Chapter Eleven
Matteo Costello
“We’re putting all non-essentials on hold,” I told Anthony. “Run through the week with me.”
Anthony nodded and took out a tablet. “Do you want to go through everything on the schedule for the next two weeks, just to be safe?” I nodded. “We have two meetings with the Genoveses to buy out some of the recovered weapons. Those are important, both to keep up our relationship with them, and gain more weapons.”
“Speaking of weapons…”
“We have business with the Esposito family in Chicago at the end of the week. We can expect both weapons and a considerable amount of snow.”
“Put the lower-level soldiers on it,” I told him, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “Get an accurate assessment of the size of the shipment, and make sure it’s all tracked to the dealers. We can’t trust these guys as far as we can throw them. The newest guys need an example of why not to fuck with me anyway.”
“You trust them to get the profit to the casino for laundering?” Anthony asked.
“Put one trustworthy guy on the profits and one on the weapons. We can’t afford those things getting fucked up.”
He nodded and tapped away on his tablet. “You want me to cancel all one-on-one meetings this week?”
I nodded and glanced at Lilianna. She sat in a leather chair on the other side of my home office, legs crossed as she stared at the floor in the center of the room. Her family’s bodies still hadn’t been recovered, and she had finally decided to get their headstones engraved.
It had been two weeks since the wedding, and it was time to proceed as if the bodies would never be recovered.
She’d been thinking constantly about the implications of setting up her family’s place of rest. I knew she had a lot to decide, and none of those decisions would come easily.
“I’m seeing a meeting with the Don in Cleveland. The Blackhand squad has been closing in on some of their assets, and they’re hoping for some additional manpower. We’ve turned them down in the past.”
I considered the police presence in Cleveland and the trouble they’d been causing. “Shorten the meeting but keep that one on the books. If I’m not meeting another Don or the goddamned president, cancel it or reschedule a month out.”
Anthony raised his brows, but he nodded. He knew better than to disagree with me.
“Go and take care of it,” I demanded,
He gave one more nod. “On it, boss.”
I turned my full attention to where Lilianna sat. Keen strategy lit her eyes as she continued staring toward the center of the room. As soon as Anthony closed the door, she met my eyes with a forced smile.
“We’re going to stop them,” I told her.
“I know.”
“Then tell me what else is bothering you.”
She shrugged—a gesture that I couldn’t remember ever seeing her make. There was a certain sense of composure about her now, and her eyes were lit with confidence. “I had both my father and brother’s headstones engraved yesterday,” she said. “There are no bodies to bury there. I can’t risk having a service for them without mafia bullshit blowing up and more people dying. I can’t honor them in any way. The people responsible are on top of the world right now, and we can’t seem to find them.”
“We will.”
She huffed. “I know ,” she said. “I know we’ll find them, and I know they’ll pay. But it’s still too late. I miss being home, safe in Italy. Callum loved growing up there, and he mentions it. All the time I can’t help but wonder—”
She cut herself off and shook her head, not finishing the thought aloud.
I pushed on my desk and stood, walking toward her and dropping to a knee in front of her. “You can’t help but wonder what?”
She met my eyes, hers remorseful. “If staying isn’t worth it.”
It felt like a blow to my chest, though I knew it shouldn’t. She didn’t mean it personally. She was rightfully concerned about her and her son's safety.
She continued before I could say anything. “The only way I can make a difference is by accepting my role as Don, and that comes with too many consequences. I know the life expectancy of someone in the mafia more than anyone. I can’t leave Callum motherless. And if I don’t take over, we’re not even sure we’ll be able to find and stop the Russians. I feel useless right now, Matteo. I feel like my brother was killed, and there’s nothing I can do.”
“I can assure you that every part of my power is going into finding them. All my assets. All my everything. If you don’t want to take over for your father, we can make it work.”
She glanced at the floor again, but I gripped her chin between my fingers and forced her to look at me.
“Do you trust me?”
She didn’t hesitate. “More than anything.”
