Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Gio
I knew Niki had been lying all along about having an interest in another guy, and I’d been entertaining other possibilities about why she’d left, since our breakthrough that first night, but none of my guesses had included Liam Kelly.
I’d always found it odd that he and a few of his cousins had entered our school as it almost entirely lacked any Irish, never mind the Kelly family. He’d acted way too familiar with Niki right from the beginning, although when questioned, she said she’d seen him around her neighborhood, but vehemently denied any dealings with the guy.
“I lied to you and Marko when we first got together. I knew Liam from my old life.”
My old life. That’s what Niki called her life prior to meeting me and Marko.
“You know where I lived, it was full of white trash, including him and me. He was at the bottom of a huge Irish mob clan. I heard his parents had been killed and that was why he was doing petty street crime at the time, to feed his siblings. Being the eldest, it fell on his shoulders. I made the mistake of feeling sorry for him one time and he never left me alone after that.” She gulped.
Tears leaked from her eyes as her tale unfolded, while my fingers curled at my sides to keep me from tearing the room apart. Fucking Liam Kelly. I’d hated that piece of shit from the moment I saw him watching Niki with his beady little eyes. I’d threatened him many times to look elsewhere. He’d always laugh, but leave, and days, sometimes weeks, would pass before I’d catch him at it again.
“He followed me everywhere and would show up at my house, climbing the emergency staircase to my floor. I caught him a few times watching me through my window. It was creepy. When I was transferred to West Ridge and was able to leave all the crap in my life behind, I figured I was finally free of him. Then he transferred to our school and continued his creepy stalker habits. Because I was hardly ever at home, it didn’t bother me so much. Then football season started, so Marko wasn’t around as much, and you were busy training with your father, Gio. That’s when I started receiving threats from Liam. At least, I figured it was him, even though the notes were never signed.”
“Why did you think it was him? You seemed to also have bad blood between you and a few of the cheerleaders at that time as well.”
She nodded her head. “Yeah, Kimberly, who was Liam’s girlfriend, and, I assumed, jealous of his obsession and the way he was constantly watching me. I think she convinced the other girl to help her get me out of the way.”
“Right, so how do you know it was Liam and not Kimberly?” Something about her suspicions felt off, but I couldn't put my finger on why.
“Each note came with an inverted four-leaf clover stamped on the bottom. When we made the playoffs, those threats came with an expiration date. ‘Leave them, or else they will be killed after the last game’.”
Niki was pale, shaky, and looking like she might have thrown up, but she pushed through and continued telling her story. “After we won our first playoff game, I was able to confirm the threat came from Liam when he approached me by the girl’s locker room. He said that if I didn’t leave you two to be with him, then he’d kill the both of you. He showed me his gun. I told him I’d come willingly once we won the cup.”
“Jesus, Niki! Why didn’t you ever tell us?” Marko fired at her. “We could have dealt with this years ago, and it would have been over and done with.” I could tell he wanted to say more, but stopped himself.
“I figured I had time to think on how to get out of my promise. But by the time we were on the field for the last game, nothing had come to me, and I’d decided to tell you. Then, remember when I ran out onto the field and Marko held me on his shoulders?”
I nodded. Her eyes were laser focused on mine.
“He stood behind you with a gun to your head, Gio. At that moment I knew what I needed to do. When Marko disappeared into the locker room, I stayed and watched, making sure Liam didn’t follow him. After minutes passed, I turned to leave and found him waiting for me.”
I pictured that slimeball lying in wait for Niki at her most vulnerable moments. It was hard to control the rage that moved through me in palpable waves. I should have known and dealt with it. I’d obviously greatly overestimated the intimidation level I thought I brought into the equation by having the Vitale name. My girl had been mentally and emotionally tortured when we’d thought she’d been safe. Back then, her father had been the biggest threat, or so we’d thought. I couldn’t hold back the self-loathing that came on the heels of hearing the truth.
