Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“Are you okay?” he asks, pulling me into his arms and giving me a light kiss. I lean my head on his chest and breathe him in. His familiar scent, which gives me so much comfort, fills my senses, and my whole body shudders as I relax.
“Yeah. We’re okay. I’m tired, Sage, really fucking tired. I hope Dad wants to reclaim his empire, because I am so ready for a vacation.”
I feel him go rigid, and he steps back, frowning at me. I see concern in his eyes. “Tori, honey, are you okay? Is the stress getting to you? You aren’t making any sense.”
I sigh and look around the cabin’s cozy living space. What I wouldn’t give just to be able to throw myself on one of the comfy sofas and curl up with a good book for a week or two.
“Tori?” Sage prompts, and I hear panic creeping into his voice.
“Dad isn’t dead. Much like your miraculous return to life, Dad has too.
Mario staged it all to make it look like he and Carla died, and now that’s the thing he’s holding over my head.
” I flop onto the couch, feeling disgruntled.
“After everything we did to take you, Gio, and Casey out of the equation, he still had something to ensure my cooperation.”
I lift my head and stare at Sage who looks like he’s been hit in the face by a two by four. “Stefano is alive? And Carla?” He sounds hopeful but hesitant at the same time, like he can’t bring himself to get too enthusiastic in case I’m playing a cruel joke on him.
I nod, and he whoops, scooping me up and spinning me around. “Fuck the wedding. Let’s kill them all today and be done with it.”
I sigh and pat his chest, asking for him to lower me. “It isn’t that easy. He has them hidden in some underground bunker that not even Colton can find.”
Sage releases me, letting me slide down his body with a scowl on his face. “So what’s the plan?” he asks, and I’m ever so grateful that he has enough faith in me not to even doubt that I wouldn’t have a plan.
“Mario wants to be added to the biometrics for the Russo holdings. Without Gio, it isn’t possible.
I convinced him that I needed both Carla and Dad in the same room as me to add him to everything.
He’s bringing them out of hiding on Tuesday.
I’m hoping he won’t return them to their prison until after the wedding, but if he does, I need you to be ready to intercept them. ”
He runs a hand through his hair and glances at the front of the house. “Are we telling Mickey?”
“Tell him on the way. If we tell him now, he will want to rescue them today, and I still don’t have a location.
I don’t want to risk tipping Mario off and him not bringing them into Suncity.
I’ll slip a tracker into Dad’s pocket or something, and you will be able to keep track of them.
If they look like they will be leaving Suncity again, you can swoop in.
Hopefully all the wedding arrangements will keep everyone too busy to realize they didn’t make it back to their destination. ”
“I guess we’re all returning to Banebridge then,” he suggests, and I nod.
“Yeah, the house that we lived in before the mansion is empty, and I doubt anyone is watching it. Stay there, then have everyone in place for the takedown. The ceremony is at five with the reception at seven at the Maricuso winery. I’ll send you a signal once everyone we don’t want killed is clear, and we are on our way to the hotel.
We need Bryce to place the call so there is a record of it for anyone who investigates. ”
Sage rubs his hands together. “This is awesome. Bring on the chaos, I can’t wait to take back our lives and have our family whole once more.”
“Yeah, who would have thought six months ago we would be here? And like I said, Dad’s had enough of semi-retirement. He better take back leadership, or I’m going to lose my shit. I need a holiday.”
His eyes shine with sympathy, and he gathers me in his arms again, squeezing me tightly.
“He will be grateful and so proud of the way you held this family together,” he assures me.
“And you do deserve a break. I know Mickey is raring to get back to kicking ass and taking names, but if our play to get rid of the Maricusos once and for all is successful, then it might mean a period of mostly peace for the Russo family. They are the only family left on the West Coast after your cull, and only because we had a semi-treaty with them.”
I scoff, snuggling into his chest and enjoying the comfort he brings me.
