarily incognito, taking a lot of Simo’s overflowing plate of responsibilities. There was also the risk of course, of his identity being discovered, possibly changing his position in the Vitale, la familia .
“It’s a risk to your operations, Simo, I know, but he’s our best bet to get the information sooner rather than later so we can cut off the head of the snake before it bites us.” I added this for his benefit so he would know we appreciated what he brought to the table. I sure as fuck did, but mostly because he was Romeo’s consigliere, and they were tight, which took a lot of the stress off the rest of us.
Everyone turned to Simo, and waited for him to reply, but I could already see in Rom’s body language that his mind had been made up. Simo seemed to as well, and graciously offered his number one guy for the mission.
With that settled, the discussion moved to beefing up security and going through names of vetted newcomers who were looking to work with us, a few of whom were cousins on my mother's side.
So far, we'd managed to keep them in easy positions and far away from anything dangerous, as per our aunt’s request, but they were already older than we were when we took the reins of our businesses within the Vitale empire. I could tell by the direction of this conversation that our cousins were finally going to move up the ranks.
I drifted as they debated over names, like two teams calling out their first picks. It wasn’t due to boredom as I had thoughts of my own regarding the names being bantered about, but because of Marko. Something wasn’t right and it didn’t look good that an attack occurred on us while his location was unknown. He was family to me, but only me. Romeo wouldn’t hesitate to do what was needed if he had any suspicions about Marko’s involvement.
Tony gave me a pointed look while the others discussed every possible reason as to why the Irish would attack us now and why so blatantly. Apparently, he and I were thinking the same thing regarding Marko. I excused myself and went to my office, placing a call to Marko. It went straight to voicemail.
Next, I called Simon, our IT guy, and asked him to trace Marko’s phone. He came back five minutes later with an address. He was in New York at one of the family’s hotels, Was he chasing a piece of ass under the guise of ‘helping a friend’?
Antonio was gone when I returned to the table, leaving me with Fausto, Rom and Simo. I sat in my usual spot, waving away the two beauties on standby that showed up at this time of night to be at my beck and call should I want a partner or two.
My brothers were intently watching a group of women on the dance floor. I gazed to see what had drawn their attention. Four women in sexy outfits danced together, which was an all-too-familiar scene.
“Those aren’t your wife’s friends, are they, Rom?”
He turned around. “Sure are. Remember when I caught Vittoria here with them?”
“I remember you losing your shit when she blew you a kiss and then turned around and wiggled her ass at you.” I smirked when his eyes darkened at my answer.
“I did lose my shit, but she’s learned since then, that unless she wants to pay a hefty price, there are better ways to get my attention.” Romeos apathetic reply didn’t fool me. He thought he had control over his wife, but the truth was Vittoria had him wrapped around her finger.
I liked my sister-in-law. She was a true mafia princess through and through and ruled well at my brother's side.
“She was drunk that night, and way too flirty.” Simo glared at Gia, and I assumed he meant her, and not Vittoria whom Simo didn’t like at that time. I blamed his low opinion of Vittoria on his bromance with my eldest brother, but in a way, he’d been right all along regarding her being up to something. She and our brother Vinnie were captured, and subsequently rescued from the Calogera family, V’s brother and father, who’d been scheming all along to take us down.
“Didn’t you take her home that night, Simo?”
Romeo glared at me. “You better not be talking about my wife,” he threatened.
I couldn’t help the roll of laughter. “Obviously not, I was referring to the youngest Beomi brat.”
It was Simo’s turn to glare at me with a warning look. “Don’t talk about Gia; she isn’t a brat. She just needs someone to show her limits.”
Romeo and I exchanged looks of amusement. Apparently, our giant of a brother had a new fixation. Prior to Vittoria joining the family as Romeo’s wife, we’d done research on her. That’s when we learned of the identity of her four best friends, all daughters of lesser mafia dons.
Gia was the youngest in her family, and with seven older siblings, she was at the very bottom of the totem pole of importance and took advantage of the freedoms her position in the family offered her. Total brat.
I’d come back that night after following Tano and one of my new waitresses into the back room, to see my brothers, Antonio, Fausto, and Massimo with Vittoria’s friends, and Romeo and Vittoria gone.
Even then I could tell Simo had a thing for Gia and I couldn’t help teasing him about it still. “You know she wasn’t good enough for you, right brother?”
Romeo raised his eyebrow but didn’t say a word.
Massimo spun in his seat and partially rose. “You don’t speak about her, ever!” He sat back in his seat at Romeo’s prompting.
“I’m just teasing, big bro. Take a play out of my book and fuck whoever you want.”
He scrubbed his face with his fists. “That’s the problem. She’s who I want to fuck.”
Finally, things were getting interesting. “So, what’s the problem?”
Romeo’s phone beeped and he frowned at the message. “Time to go, Vittoria is cramping again, and the doc is on his way.”
He hustled away, followed by a reluctant Simo, who took one last look at Gia before following Rom out the door. I was thankful that I wasn’t Romeo’s enforcer. Out of all of us, Simo seemed the least likely to get what he wanted out of life, not because he was limited, but because he would always put Romeo first. Women didn’t like to be in competition with a man’s family. Until he learned to put himself first, nothing would change for him.