“I made an excuse about grabbing my bag from home and meeting up with him at the bus station. He left, and I grabbed the bag I’d stowed in a locker in the girls’ change room and ran for the bus station. I purchased a ticket for New York under the name Niki Swan, and drained what money I had in my bank account. Later that day, I arrived in New York and checked into a crap motel. The next day I went directly to the studio, auditioned for Empire Ballet, and was hired for the corps. Until Marko came, that’s where I’ve been all this time.”
As her confession spilled out, one thing became evident. The attack from the Irish was no mistake. Somehow Liam Kelly was a part of this, and I needed to let my brothers know. Still, it seemed extreme for a man like Liam to still be chasing Niki over a decade later. Why had it taken him so long to find her and why go back to making similar threats like he had in high school? Marko had been right when he said this felt like revenge.
Before I could form any kind of coherent response, Gaetano and Gabriella returned.
“Good news. There is nothing technically wrong with our patient. Bad news, your body is in starvation mode, but that's nothing rest and eating properly won’t fix.” Tano gave Niki a pointed look.
“Don’t worry Tano, Marko and I will take good care of Niki.” I gave our patient a meaningful gaze and loved seeing the pulse at her neck pick up speed. I hoped she was remembering how I’d dealt with her defiance on her first night at the penthouse.
“Why don’t you escort Niki up to my suite, and make sure she’s not alone.”
Marko nodded and I left the room with Tano and Gaby. When we were far enough away to not be overheard, I confessed we needed to talk.
“Fine, so let's talk.” Tano crossed his arms, waiting.
“In Malvasia, brother.” I’d never called a meeting to our war room before.
Tano’s eyes hardened. “Understood.”
When he and I returned to the dining room, only Vinnie remained.
“How’s Niki? Everything okay?”
“She’s fine.”
“You know I usually mind my own business, but you need to know that I’m not the only one who has seen how broken she is. Maybe try being a little kinder to her, Gio. She was—is—the love of your life after all.”
I attempted to spear him with my usual look of annoyance, but he just glared at me.
“Not that it’s any of your business, brother, but I’ve learned the truth about why she left, and I believe this is connected to the attacks by the Irish. We need an emergency meeting.” I deflected to the issue at hand. In truth, Vinnie was right. I’d been punishing Niki for what I’d felt had been a betrayal.
Eyebrows raised, Vinnie nodded and pulled out his phone. Fifteen minutes later, my brothers and our head capos sat around the table in the war room.
“Do you mind telling us what the hell is going on?” Romeo sat in his usual spot at the head of the table. His eyes looked flinty and with the lighting, showed the bags underneath. His wife refused to have a nanny, citing they needed to be full-time parents, much to our mother’s amusement, so my brother was on diaper duty with his newborn son and the signs of exhaustion were evident.
“I believe I know who is responsible for the attacks on our warehouses. We’re going to need Simon.”
“Already on his way,” Simo answered.
I quickly brought everyone up to speed on what had been going on with Niki, and what she’d just shared. Marko entered the war room just as I was finishing up, nodding to me as a signal that Niki was okay. He added what had happened at I-Rock and his feeling that this was about revenge.
All eyes turned to Dante when he walked through the doors with Simon. He’d managed to infiltrate the ranks of the Irish in record time, I realized, as he gave his update.
“Honestly, their network is vaster than we realized, and if they decided to start a war, we’d have to reach out to our contacts. All I’ve learned so far is there were four men in the running for the title of heir apparent. As of last week, three of them are dead. None of that is secret; the word is already on the streets that a low-ranking soldier rose through the ranks to become the new king. Liam Kelly is now the head of the éannas.”
Simon connected his phone to the monitor and camera feed from the night Daro was killed at the warehouse.
“I thought that the footage had been destroyed.” Fausto spoke.
“They thought it had, and honestly, it’s a miracle I got it back. You’ll find this interesting.”
The screen blipped several times before we could see a shadow move into the light, manifesting into a man holding a knife. He quickly moved behind Daro and slit his throat. Two more shadows appeared, and they made quick work of nailing him to the door upside down. Then one finally lifted their face with a devious smirk. Liam Kelly, looked older, bigger and more worn than when we’d known him back in school, but there was no mistaking his identity.
