Chapter 25 Matteo
MATTEO
By the time the day winds down, I’m ready to go home to my wife and son. It’s one of those rare weeks where we’re staying at the penthouse. Being back and forth from the city has been tiresome, but I know how much Bea loves the estate.
She feels at peace there.
I’m dialing her number as I leave the office, but then I pause when I catch the scent of an asshole standing right in front of me.
What the fuck is he doing here? In my domain, no less.
He leans against my car like he owns it. One leg crossed over the other, dressed in a casual suit, hair slicked back. His usual uniform and attire.
Giacomo. He’s an eyesore if I ever did see one.
“You’re either the stupidest person alive to come into my territory like this, or the bravest,” I spit, coating the words in acid. “I’m going with the former.”
His lips tilt into a slow, easy smile that I want to carve off his face.
According to my latest briefing, this man should be in exile right now. He lost his French contacts and I also took over the majority of his territory.
And yet here he stands before me, looking like he’s the king of the world.
“Well, if it isn’t my old friend, Matty. How have you been? I’ve missed you in my travels. Exile can be so lonely.”
I draw my gun and point it right at his head in one swift motion. I click the safety off, making sure my aim is precise.
Giacomo fake pouts. “Matty, you wound me. I thought you’d be elated to see me. After all, we do have such a long and deep-rooted history. I’d like to consider us kindred souls.”
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t blow your head off right now.”
He smiles wider. “Oh, come now, Matty. Why can we never be more cordial than this?”
I point my gun to the side and pull the trigger. The sound vibrates through the empty underground parking.
He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t blink. Instead, the bastard smirks, and a glint of evil flashes across his eyes.
“Stupid of you to come into my building alone.”
“Am I alone?” He lifts one brow. “Yes, this is the Davacalli Tower—love what you’ve done with the place, by the way—but this is not only your territory. You happen to share close proximity to a certain friend of mine. Vladimir Rolver.”
Shit.
My eyes do a single sweep of the parking lot, and that’s when I notice the two SUVs with small, barely-there red flags attached to the side. An insignia subtle enough to go unnoticed—unless you’re part of my world.
“What is it you want?” I quip, holstering my gun.
He kicks off the car and takes a step toward me. “I figured the bitch wouldn’t have the guts to tell you, so I’ve come to let you know that I paid your wife a visit.”
What?
I try not to react. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“Ah, I see she didn’t deliver my message.
I had thought that this time she would listen.
” He waves his hand dramatically. “This girl and her disobedience—I don’t know how you put up with it.
You should have beaten it out of her years ago.
But I must say, I do wonder why your second didn’t mention seeing me. ”
Every word he says pulls at my patience. My finger massages the trigger. It is so tempting to just pull it and end all of this.
The code. I need to honor it.
He gasps mockingly. “Oh no, Matty, I wonder why he’s keeping secrets from you. Seems to me you’re losing your grip on your people. I thought Valerio was your most trusted and obedient lackey. I guess times are changing.”
“You have ten seconds to get to your point.” I’m giving him nine more than I should.
He tuts at me. “To think you’re the man who stole my son from me, yet you’re the one with the attitude.”
“What did you just say?” I feel acid flood my body.
“You heard me. And seeing as we’re keeping things short, I’ll say this: I am back to take what you stole from me,” he snarls. “And when I do, I’ll make sure I bury you, end you. You will rue the day you ever decided to take what’s mine. Including that little bitch I bought with my cash.”
I lower my gun, and it takes every ounce of restraint I have to holster it at my back.
“Watch your mouth.” I step toward him, fists balled at my sides. I stop only a few meters from where he stands.
“Aww, you don’t like it when I call your little whore a ‘bitch?’”
The rage ignites in every cell of my body, and I move so fast I barely have time to process it. I draw my arm back and slam my fist into the side of his face with a satisfying crack.
He stumbles—but not far.
He lunges forward, and we’re chest to chest, fists clenched, breath hot with fury.
“Oh, is this the kind of behavior you show to my son?” he sneers, the rage in his eyes boiling like a cauldron of water. “Pathetic.”
“He is not your son,” I grind out, shoving him back again. “You don’t get to speak his name. If you come near my family again—”
“What?” he laughs, bitter and bloodied. “You’ll kill me?
You’ve been saying this, Matteo. When are you finally going to grow the balls and do it?