Not my problem; though Marko, however, was. I drained my drink. It was time to find out what my friend had been up to and with whom. When the club closed, I ran the accounting software and locked the place up for the night.
I thought about going home and napping for a few hours, but my gut was telling me to drive to New York. I hit the outskirts of the city just as the sun was rising. Probably the best time to see The City That Never Sleeps .
The morning traffic hadn’t kicked in quite yet and the streets boasted only a few pedestrians, most of whom were out for a morning jog before work. I was reminded of a trip Marko, Nicolette and I took to the Big Apple to see some Russian ballet company performing. At the time, I thought I’d rather be in a street war than see a ballet. It turned out I’d enjoyed the performance. Not so much the one on stage, but the one between the three of us.
My father purchased a box every year and gave out tickets as rewards for good service and as comps to curry favor with those we wanted to be in bed with. When I told him we were going, he’d no problem sectioning it off for us. We had a lot of space as the box held eight seats but only the three of us were there. We’d taken Nicolette shopping during the day for a dress to wear. That had been fun too. Marko helped in the dressing room while I kept them guarded. There were so many giggles and shushes that came from behind the curtain I was almost jealous.
The only thing that had kept me from going in and adding to the mayhem was knowing she’d be mine at the ballet. But something else possessed me once the curtain rose: Niki, on the edge of her seat wearing an expression I’d never seen on her beautiful face before, longing. As the night continued, passion mixed with desire, and I found myself completely smitten with the ever-changing expressions on her face as the performance unfolded before us.
I’d fallen in love with her that night. Until then, I’d thought I was in love with her, but what I loved was our trio, how she fit in with me and Marko and the possession of her. I owned her and we all knew it. Then that one magical night in the Big Apple changed my perception forever.
Get your head on straight, Vitale, I chastised. The past is behind you where it belongs.
When I arrived at the hotel Marko had been tracked to, I checked in and received a key card. I swiped it over the scanner in the elevator. The doors opened to the private lobby in the suite. The blackout screens were already open and warm sunlight poured in through the ten-foot sliding glass doors that ran the length of the patio.
It wasn’t until I glanced down that I noticed things were not right. There were two champagne glasses on the coffee table and a woman's scarf hanging over the couch. That little fucker. He must have decided to use the place and entertain his so-called friend.
Deciding to scare the shit out of him, I removed my shoes and tiptoed across the marble floor to bedroom number one. I slowly opened the door, expecting to interrupt something, but there was no one there. I took the stairs up to the second level and found a trail of clothing leading to one of the five bedrooms there.
I cracked open the door and sure enough, Marko was in bed with a woman trapped beneath his huge body. I tiptoed around to his side, picked up a half-filled glass off the nightstand, and took a whiff. Only water. I dipped my fingers in and sprinkled it on his arm. He rolled away from the woman and when he removed his arm from around her, I got a good look at who he was in bed with.
Niki.
Shock, rage, and betrayal all waged war within me. Finally rage won out. “What the fuck is going on?” I roared.
Marko jolted, and fell out of the bed, getting to his feet in record time. His gaze found mine and an entire litany of expressions passed, ending with guilt.
I stared at him, too shocked to say anything beyond my initial outburst.
I can’t even.
“It’s not what you think, Gio.”
His explanation, or lack thereof, brought a fresh wave of rage and quelled my silence.
“Really? What the fuck is it then, Marko? Cause it looks like you and Nicolette are enjoying the spoils of my family’s wealth. How the fuck long has this been going on?”
My shouting awakened Nicolette. She blinked her eyes several times, before they rounded with surprise and dropped, avoiding me altogether. I didn’t know what was worse, his betrayal, or hers.
“You!” I shoved my finger in Marko’s chest. “You have some explaining to do, and you, can get the fuck out of my suite!” I was pissed at myself for losing my composure and yelling and had to leave the room before I pulled out my gun and killed someone. I made myself some espresso and went onto the deck while I waited for Marko.
He joined me a few minutes later. “We need to talk.” He stood in front of me blocking the sun with his large frame.
“About what, exactly?” I turned on him, ready to toss him off the balcony. “What excuse can you possibly come up with that makes this any better?”
I was twitching, I was so angry. If this were anyone but Marko, they’d be dead already.
“The call I got that night was on my private line. It was Niki, saying she was in trouble.”
“After all these years, she called, and you came running?” The fact that he’d done it wasn’t the issue. I’d have probably done the same thing. The real problem was that he’d done it alone. Without me .
Marko looked at the deck and then back at me. “She said she was violated and needed help. She was terrified, Gio. I had to help her.”
My anger, which had been solidly settled on the two of them, suddenly shifted. What the fuck? I’d kill the person, whoever the hell they were, then Marko. I swallowed a few times to control the rage in my tone. “I hope you killed the motherfucker before helping her escape.”