He opened his mouth and spoke directly into the camera. “I’m coming for you, Giovanni Vitale. You’ll watch your best friend bleed out and your girlfriend on her knees sucking my cock before you see the end. This time there will be no warnings and you won’t see me coming.” He laughed, almost manically, and then they were gone, blending into the inky darkness.
On the exterior, I remained calm and collected. On the inside, I was so angry I could barely breathe. I’d kill that little fucker and all his measly family members. I’d brutally murder the entire damn Irish mob if I had to.
The room was momentarily quiet following what we’d just heard. Finally, Romeo broke the silence.
“Simon, did you run the background checks on every person connected with I-Rock, and the Empire Ballet’s staff and dancers?”
Romeo may have been speaking with Simon, but his gaze was fixed on me. He’d do anything to protect his family and I knew the trajectory his mind was already taking in regard to me, Marko and Niki. He’d shut down the damn show, but I couldn’t let him do that.
Simon glanced at me before answering. “I did, but there was nothing.”
Romeo’s fist slammed on the marble slab of the table. “There must be something. Who is the connection between the dance theater and the Irish?”
“How about sponsors?” Marko asked, speaking my question before I could.
Romeo’s eyes held Simon’s.
“So far, nothing, but there are two donors that are anonymous.”
“On it,” Marko said, standing and leaving the room.
We discussed strategy until he returned.
“What did you learn?” Romeo leaned forward toward Marko as if that would make him answer any faster.
“Sergei doesn’t know who they are. The board approves the sponsors and manages the donations.”
Romeo sat back drumming his fingers on the table thoughtfully. “Simo will go to New York and speak with this board. In the meantime, we’ll double security for the company and our business interests. Is there anything else to report? Dante, do you know when they might be hitting another location?”
Dante’s expression remained blank, but I could see emotions swimming in the depths of those dark eyes of his. Dante was like a shark, he could smell blood in the water from miles away. “I will grill my source to see if they know anything, but I will say that in general, they will continue to hit the docks, as that is our primary income source. My advice is to redirect the shipments. The Irish have either watched our movements long enough to know our shipping times, or they’ve managed to steal the manifest. I would completely change it up, maybe even use alternate sources in the meantime.”
As always, sage advice from the shadow.
Romeo nodded at Dante’s words. “Fausto, I need you to put together an entirely new plan and have it for me tomorrow.”
Fausto didn’t flinch, despite the impossibility of Romeo’s request. It would take most people at least a week to reconfigure how to move billions of dollars through alternate sources, but Fausto wasn’t a regular guy. He was easily as brilliant as Gaetano, but not in identic memory. Fausto’s gift was mind-mapping.
“That’s the answer, Don Vitale.” Gaetano, recently back in the fold of the family business, always insisted on addressing our brother by his title when in the war room.
Romeo nodded for him to continue.
“We need to beat them at their own game. Who do we know that hates the éannas?”
“The O’Connors,” Dante replied. “My informant, in fact, is undercover for the O’Connors. If we’re looking for co-conspirators, they may join us.”
Interesting. I wanted nothing more than to find out how Dante knew the true identity of his informant, but I needed to check on Niki.
Romeo swung his attention to the clubs by addressing me and Tony. “Despite no direct attacks on our club and gambling establishments, please anticipate that there will be, until we can execute a plan to beat the Irish at their own game. Simon, I want scanners in place at every single club, feeding back to our central intelligence. No one Irish is coming through our doors.”
We all grunted in agreement at his words.
“If you’ll excuse me and my consigliere, Ro—Don Vitale, we have a pressing matter that needs our attention.” I figured the more compliant I appeared, the more Romeo would believe I was down for whatever he was planning, and would let me and Marko go and attend to Niki.
Romeo smirked at me, indicating that he knew full well what , or rather who needed my attention. He nodded his head in approval for us to leave.
I kept my cool until the door to Malvasia closed behind me, then I moved quickly through the bowels of the mansion until I was at the door to my suite.
She’d done it for me, all to protect us. She’d given up comfort and security and love to ensure Marko and I lived. Now it was my turn.