“Then trust that I will do this for you and Silas. For Alessio. It would be easier if you took your blood right. If you could unite the Genoveses against the Russians, and they wouldn’t stand a chance. Not against my men and yours. But it’s not essential. We have other options.”
The next breath she took was shaky as her shoulders dropped forward and she nodded. “I’m sure it sounds so stupid to you—”
“Nothing you say could possibly sound stupid.” She sucked in a sharp breath as I leaned in closer. Her next breath fanned across my lips. “Losing your family is difficult. I understand.”
I did to an extent. I’d lost my father as suddenly as she’d lost hers. But I’d had the courtesy of burying mine. I’d prepared my whole life to take his position as Don.
I wasn’t blindsided the way Lilianna had been.
She leaned her forehead into mine and blew out a long breath, pursing her lips. “I didn’t expect you to be sweet,” she admitted.
“I’m not sweet.”
“Not to the outside world, you’re not,” she said, meeting my eyes. “But you’ve always been different with me.”
She deserved it. I’d never felt this way about another person. It had only ever been her.
“Can I kiss you, Lili?”
She surprised me as she closed the distance between us. The kiss was gentle, yet passionate. I felt her control slip and her body loosen. I slid her from the chair and onto my knee. Both arms wrapped around my neck as she deepened the kiss, tongue sweeping across mine greedily. The scent of vanilla and lavender tickled my nose, and I wound a hand around the back of her head. My fingers twisted in her hair as I tugged her head back and moved my lips to her throat. The smell was thicker there, and I inhaled deeply.
Fuck, the smell of her alone sent me into a state of uncontrolled need.
And the way she ground her body into my leg, moaning lightly from my mere touch…
I didn’t hesitate before lifting her from my lap and spreading her body on the floor, resting her head on the rug gently. Her parted lips waited for me to return as I hovered over her, taking in the slight curves of her hips and waist.
Perfect.
She was the only woman who had ever been perfect in my eyes, and three years hadn’t changed that.
The door to my home office banged open, and I turned to it, reaching for the gun at my hip on instinct. I’d become accustomed to working from my official office in a building downtown. The office there catered to my more dangerous clients, but still, the loud noise jarred me enough that I nearly withdrew my firearm before turning fully.
Callum stood there, looking between me and his mother as Sophie stormed up behind him, cheeks flushed.
“Sorry for the interruption,” she said with a smile as she leaned into the doorway. “He was not taking no for an answer.”
Callum ran inside. Though the kid moved as fast as he could, both feet never left the ground at once, making it more of a quick walk than a run. He flung himself at Lilianna, and she sat up and caught him easily. The sorrow in her eyes quickly faded as she looked at him.
“Did you miss me, baby?” she asked.
“Mommy, fall?” he said, gesturing to where she lay on the floor.
I chuckled under my breath as Lilianna backtracked and distracted him from the question. He said something else that I couldn’t entirely understand, and I waited.
Lilianna smiled, some of the sadness returning to her eyes. “Yeah, we’ll see Auntie Tris again soon,” she said, kissing Callum’s cheeks and meeting my eyes. “He misses my Aunt Beatrice. She kept him a lot while I worked in Italy.”
I could see how much they both missed being in Italy, and there wasn’t much I could do to assuage that sadness and homesickness. I wouldn’t dare to contact the people and invite them here—not with the Russians on our tail. I wouldn’t let Lilianna lose someone else she loved, but there was one thing I could do. Something minor, but still something.
“I’m taking you both somewhere,” I told her. Lilianna looked confused as I nodded to myself. “Get yourselves ready and be ready to leave in an hour.”
***
Callum looked around in awe at the cathedral-style ceiling of one of the finest restaurants in New York City. Ordinarily, the reservation list was months long, but I knew the chef, and he owed me a favor.
The hostess greeted me by name as we walked inside, and she guided us to a table with a view that overlooked the city.
“An Italian restaurant?” Lilianna asked as she lifted Callum into his seat.
