30. Matteo
CHAPTER THIRTY
MATTEO
I found my father in the office with his cousin, Massimo—Uncle Massimo as I liked to call him—discussing recent drug distribution routes.
“Have it go through Baltimore,” Pa instructed. “Have we gotten to the bottom of those rumors of flesh being moved through this territory?”
I took a seat in the chair across from his desk and chimed in, “I took care of that.”
They both shot me a surprised look. “You did?”
I brought my leg up, resting my ankle on my knee, and leaned back into the seat. “Yes, I was chasing a lead on the shooter and ran across the trafficked girls.”
“And you didn’t think to mention any of this?” Uncle Massimo asked dryly, rubbing his thigh. It’d become a habit of his since the accident that had bound him to the wheelchair.
“Slipped my mind.” I shrugged when he glared at me in disbelief. “Good to see you full of spirit, Uncle. Your wife sure is doing wonders for your mood. I wonder what activities?—”
“You better wipe any and all thoughts of my wife from your mind, Matteo.”
Pa snickered, probably detecting my evasion tactic, but the truth was, we were all happy for him. The years after Aunt Ella’s fatal accident was rough on everyone, but especially Uncle Massimo, who had scars of his own to deal with. Then his young wife swept in and somehow brought happiness into his life.
“Why were you chasing leads about the shooter?” Pa asked.
“Apparently he mentioned our family name.”
It was nagging at me that I still felt like I was missing a big piece of the puzzle. The girls had all been as much in the dark as us, and after giving them a choice, they all opted to go back to their parents. Hopefully they would be safe this time around.
“And?” Pa had killer instincts; he knew there was more to the story.
“And nothing,” I stated. “I found the girls and a few guards. The girls are back with their families, and the guards are dead.”
“Well, did you question them before killing them?” Uncle demanded.
“Yes, just one, but he didn’t know much.” I didn’t want to alert him about the rumors of the Belles and Mobsters Agreement resurrecting. Not yet at least.
“Why do I feel like you’re not telling me something important, son?”
It didn’t surprise me that Pa could sense it. After all, he taught me everything I knew. I sighed, knowing there was no fooling him, but also not wanting to alarm him. “There was a mention of… belles.”
Tension descended onto the room, thick like fog.
“You sure you heard that right?” Uncle asked in a measured tone.
“Yes. One of the girls thought we were getting them prepared to be ‘belles for the mobsters.’” Honestly, the concept was dumb as fuck, but for some reason, it’d worked in the past. “Maybe there is a copycat trying to reignite the Belles and Mobster auctions.”
“Not a word of this to your mom. Not until we have all the details,” Pa gritted. “I’ll alert the territories down the East Coast. We worked too hard to end that nonsense. I’ll be damned if I let it resurface.”
“Nico Morrelli might be able to pick up something on the dark web,” Uncle Massimo pointed out.
I cleared my throat. “Speaking of Morrelli, have you?—”
“Yes, it’s done. He was good with it.” My eyebrows shot up, surprised at how well this was going. “We’ll announce it at the party later today.”
I opened my mouth to ask for details when Luca King DiMauro and Cassio King strode in.
“You went all out, Luciano. Kingpins, Billionaire Kings, even some Omertà members are here, but where in the fuck are the Russians?” Luca drawled, both brothers taking a seat on the couch facing the terrace and gardens that Nonno used to nurture.
I missed the old man. A decade had passed since his death, but seeing those gardens was almost bittersweet. Mom took care of them now, but sometimes I wished she didn’t, because seeing them perfect like this almost made you believe he was still around.
“You know the Russians, they’re always fashionably late.” He raked a hand through his hair. “There are whispers about belles again.” Pa didn’t beat around the bush, causing me to let out a groan. He pinned me with a stare. “Son, these auctions are nothing to take lightly. If it were to resurface, our girls and women would be in danger.”
“áine mentioned the trafficked girls you rescued.” Of course she would. She was Cassio’s wife after all. “They’re safe but not talking. Did they say something to you?” Cassio questioned.
