Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Marko
I’d been busy for hours getting the ballet company settled in one of the Vitale hotels. We’d all just arrived at the I-rock theater. The corps were making immediate use of the changing wing below the stage to throw on their practice garb and get ready for rehearsal. Meanwhile, Sergei, the facility manager, and I were touring the theater and setting up our men at various posts and entrances.
My phone’s ringtone startled me and I pulled my phone out of my pocket and frowned at the screen before answering. Gio.
“Tell me you didn’t know.” He spoke before I could get out a greeting or ask what he wanted, but his words made no sense.
What was he on about?
“Know what? Has this got something to do with Niki?”
He paused and his clipped response told me he had indeed learned something.
“I’m making Amergio her driver and moving the soldiers’ responsibilities to make Remo her personal guard. Send him to me so the two of them can escort her to you.”
“I thought you were bringing her, and what do you mean ‘did I know’?”
He sighed. “I’m gonna take that as a no. I’ll tell you later at the club. In the meantime, get her detail set up and ensure she has a guard at her dressing room around the clock.”
I was about to ask why when he cut the call.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket with a frown, not sure what had happened, or what any of it meant. All I knew was something had raised his hackles and this sudden change regarding Niki meant he was segregating himself from the situation and didn’t want to share why, not even with me.
An hour later Niki entered the theater. Her smile was locked in place, but her eyes told another story. Whatever had happened, she was wrung out, exhausted from her confrontation with Gio and avoiding eye contact with me.
Right on her heels was Remo, a huge enforcer that had been part of Vincent Vitale’s detail before he’d passed. He was the same age as Romeo and had been part of the Vitale’s inner circle since his teen years. His huge frame was almost comical next to the tiny ballerina, but the others appeared intimidated, except several of the male dancers who appeared to be discussing the size of his penis.
“Dancers,” I muttered under my breath.
Remo followed Niki to the front of the stage, his eyes constantly roaming for danger as she and Sergei spoke. When it came time for rehearsal, the two of them disappeared backstage along with Han, to get changed. Half an hour later, Niki and Han took the stage to practice a duet.
Without an audience to perform for, you could see the animosity between the two lead dancers. Han had been on my suspect list since the beginning, but there was no evidence to prove he had anything to do with the threats Niki had been receiving. He’d been with her when most of the so-called accidents occurred. Despite coming off as a total prick and a complete show-off, it was unlikely he was the threat looming over Niki.
He tossed her high, catching her so low to the ground I flinched. A flashback from Niki’s cheerleading days in high school assaulted my memories. I’d heard rumblings in the locker room about a coup to remove Niki from the team. Apparently, a couple of the cheerleaders had been very unhappy about her taking the lead in the squad when her abilities outshone theirs.
Later that week she’d fallen at practice, but remained unhurt, luckily. Two days later, I stood discreetly watching as they rehearsed their half-time show. The moment Niki was tossed into the air, two of the four girls who were meant to catch her stood back. I linebacked my way through the group and caught her in my arms just in time to keep her from hitting the ground. Even then I’d been a big guy, but I literally towered over the cheerleaders like a menacing bull. The two scattered and Gio shared with his father what had been going on, attributing their actions to petty jealousy. Luciano had a couple of his guys go by the homes of the two girls and suggest they switch schools. The families moved away, and we never saw or heard from them again.
A failed plot often led to revenge…
Revenge… The idea niggled in my mind. What had been happening to Nicolette now, was reminiscent of what she went through as a cheerleader. I’d thought several times that this could be the work of a woman. It had to be revenge, but for what? And from who? Simon had checked everyone, and they’d all checked out. We had to be missing something.
The revelation brought me to a place of hyper-vigilance. My gaze traveled the room and over those in it with new eyes. Someone here had to be guilty and really good at covering their tracks, or they were doing the dirty work for someone else.
Niki and Han leapt across the stage in the direct path of a glassy spot on the floor. Another ‘accident’? When the hell had that happened?
“Stop!” I yelled, rushing to the stage. Remo had his gun out, roaming looking for the guilty party. Han was holding Niki in his arms in an assisted pirouette when I yelled, and they came to an abrupt halt.
“Lock the place down, now!”
The theater manager rushed off with Bruno, who I’d put in charge of the security for the dancers while they were in town, on his heels.
Niki looked bewildered. “What’s going on, Marko?”
“A rat, that’s what’s going on. Sergei!” I roared.
The little Russian director rushed over.