“It’s not just an Italian restaurant,” I remarked as I pulled her chair out from the table and allowed her to sit. “The chef is from Italy, and he trained in a Michelin-star restaurant in Florence. The chef sent him here to make authentic Italian cuisine for Americans. He’s working on getting this place a few Michelin stars.”
“And you know him?”
I nodded. “I make it a point to know as many full-blooded Italian men in the city as possible. My best men and the highest-level soldiers are all full-blooded Italians. Abramo has done me a few favors, and I’ve reciprocated over the years. He’s loyal.”
I could see all the questions in her eyes. “My father only employed people with Italian blood. He said they were the only ones whom he could fully trust. Is that your philosophy, too?” She paused. “How does Abramo work with the mafia while also running this place?”
“You know all about the hierarchies, Lili. I’m full-blooded Italian, just like you, and that’s what sets us apart from the lower men. It’s effective. Employing men like Abramo passively gives me more eyes and ears around the city.”
I sat and leaned back in my seat. Lilianna couldn’t stop looking around the place, and I knew I’d made the right decision.
“My dad didn’t have many people who worked real jobs outside of working for him. People in the business were exclusively employed by him,” Lilianna said. “It’s why I had to leave. There was never the option of having a life outside of the mob.”
“Your father and I had different perspectives,” I told her. Alessio and I may have been allies, but we did things very differently. “I employ a lot of people who never have to be in the line of fire. Most of the men who work for me face the usual threats, but men like Abramo… they can be useful in other ways. The full-blooded Italians are always loyal. They’re never Russian traitors. Some of them help me launder money through their legitimate businesses. Others, like Abramo, do me occasional favors like spying and relaying information. They have my protection in exchange.”
Lilianna nodded slowly as her eyes darted across the table and she processed the information. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she acknowledged something Callum said, and I watched her. She loved her son more than anything, and suddenly everything she wanted made sense. I didn’t doubt she’d do anything for the boy, including giving her own life.
She wouldn’t stay, I realized. Nothing I could say or do would keep her here.
Nothing short of a guarantee of safety.
“Welcome in, friend,” Abramo said as he approached, wearing his usual chef’s apron and a wide smile. He offered a hand, and I took it and smiled. “I’ll have your food out immediately. You always take priority.”
“I look forward to tasting your cooking again,” I told him.
“I have a new menu for you coming in the next couple of days.”
He quickly strode away, and Lilianna giggled. “He seems fond of you.”
“I can be personable.”
Her brows rose. “Since when?”
I narrowed my eyes. I saw the way people looked at me. There was always a tinge of fear buried beneath respect or hatred. The only person who saw me for me was Lilianna. Men like Abramo, who had never seen my brutal side, were more keen to greet me with a smile, but those people were limited in number.
I changed the topic. “I hope authentic cuisine will help with your homesickness.”
Lilianna turned to Callum. “Are you excited to eat food like back in Italy?” she asked.
Callum nodded. “Pasta.”
Lilianna nodded and smiled up at me.
“I’m sure this pasta will be the best you’ve ever had,” I remarked.
Callum’s wide smile filled his small face as he bounced in his seat. “Yummy food?”
“The yummiest,” I replied.
The food came within minutes, and both Lilianna and Callum dug into their plates as I took a bite of mine.
“This is incredible,” Lilianna said, shaking her head. “I haven’t had homemade pasta since being home, and even then, it has never tasted so good.”
“There are things here that make staying worth it,” I told Lilianna.
Her eyes darted between me and Callum before her cheeks reddened. “I never said there weren’t.” She met my eyes. “You seem to remind me of that every day.”
I didn’t have time to consider the comment as my phone rang at my side. I lifted it immediately.
“Make it quick,” I demanded.
Marcus, my computer expert, spoke quickly. “I have a track on Vlad’s current location.”
The normalcy and relative ease of the evening faded as I ended the call and met Lilianna’s eyes.
“We got him.”