Use that gun right now and shoot me dead.
I dare you. I’m unarmed, and there is no one here.
Forget the way of the code and be a man and do it. Use your fucking balls.”
He’s playing me. Trying to push me into breaking the code. He knows exactly how important it is to me.
When he sees I don’t make a move, he smirks. “You see? All talk and no action. This is why I don’t live by that fucking code. It makes all of you pussies.”
“Stay away from them,” I say, my voice like ice. “Or I swear to God, I will gut you like a fish and feed your insides to the dogs. I am not to be played with, Giacomo. You live because I make it so, but I will wipe you off the face of this earth with one single snap of my finger.”
The tension lays thick in the atmosphere—so thick it presses down on my chest, stealing the oxygen from my lungs.
He chuckles low and dark. “Oh, look who has turned into a tough guy now.”
I don’t indulge him with a response.
“Oh, how I love this little game of ours, Matteo. But it looks like my time is up and I need to run. Don’t worry—round two will not be too far.
But until then, ciao.” He gives me a mock salute and steps away with a smile I want to erase.
He turns on his heel and makes his way to the awaiting cars with Vladimir’s flag on them.
I don’t wait to see him get in. I hop into my car, not wanting to give myself the chance to start something I won’t be able to contain in this parking bay. I press on the gas and peel out like hellfire is hot on my wheels.
I try to call my wife on the way home, but she doesn’t answer.
I try five more times and still no answer.
Panic begins to bubble from my core, but I force it down.
I press the gas harder and floor it all the way to the penthouse.
My stomach is on the floor of the car, my blood heated from seeing that demon.
The moment I open the apartment door, the air hits me—stale and still, like fear has soaked into the walls.
“Beatrice?” I call her name frantically. “Beatrice!”
I hear nothing in return and my heart sinks.
“Beatrice!” I’m frantic and panicked now. She has to be here. I know she is here. “Beatrice!”
Then I hear it. A low, strangled cry from the kitchen.
My chest tightens.
I drop my keys, barely registering the clatter, and move through the rooms, pulse slamming against my ears. I make my way into the kitchen and find her on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest.
“Oh, Bea…”
Her face is pale, lips parted, eyes wide and unseeing. She’s staring at the floor, dazed. She’s gasping—desperate for air. Broken sounds slip from her lips, her chest rising too fast, like her lungs have forgotten how to hold air.
“Beatrice—”
She doesn’t hear me. She rocks herself, sweat beading along her hairline as she tries to work through the panic shaking her body.
I rush over and drop to the floor beside her. I take her face in my hands and force her to look at me. Her skin is cold to the touch.
Christ. She looks as pale as a ghost.
“Look at me, amore. Look at me. It’s Matteo.” My voice stays gentle, soothing. “You’re safe, amore.”
She blinks, her low strangled cries softening as I pull her into my arms. Her body trembles, but I hold steady.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, pulling her closer. “I’ve got you.”
She shakes her head, eyes still wild. “Fear just… flooded in.”
“I know.” My jaw clenches as I run my hand along her back. “I know. You don’t need to explain.”
I hold her tighter, cradling the back of her head, letting her sink into my chest. Her whole body is trembling, like something inside her has cracked and she’s just trying to keep from falling through it.
“What if something happened… what if Daniele—”
“Shhh.” I rock her gently. “You don’t need to be afraid. Nothing bad is going to happen to Daniele. Not while I’m breathing.”
She buries her face in my chest, her tears soaking through the cotton, and I just hold her.
We stay like that a little while longer before we finally pull apart. Her breathing has slowed, and her eyes are bloodshot from all the tears she’s cried.
I cup the side of her face, brushing away the last stray tears that slip free.
“I’m here, baby. I’m here.”
I lift us off the floor and carry her to the couch. She buries her nose into the side of my neck, breathing softly against my skin.
I try to stay calm as I settle her onto my lap, but only a few hours ago I had my gun pointed at his head. I should have taken the shot. I should have ended it all right then and there.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers into my neck, her voice small and broken.
“You did nothing wrong. I’ll take care of both of you. I promise you that, my love.”
I don’t move, letting her rest as long as she can. And if I’m honest, fury coils tight in my chest—at Giacomo, and at my second. I need answers. He should have told me about that encounter at the park. His duty to this syndicate is to protect me—and by extension, my wife and child.