“No one in or out until every person is accounted for. One of your people is responsible. Who did you tell our location to?” I wasn’t at all convinced that he wasn’t responsible himself.
“No one. I told no one, as Mr. Vitale specified.”
“Marko, it could have been anyone posing as staff here, or one of the drivers, hell anyone who had a key to this place.” Niki intervened, standing between me and the director. She had a very good point and keeping the dancers and staff here wouldn’t help me learn the truth. Besides, I now felt this was indeed an act of revenge—call it a gut instinct— but the who and why remained, and I wanted to talk to Gio in private before setting a plan in motion.
“Fine. Until proven otherwise, we’ll assume you’re right, Niki, but,”—I gave a hard look at the facility manager who’d returned from ensuring the place was locked down—"I want a list of who was here tonight and video footage sent to my IT guy.”
The manager gulped. He should be afraid.
“If anything is amiss, I can assure you heads will roll.” My gaze traveled to each person within the small circle that had gathered around. “Bruno, I want a security sweep of the shuttles before anyone steps inside. Load everyone up as fast as possible and take them back to the hotel.”
I quickly barked out more orders and put in a call to Giovanni when everyone scattered to do my bidding.
“What?” he answered.
“It happened again, Gio, someone purposely put liquid on the stage right in the path of Niki. Had she landed in it, who knows what would have happened to her.” I doubted very much that Niki would have died, but she could have broken a leg quite easily. “We had ten guards in place and there have been lots of people milling about the stage. It could have come from anywhere, but I have a feeling when we question them, we’ll get the same answer as we did about the black roses in New York—no one saw anything.”
Gio swore in Italian for a solid minute before calming down. “Lock everyone down at the hotel. I’m calling Romeo on this. He may need to sweep our staff. Someone has gotten through our ranks.”
“Agreed. I’ll make sure Niki and the rest are settled and I’ll meet you at the club.”
“Marko, watch your back, and keep a guard with you at all times, you hear me, brother?”
“Loud and clear, boss. I’ll see you soon.”
Whoever the little fucker was, they’d better hope I didn’t find them, because they’d be begging for death by the time I was done with them.
“Come on, Niki, it’s time for you to go back to the apartment.” She was trembling when I put a protective arm around her shoulders and tugged her to my side. Remo fell in step behind us and followed us out of the theater.
“But, what about Gio?” Niki halted mid-step.
I stopped walking to tuck a stray piece of hair from her bun, behind her ear. “We have things to discuss at the club, but you will be well guarded in the penthouse. You need to eat and get a good night’s sleep. Hear me little girl?”
Her frightened eyes leveled me, and I wanted nothing more than to stay with her but her safety was paramount. I ran a hand in soothing circles on her back until the tension eased from her. “Nicolette…” I tipped her chin and captured her gaze with mine. “I promise we will get this person, just hold on , tesorina .”
She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and nodded her head instead. Once we got outside, Amergio got out of the car and opened the door for Niki. I hustled her in and did up her seatbelt. Remo climbed in on the other side and off they went, followed by the two shuttles carrying the rest of the crew and the bodyguards.
When I arrived at Gio’s club, the Bianchi brothers stood guard on the upper level where Gio kept space for his private use. One was positioned at the bottom of the stairs, and one at the top. It felt like overkill, unless there was something I didn’t know. Scratch that. There was a lot I didn’t know, and it was beginning to get under my skin.
I dropped down in a seat opposite Gio, noting that for the first time in years, there were no girls on either side of him. His private server was, however, and quickly brought me a drink when Gio snapped his fingers at her. I grimaced at his action and wondered again what had happened between him and Niki tonight, but there were other, more immediate things to discuss.
“Tell me everything,” he demanded.
I did, right up to my suspicions regarding this being a matter of revenge.
Gio sat back looking composed, his agitation obvious only by the drumming of his fingers. “Assuming you are correct… Who would want revenge on Nicolette? And for what?”
I sat back and downed my drink, then shook my head. “That’s the part I’m not sure about. I need to think about it when I’m rested. I’ve still got to meet with Almando and bring him up to speed and catch up on what I’ve missed since I’ve been away.”
Gio waved his hand in the air like what I’d said was inconsequential, when earlier it had been a clear command, given by him.
As we were hashing out Niki’s potential threats, Romeo and Simo arrived.
“Would someone care to explain what the hell is going on?” Romeo demanded, arms crossed, his eyes black and soulless, looking for all the world like the mafia boss he was.
