5. Tommaso
TOMMASO
Ishould’ve expected Aleksandr’s words; the Bianchis are sure to have something nefarious planned after all their hard work peeking into our lives.
Still, the fact that they’d be so cocky to actually plan on kidnapping the Don of the Dresvanni family?
I wouldn’t consider that a smart first step to any plan, unless of course, that plan is to completely throw away any chance of not going to an all-out war.
“When?” I ask quickly, anger heating my body. Almost as much as Aleksandr’s close proximity. He’s so close that I can smell the scent of his sweat and skin. Salty, musky… His mouth only a few inches away from mine.
I force myself to lean back so that we aren’t so close together.
“During the charity ball,” he explains. “They’ll get Carmine alone and strike.”
My hands ball into fists. “They really think that’s going to work? Carmine doesn’t go anywhere without Soren these days.”
“They’ll find a way. They’re smarter than you think,” Aleksandr reminds me. “You can’t underestimate them. They wouldn’t be planning this if they thought it had a low percentage of turning out in their favor.”
“I didn’t plan on going to the event, so perhaps they’re right.
Carmine and Soren, plus his cousins, would be the only ones there.
Unless Alessio and Damian changed their minds about going.
There wouldn’t be as many guards there, either, because we aren’t on edge about anything happening in public. ”
“Exactly. But now you know. Now you can prepare,” he says in a low tone that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Now you’ll be ready.”
“I have to warn Carmine,” I say, standing up quickly. “He needs to know. He’ll be pissed that I’ve been talkin’ to you, but he’ll get over it.”
Aleksandr blinks at me. “Wait. Carmine didn’t want you to talk to me?”
“No. He didn’t want me to do anything but sit on my fucking hands and help a couple of teenagers learn to fight,” I grumble. “Bet he’ll be glad I didn’t listen to him now.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he insists. “You don’t want to jump into things too quickly.”
“You sound just like him,” I snarl, my face scrunching up.
“There’s more to this than just waiting and watching.
We have to make a move at some point. This just proves it.
If I hadn’t come to you, we wouldn’t know about the kidnapping plan.
” I wave my hand around. “At least, not until someone gets hurt. Now, we can control who gets hurt.”
“Can you?” Aleksandr asks as he stands up too. “The Bianchis aren’t interested in talking things out, believe me. So, you’re right; someone is going to get hurt eventually, a lot of people, actually, but it doesn’t have to be right here and now.”
“Who said anything about right here and now?” I ask him. “You act like I’m about to go straight there and try to start a shootout.” I adjust my leather jacket. “I’m going to tell my brothers about the plan. That way, we can be—as you said—prepared.”
“If you aren’t careful, they’ll know someone tipped you off,” Aleksandr says, looking at me with those cold eyes that somehow make every part of my body tingle. “I can’t risk being outed, not yet.”
“You won’t be involved, don’t worry,” I reassure him. “In fact, if you’re there, we can include you in the situation. Make it look like you’re prepared to do anything for them.”
Aleksandr shakes his head. “No. I’m not planning to be there. If I ask to be there all of the sudden, it will look suspicious.”
“Not if you tell them you’re worried that we’re catching onto them and want to be an extra set of hands, and gun,” I say.
He looks to the side for a moment. “No. It’s not a good idea. Besides, I have work to do.”
“Fine. Stay out of it all you like.” I turn on my heel. “I need to go warn my brother.”
Just as I’m about to walk down the hallway for the door, Aleksandr follows after me.
“Wait, that wasn’t everything.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I growl out at Carmine as I storm around the board room. “You tell me that I can’t do anything, can’t talk to anyone. Leave the Bianchis alone, yet you’re out here sending them letters. Trying to get them to talk to you.”
“I’m the leader of this family,” he reminds me. “I don’t go through you for my decisions. I don’t need you questioning them.”
“The hell you don’t,” I slam my fists down on the table between us. “I’m part of this family too. I should have say in things that define the future of it!”
“Well, apparently, it doesn’t matter what I say,” Carmine tells me. “Because you’ll just go out and do whatever you want even at the expense of this family.”
I swallow hard and don’t respond. If I do, I might say something I can’t take back. I look away from my brother and try to calm down.
“You went to the Rose even though I specifically told you not to,” Carmine accuses me. “You could’ve been followed, or worse, you could have gotten yourself killed.”
“I didn’t!” I spit out my words. “I’m standing here, ain’t I? Yeah, I went and talked to them because you wouldn’t. Because you refused to use our assets to our advantage.”