“They couldn’t give me much, and the guards were useless. In fact, they didn’t even know who had hired them, but the fact that those girls even knew about belles isn’t good news,” I explained.
“It could be a mistake,” Uncle Massimo suggested.
“Quite a mistake,” muttered Luca. “Someone better tell Morrelli so his girls don’t go out looking for trouble.”
“Our nieces are the definition of trouble.” Cassio shot him a dry look. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were robbing us blind as we speak.”
My lips curved. It was a running joke that the Morrelli daughters would one day rob us all. I wouldn’t care, since Ari was about to be my wife, but some weren’t as open-minded.
“We have your wife to thank for that.” Luca feigned a glare at my father. “She kept feeding them tips on how to improve, and now we have thieves in our midst.”
Luciano chuckled.
“If they manage to steal from you, then you had it coming.”
Three years ago, Arianna and Hannah got themselves invited to their uncle Luca’s house in Sicily for the summer. They robbed half of goddamned Italy, almost causing an international incident. The worst part was that Penelope, the apple of Luca’s eye, participated when they robbed Enrico Marchetti. Needless to say, it further strained the already tense relationship.
“I sure as fuck hope you get on their radar one day,” Luca grumbled. “Then we’ll talk.”
Pa laughed. “They could never get one over on me.”
Cassio leaned back, crossing his legs. “We’ll see. You should never underestimate my nieces.”
Pa looked smug, probably thinking they’d never rob him now that our families would be joined. But he failed to realize that those closest to Ari and her sisters were usually their practice targets.
Ari was within my grasp, and nothing and no one would stand in my way.
Thirty minutes later, I left Pa and his friends in the office, reminiscing about their old days.
I was almost to my room when I ran into my mom. She was already dressed for the party, wearing a flowy cream dress that made her look both regal and youthful.
“There you are.” She beamed, straining onto her toes to reach my cheek. She kissed it softly as she patted the other one. “Have you been hiding?”
“No, I just had to handle some business with Pa,” I told her, leaving out the key points—she didn’t need to worry herself.
I couldn’t help but recall the story of her and Aunt Ella being snatched to be sold as belles. The nightmare she’d endured led to night terrors that’d plagued her on and off since. There were days when I could feel their struggles when I was a young boy, and I hated how helpless it made me feel, how it weighed down on me.
“Always talking about business,” she grumbled, but there was no anger in her tone. “I’m guessing all his friends are in there too.”
“Some,” I admitted. “Raphael Santos just joined them, so I made myself scarce. There’s only so much of their bickering I can handle.”
She chuckled. “They’ve known each other a long time. Just wait until Sasha joins in.”
“I can only imagine. Nikola is one of my best friends, and his humor”—if you could even call it that—“supersedes his uncle’s.”
“I’m so happy you have good friends.” She stroked my hair away from my face. “They make all the difference in this world, especially when times get hard.”
I caught a sad expression and knew she was thinking about Ella’s passing. She was hit just as hard as Uncle Massimo.
“It’s okay, Mom.” I pulled her into a hug. “I miss her too.”
She cleared her throat, squeezing me tightly. “I’m also happy Massimo found someone to help him…”
“Move on,” I finished gently for her. “It doesn’t mean he’s forgotten her.”
“I know.” She straightened and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. “And I’m so lucky to have you and your dad. Having a partner who’s also your best friend makes life so much sweeter.” The sadness was momentarily replaced with pride and joy. “I’m so happy you found that too.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t hate me for blindsiding her,” I joked.
A soft frown etched across her features. “I doubt it, son. It’s been a long time?—”
“There you are. I’m starving. When is this party starting?” Nikola leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, thankfully with a shirt on. “More importantly, where is the food?” My mom crossed her arms and he added, “Hi, Mrs. Vitale,” in his sweetest voice. Suck-up .
I raised a brow. “Have you tried the kitchen?”
He waved his hand.
“Ever try to meddle in the kitchen when someone’s cooking?” Nikola rolled his eyes. “I love my mom, but when she gets distracted, food poisoning follows.”
Mom chuckled, then grabbed his hand and mine. “Come on, boys. I’ll feed you before the party gets going.”