Simo pulled out a chair for Rom and took a seat beside him. Gio snapped his fingers once again and his server returned a few minutes later with a round of drinks.
“Vincenzo texted me some cryptic message about the past and then I got your message about a possible traitor in our midst. What the fuck, Gio?” Romeo snapped.
A frown moved Gio’s brow so quickly I doubted his brothers even noticed. He didn’t like being addressed as if he’d somehow fucked up when so much of his energy was invested in ensuring everything he did was executed perfectly. But he’d never say anything to Rom, as he was the Don and deserved respect no matter what.
I was also Italian, had grown up with the Vitales, and still found their inner dynamics bewildering at times.
“Our brother was referring to Nicolette being back in town,” Gio answered.
The words hung, suspended, very much like Nicolette when she leapt in the air, defying gravity.
“Shit. I’m sorry bro.” Simo reached forward and patted Gio’s knee like it was the head of a dog.
Simo was the deadliest consigliere of all time, even better than his old man, but to his inner circle, he was regarded as a teddy bear. His feelings ran deep for those he cared for, but he successfully hid from the rest of the world behind his scary-as-fuck exterior.
Romeo’s intense gaze softened, but he didn’t attempt to make Gio or myself feel better, though his amber eyes offered us both a look of understanding.
“What does her being back—and we will want a full disclosure on this as she was privy to a lot of private inner workings of our family prior to her disappearance—have to do with our ranks being corrupted?”
Gio had me tell them about the phone call I’d received that night from Niki and demanded I show them the note that had been left in her apartment. He left out finding us in bed together, but continued to what he’d learned today, again leaving out something vital that he clearly didn’t want his brothers to know.
I could tell that Romeo didn’t buy it, but he didn’t call Gio out in his place of business. Respect was the foundation to the Vitale Crime Family and Romeo gave it almost as much as his presence demanded it. “Any ideas who may be responsible?” he asked.
“We were just working that out when you arrived. I know it sounds crazy, but I keep going back to those two cheerleaders in high school.”
All three men acted surprised.
“Why’s that?” Simo asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
“There’s something about the way the perp is going about it. Making direct threats, like in the message left in her apartment, but continuing to do things that can cause an accident. Why bother if you’ve already made your intentions clear?”
All three nodded their heads.
“I would almost think that this person was a female,” I said.
“A disgruntled ballerina. Someone Niki Swan beat out for the part of the prima ballerina in Sergei’s ballet?” Gio questioned. “I checked them all, but maybe we missed something.”
“I have the I-Rock manager sending a list of the supposed staff that had access to the building and the video footage,” I supplied.
Romeo’s eyes lit like a shark smelling blood. “Good. Get a list of all the performers as well, and send that along to Simon. I’ll have him go through everyone with a fine-toothed comb. Someone is pissed off with Niki, enough to want to see her dead, or at least crippled.” His phone pinged as he and Simo stood to leave.
“Vittoria is in labor. Get security in place, Simo, I want the hospital wing closed off for this. Damn, I wish Tano wasn’t on the other side of the world.” He alternated between English and Italian as they hustled away.
“I better let everyone know it's all hands on deck at Mercy Hospital,” Gio said with a sigh, standing and turning to leave. I understood that the timing of welcoming a new family member couldn’t have been worse.
“Wait!” I called to his retreating back. “What did Niki tell you tonight?”
I could see Gio weighing and measuring how he wanted to answer me, his emotions over whatever had happened between them warring with his need to leave and be at the hospital with the rest of the family.
“Give it to me straight.”
Gio scrubbed his fists down his face and I saw past the fa?ade to the fatigue and sadness hiding behind it. “She left because she had feelings for someone else. And while I’d love to discuss this in more detail with you, that’s all she said.”
His words shocked me to my core. “I don’t believe it. If that was the case, then why not part amicably? There was no evidence of a man in her life, trust me I looked.”
Gio smirked, but his eyes held a sadness I’d not seen in years. “I don’t believe her either. She has a secret that she is hanging on tightly to. Maybe whoever this guy is, she’s protecting him.”
He patted me on the shoulder on his way past, the way Simo had his knee earlier. Like that made anything better. Maybe Gio was right, and she was protecting someone… Could it be she knew who her stalker was? Pain replaced the exhaustion I was feeling, and as I pondered what to think about Nicolette Angelucci and this latest information, that pain fueled my anger.
I headed to my club to do my job, but soon, I promised myself, our little ballerina would confess everything. Until then I’d play along with whatever game she was playing.