“When I arrived, she was alone, and shared her entire story with me. Thankfully, she had been in shock and hadn’t meant that her body had been violated, but her safety had. Gio, she’s afraid for her life.”
Word games. I dropped down onto a chair and placed my elbows on my thighs. Steepling my fingers, I gazed up at him. “Explain what you're talking about, and Marko, my patience is wearing thin, so speak clearly and quickly. I’m warning you.”
“Someone is trying to kill Nicolette. They’ve made several attempts, but luck has won out each time, and she’s walked away. The night she called me, the police had been to her place. A note was left on her table.” Marko swiped on his phone and showed me a photograph of a piece of paper with large blocky writing.
This is only the beginning. Next time I set a trap, not only will you not see it coming, but you won’t survive it.
“After the police left, offering her no help, she called me. I would have told you that night, but I didn’t want you to get upset. I thought someone raped her, and she was being held captive.”
“That was almost a week ago, Marko. So why not come clean before now?”
“I’ve been hunting for the person responsible, but he’s like a ghost. I couldn’t leave her unprotected.”
“That doesn’t answer my question though, does it?”
I leaned back and closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. Now was not the time to examine my roiling emotions. Despite my anger at her and my disappointment with him, I would not want to be responsible for anything nasty happening to Nicolette. My father's words from years ago come back to me…
“You offered her the world and once she’s done running and sees how dark a place it is without you to protect her, she’ll be back because she needs you. That little girl isn’t meant for the cruelties of this life and trust me, when she gets in over her head, she’ll be back and then it’s up to you to take her, or cast her away but remember my son, it’s not you she is running from or Marko, but her demons. Or perhaps she is chasing and not running. Regardless, the outcome will be the same.”
I missed him. He had been a hard man at times, but his wisdom and guidance I now realized were priceless.
“When she returns,” he’d continued, “try not to be too harsh with her. Listen with an open mind before you demonize her, but also make it clear. That it will never happen again. Vitale women don’t run.”
“I told myself I wasn’t coming clean because I didn't think Niki could handle a confrontation with you while dealing with a killer. But the truth is, I wanted to stall and see if there was anything still there.” Marko offered an explanation, jolting me from my memories.
My father must have known more than he let on at the time. How did he know she would come back? Was she not meant for the world without me and Marko in it to keep her safe? Perhaps, but only time would tell. All I knew was now that she was back, she wasn't leaving again.
“I assumed you’ve fucked her?” It sounded crass, as intended, to camouflage how I was really feeling.
“No, but I wanted to.”
I leveled him with a look of disbelief. “Then why are clothes strewn all the way to the bedroom?”
At least he had the decency to blush. “She drank too much. I was escorting her back to her room, when she threw up all over herself. I stopped and stripped her clothing before putting her in the shower and tucking her in bed. I didn’t know she was in my bed until you woke me up. She must have snuck in during the night.”
I wanted to call him a liar, but knew he wasn’t. Marko had a tell that he wasn’t exhibiting now. His fingers were relaxed. None of the nervous drumming that always accompanied a lie.
“I’m sorry, Gio. I wanted to bring her back, but she had rehearsals.”
“Rehearsals? For what?”
“Niki Swan, as she has gone by since leaving us, is a prima ballerina for Empire Ballet, and they have a performance in a little over five weeks. She has rehearsals and classes every day. I thought the asshole would be caught by now, but he is good at eluding me. Either he’s a worker or dancer there or someone who has intimate knowledge of the place.”
My mind was reeling. Niki had been a two-hour drive away this entire time, and we hadn’t known it. “We’ll take her home. Tell her to pack.”
“But Gio, didn’t you just hear what I said? She can’t just leave.”
“Yes, she can, and so can the entire damn cast. You forget, Marko, the Vitales have many legitimate businesses, and one of those is the I-Rock Theater. The company can rehearse in a space we have control over, and then we’ll know Niki has the personal security required.”
“Get her ready to leave. I’ll go and speak with the director. What’s his name?”
“Sergei. Maybe we should go with you.”
“Go where?”
We both whirled around and saw Niki standing at the open glass doors. You could tell she’d been crying, but she held herself like a queen looking ready to do battle. I almost wanted to smile at her bravery. But it was better she learned now that I’m not the lovesick boy she ran away from.
I stood and stalked toward her, watching her transform from the queen to my prey. Her breath hitched, and the pulse in her neck beat rapidly with my approach.
I leaned over her, close enough to box her in. “Home, sweetheart, and the company is coming with you.”
“But—”
“There are no buts,” I said darkly. “Now be an obedient little ballerina and get ready to leave.”
She gulped. “And if I don’t obey?”
“It’s your choice as to what condition you arrive home in, but home you will go even if I have to tie you up and put you in my trunk.”
Her face registered the shock she felt before she turned and fled in the direction of the stairs. Marko sidled up beside me.
“I’ll text you when it’s time to go. Make sure she’s ready, we'll go back in my car.”
“And mine?”
“Leave it here, I’ll send two of my guys back to collect it.”
Marko nodded, and I headed for the door.
“Be ready,” I warned before stepping into the elevator.