Chapter 20 Ignacio
Igrasp Roman’s hand, gently running my thumb over his knuckles. I fucking hate being confined to this bed, especially when I know I can’t ask Roman to come lay down with me. Not if it’ll risk his health.
“Little One, how are you?”
“I…I don’t really know what to say. My father… Fuck. I don’t know how you don’t hate me. And then there’s what he did to my other dad, and Tennant. It’s all so disgusting.”
Roman’s face screws up in a grimace and my heart aches for him.
Having no good relationship with my biological family, I can’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly have such a strong familial tie torn apart.
My Little One feels things so deeply. He is unapologetically heart.
Sure, he can cut a man down, but when he loves, it’s with every fiber of his being.
When he’s angry? He is a sight to behold. There isn’t one facet of him that doesn’t fascinate me and hold me captive. His father is an idiot to doubt his son, and the loyalty of his lovers—including me.
“I wish I had some magic words to ease your pain,” I murmur, squeezing his hand harder for a beat. “But since I don’t, just know that I’m here for you. Always.”
“Even with Benjamin here?” Roman’s lips quirk and I study him carefully, relieved I don’t see any of the jealousy that lingers in Benjamin’s eyes occasionally.
I shake my head. “My heart is big enough for the both of you. You have me completely, Little One. Benjamin will adjust. He’s not used to sharing, despite having been around the Martelli way for so long.”
Snorting, Roman rolls his eyes. “Considering he went so far as to claim me, I’m not worried about his jealousy. He’s stuck with me. We’ll make it work.”
I laugh at Roman’s smirk. “I see, Little One. There may be some growing pains, but I don’t want you to ever doubt my loyalty to you. No matter what, you are who I choose. I belong to you completely.”
The flush on his cheeks melts me. I doubt many get to see this side of him, his sweet vulnerability, and I’m honored he lets me. When there’s a knock at my door, I curse mentally, not wanting to give up time with Roman.
“Yes?” I call out, and my eyes widen at who enters. I’m not familiar enough with Tennant’s guards, but seeing Ely and Daniel…that is a shock, even as I smile at the sight. “Ely! You look positively radiant.”
She beams at me and pats her small baby bump. I’m glad Marcus gave me a heads up or I’d have been shocked. “Thank you. And I appreciate the Martelli contribution to the baby shower… Although, should I now consider the gifts from the O’Connel Family? Or perhaps the Amatos?”
Her sharp eyes land on Roman, and her wicked grin lights up. Roman turns to me and raises an eyebrow. “Roman, this is Ely and Daniel. Part of the leadership of the gang on the west side that we work with. They’ve been instrumental in helping things run smoothly.”
Like the Boss he’s been raised to be, he inclines his head as a welcome.
It’s fucking elegant, and certainly nothing I can do.
I’m all muscle. Chaos. And that’s all I’ll ever be.
For a moment, sadness sweeps over me, knowing I’ll never be refined enough for Roman, but the fact he still chooses me is a balm on my soul.
“I come bearing news…” Ely states as she practically skips closer.
I see that pregnancy isn’t slowing her down at all, which terrifies me slightly.
Roman gestures to the seats next to him, and Ely slides right in, throwing a flirtatious wink at him.
“We received three phone calls. Speaking of which, asshole, I don’t care if you’re in a coma, one of those calls should have been from you. ”
I snort, rubbing my chest as the pain hits me. Roman scowls at me, and I give him my best innocent look—which fails. Miserably.
Redirecting his attention, I ask Ely, “What did the calls say?”
“Hmm. I don’t know if I should tell you. After all, you haven’t given me any information…” She stares at her polished nails, complete with little crystals on each one.
Sighing, I roll my eyes at her. At times, I think she’s too much like Antonio.
Thankfully, they don’t interact much, because the world would probably implode if they did.
Fucking gossips. Both of them. “As you can see, we’ve currently split from Il Padrone, due to significant differences with him, and also Cristian Amato. Instead, there’s…”
At my hesitation, Roman picks up the conversation easily.
“I’ve taken over from my father. I am the representative for the Amatos.
My other dad is leading the De Luca Family, and Emilio, formerly Martelli, has taken up his rightful place as the O’Connel Boss.
We work in conjunction with each other.”
He says it so flawlessly, as if it’s been a completely smooth transition. And hell, maybe it has, but I can’t speak for any of the shit that’s gone down since Cristian gutted me. Thank fuck Ely came when Roman was here. I’d probably fuck up, fumbling through an explanation.
“Fascinating,” Ely breathes, almost salivating over the information.
I cough lightly and it pulls her back. She wrinkles her nose at me before launching into her own tale.
“Right. So three phone calls. The first was from Il Padrone, who called me. I declined his call, as Marcus had already contacted me. Then we had two other calls come in, but these were to Daniel, which of course made us even more suspicious.”
I nod in understanding. While Daniel is one of the main leaders, he isn’t the one who handles these aspects. Only fools who aren’t familiar with the way the gang works would go to him. Generally, to their detriment.
Daniel smoothly picks up where Ely left off, saying, “The first one tried to pretend he was Il Padrone. As if I'm not aware of Il Padrone’s voice. Fucker. I let him talk before telling him exactly what I thought of his tactic. Essentially, the person was calling out a hit on all of you. They seemed to think we’d want in on that. ”
I hiss at the news, because who the fuck is trying to target us?
“Yeah, that was our opinion. But the third call…now that was when things got really interesting.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” I retort at Daniel’s dramatic pause—Ely must be rubbing off on her lover a little too much.
“The guy didn’t give his name, but claimed to be an organization interested in taking over space in the city and surrounding areas.
Said he had already hit a few other cities, and was making progress in taking over the entire Eastern coastline.
Supposedly, he even has an in with Il Padrone’s cousin and the LEOs.
Wanted to offer us very nice terms on shipments if we stopped cooperating with the Martellis and Amatos. ”
Growling, I narrow my eyes, wondering who the fuck would be doing this. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, pretty much. I didn’t give him an answer, and said I wouldn’t unless we had a meeting. Unfortunately, he became rather flustered and hung up. If he calls back, I’ll let you know.”
“This is…concerning.” I rub at the stubble on my chin, wishing I could shave it off as it adds to my overall irritation. “I may have Hollis reach out to you. Maybe he can figure something out from the number that called you or some shit. The guy’s a genius.”
“Maybe we can work out some services to trade in that case.” Ely leverages herself out of the chair. “But I need to get back to check on a shipment. I’d like to meet the rest of the Bosses at some point.”
“Of course,” Roman intercepts. “We’ll figure out a time. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”
Daniel stands up and holds his hand out for Ely. She gives us a quick wave goodbye before sailing out of the room, pulling Daniel along with her. I exchange a concerned glance with Roman, grimness falling over us both.
“This is fucked,” I state, because fuck, what else is there to say? Who the fuck would impersonate Il Padrone? And target us? And who the fuck is pulling the strings…? More fucking questions. Of course.
“Understatement, Amante, understatement,” Roman murmurs as he lets out a deep breath. “Looks like we need a Council meeting sooner than later. Ora si fa sul serio.”