“How am I supposed to trust that you can do your job, when you can’t even follow my orders for a day?” Carmine asks me. “I would have let you go talk to them eventually—after we got the intel we needed from our own sources.”
“Our own sources—see what I mean? You don’t see me, and my sources, as your own. You don’t see me as anywhere near equal to you. You want me to follow your orders and that’s it. The Rose aren’t just my sources, they’re our source. We need them to figure this shit out, don’t you see that?”
“Give me one good reason why we should have gone to them now instead of later,” he tells me. “Why we couldn’t just wait for our guards to find out who has been tailing us before risking our asses talking to the Rose?”
I growl under my breath. “Because they’re planning on kidnapping you, you jackass.”
Carmine stops and stares at me. My own angry eyes are mirrored in his.
“Excuse me?” he asks as he steps around the table and to the side of me.
“You heard me. The Bianchis have a plan to kidnap you at the charity gala,” I explain. “Which you damn well wouldn’t have found out if it weren’t for me talking to Aleksandr.”
“Aleksandr?” he eyes me slowly. “He’s working with the Rose?”
“Yes,” I say slowly, looking at him suspiciously as well. I’m never sure what my brother is thinking. “Shit, it’s still safe to talk in here, right?” I glance around. I should’ve been more careful before saying his name.
Carmine nods. “It’s safe. All the mics in this room were disconnected early this morning. They’re probably scrambling to figure out how to get them back on. We’ll know for sure who is the mole in our system when they come in to try to fix them.”
I chuckle. “That’s funny; you don’t know who it is yet,” I say slowly. “I do. He told me who each and every one of the assholes who thinks they can get away with spying on us are.”
Carmine taps his fingers on the top of the table. “You know who all of them are? How many?” he asks.
“Four,” I tell him.
“How do you know you can trust this Aleksandr?” Carmine narrows his eyes. “He’s working with the Bianchi family and the Rose. Who’s to say he won’t turn his back on the Rose when the Bianchis give him a good reason?”
I grumble. “Trust me, he’s on our side. Besides, he knows if he fucks us over, his ass’ll be dead by the next morning. He’s not going to mess with me.”
Carmine takes a step back from me and runs a hand through his hair as he’s thinking.
“I know that look on your face,” I tell him. “You know I’m right, you just don’t wanna admit it.”
He glares at me. “Fine. You’ve gotten good intel from the Rose, from this…Aleksandr. Information we didn’t have before. But it doesn’t mean you were right to go against my orders.”
“Please,” I scoff. “I got us more than you’ve gotten us in months and you still can’t admit I was right.”
“Watch yourself, Tommy,” he points at me. “You’re walking a thin line… I might be willing to let it go this time, but if you disobey my direct orders a second time, we’re going to have a problem.”
“I think we already do,” I tell him. My voice is rough. “You don’t trust me to do my job. I’m the one who found Aleksandr. I’m the one who got us information on their next moves.”
“What next moves? They plan on kidnapping me at the charity gala? That’s it?
What else are they planning, Tommaso? Did you find out where they’re planting their spies around town or if they plan on sending any personal threats?
” he asks me, his voice low and patronizing.
He walks around the table again, putting it between us.
“If you’d listen to me for two fuckin’ seconds, you’d know,” I growl at him. I slam my fist down on the table again and lean over it so I can look more directly into his eyes. “The Bianchis aren’t just planning to kidnap you. They’re planning a bombing.”
Carmine’s shoulders straighten and he looks even more curious. “When, where?” he asks.
“Aleksandr isn’t privy to all of the information. He’s trying to get more,” I tell him. “If I keep working with him, I’ll be able to have the information the second he does.”
“Our spies will get the information as well,” Carmine says. “Now that they know what they’re looking for.”
“Oh, please. Fuck you, Carmine,” I say my words through my teeth.
“You know just as well as I do that no one is better than someone who has inside intel. Our men will get their information, sure, but it might be days, or weeks, after the fact. I’m not sayin’ to stop trying, or put your guard down.
No, I’m telling you to put your guard up and let me do my job, along with Aleksandr.”
I watch as Carmine purses his lips and yanks his gaze away from mine. He’s being stubborn, and surely he knows it.
“I need to talk to Soren about this,” he insists.
“Talk to him all you want, but I’m going to see Aleksandr again. He has what we need,” I tell him and take a step back from the table. “Try and stop me.”