“Some treaty. Mario completely obliterated that. Alright, we need to get going. Mario needs drugs after the raid the other night and the fact that he still hasn’t contracted another chemist. I’m taking the inventory from the warehouse in Shaver Lake. ”
I pull away reluctantly, but we can’t delay any longer or Mario will be suspicious. Hopefully the FBI is giving him some heat, and he’s too distracted by that to worry about us for a moment. I should have put in a request to Agent Garcia for some help, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
“I’ll come with you. I can help load,” he offers, and I can tell he’s reluctant to be away from us, but I shake my head.
“You promised your new bestie a shopping trip. Don’t let her down,” I warn, and he grimaces.
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want Addi to think we’re going to be like her last captors.”
I shake my head. “Not captors, rescuers, and temporary ones at that. Keep her distracted, because I can’t imagine she’s going to be happy that I’m taking her parents away after only just being reunited with them.
” I actually feel incredibly guilty about it, but at least it won’t be for long now, and then they will never be apart again if we can help it.
We head back outside, and Vienna has Addi cradled on her lap, their heads together as they talk quietly. The resemblance is strong now that they are next to one another, but I really don’t have a clue who the biological father is. It could be any one of the guys, not that it matters anyway.
“We need to go,” I tell them, looking around for Xavier who is missing. I find him standing off the veranda on his phone, his eyes sparkling with amusement, even though he’s getting damp. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but whatever it is, he’s happy about it.
“No. I’m not leaving my baby,” Vienna argues, and I sigh. I thought it might go this way.
“You can’t stay here. We can’t have Mario knowing about any of this. You have to act as if you still think Addi has been taken,” I point out.
She shakes her head stubbornly. “No, I’m never letting her out of my sight again.”
Sage approaches them slowly, like he’s approaching a wild animal.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to her.
We’re just going to town to buy her some things.
She needs proper shoes out here. None of the things she had were suitable.
Poor kid didn’t even have a pair of sneakers.
We’re also going to get some fun things to keep her occupied while we’re busy over the next few days,” Sage murmurs, crouching down in front of them.
“Can Mommy come too?” Addi asks, looking at him with pleading eyes.
All three of them turn to look at me, and I sigh.
There is no way I’m going to win against this performance.
“Fine, you can stay here while we go to the warehouse, but you need to be ready to go when we return. We have to return to Banebridge for a few more days. You know this,” I tell her, and she heaves out a sigh, hugging Addi closer.
“Fine,” she agrees.
Xavier climbs the stairs, finished with his phone call.
“That was Lance. Mario and Gregor were taken into the FBI office for questioning. The lawyers are with them, and they expect they will be released by this afternoon. Mario left instructions not to bring any of the drugs back to the house, but to take them to the Kitty Kat Club and store them in the rooms below.” He looks pleased as he drapes his arm over my shoulders.
I’m a little surprised but decide not to fight it.
My family is going to have to get used to casual displays of affection if we are going to make this thing work.
I lean into him, seeking comfort, and Mickey narrows his eyes but keeps his mouth shut.
Gio eyes us speculatively, but he has no leg to stand on and wisely remains silent.
“Why wasn’t Lance taken in?” Colton asks, frowning.
Xavier scoffs with disgust. “He and Stacey hid while the FBI searched the house.”
“They searched my house?” I’m a little surprised, but not entirely. I’m not worried, since they won’t find anything. We’re too good for that.
“They had a search warrant. One of their guys spilled his guts as soon as he was arrested, but the lawyers portrayed him as a disgruntled employee telling lies. There’s no proof of any of his claims. Everyone else who was arrested clammed up and refused to talk, so it’s his word against the lawyers who claim that that none of them are employed by Mario, and they are using him as a scapegoat.
It helps that everyone Gregor sent to the buy weren’t known associates of the Maricusos, except for Lance, and he escaped. ”
“Convenient,” Gio mutters.
“At least that will keep him off our backs for now.” Tristan sounds practically gleeful.
“Yeah, but he’s going to be in a foul mood tonight. He will find a way to make us suffer,” Xavier warns, looking at Vienna with concern.
“You know, there are two trucks at the warehouse. You could tell him you need time to load them up. That would give you an excuse to be gone overnight. You would also have to take all the backroads to avoid any highway patrol, so you can be gone all day tomorrow too,” Mickey suggests.
“He would probably calm down by the time we returned, and having drugs will go a long way to appease him,” Colton agrees.