Chapter 24 Emilio
Thanks to Hollis, my mind is clearer. The way he takes control…
fuck. It’s exactly what I needed. The nerves going into this Council meeting are far less than the first time around, even if it’s still odd to be here not only as a Boss, but claiming my Irish roots.
I wonder what my father would think of his territory being resurrected by one of his bastards…
I force myself to sit down in Roman’s hospital room.
It was hard enough to wrangle him back here, but Dr. Ranlen pretty much threatened his—and our—lives if he didn’t behave.
Carter joins us almost immediately, reaching out to grasp Roman’s hand for a moment.
That connection…my heart twinges with something like jealousy, but I force it away.
Even with what Hollis gave me, I still feel adrift.
Clearing my throat, I interject, “Who would like to start?”
Roman lets go of his father’s hand and adjusts himself so he’s sitting taller. “When I was visiting Ignacio, we had Ely and Daniel from the west side gang stop by. They gave us some concerning information.”
“I have a feeling I don’t want to know,” I mutter.
My friend flashes me a sympathetic smile before he continues.
“They received three phone calls. One to Ely from Il Padrone, which she declined as she’d already spoken to Marcus.
The other two were to Daniel. One claimed to be Il Padrone, but obviously wasn’t.
They essentially tried to put hits on all of us. ”
“What the fuck?!” Mine and Carter’s exclamations overlap, but Roman holds up his hand so that we subside. I grip the arms of the seat to stop myself from standing and pacing. Taking a deep breath, I wait for Roman to continue with whatever fuckery Ely and Daniel dropped on him.
“Daniel also received a call from an unknown man, who apparently is making inroads on taking over. Supposedly, there’s a connection to Il Padrone’s cousin, and he’s the one running the LEOs.
Daniel said that unless there was a meet, he wouldn’t go against us.
The man hung up, and they haven’t heard anything further. ”
“Hmm. If there’s a connection to Sergio, then that’s a question for Luca.
And, uh, I may not be the best to discuss it with him.
” I wince, knowing the last interaction I had with Luca, at least before rescuing him, wasn’t exactly positive.
Agreeing with him being stabbed probably didn’t endear me to him, and that’s on top of the issues we already had.
Although, me breaking up with Il Padrone may make him friendlier toward me.
Roman snorts. “Not according to Doc. It seems Luca has had quite the change of heart. Hollis was able to confirm. He bugged a phone that was given to Luca.”
I stare at Roman in shock. “Are you sure this is Luca we’re talking about? Bane of my existence. Asshole. That guy?”
Roman cracks up, wincing as he holds his ribs. He manages to subside at Carter’s stern glare, but he tenderly shrugs one shoulder. “Hollis has a couple of recordings. Maybe ask him to listen to them. It promises to be amusing, if nothing else.”
“Alright, well, I guess we’ll put that on the list, especially if we have a number for him.
” I bite my thumbnail, wondering if I can have one of them initiate the call or if that makes me seem too weak.
“If we can get information about who is potentially in charge of this shit, it’ll be a major help.
Although that won’t help with the issue of who is calling out hits.
Do you think Hollis can look into that?”
“I’ve already put in that request.” I roll my eyes at Roman’s smug grin, but it’s well deserved.
“There’s another issue,” Carter breaks in. “Marcus believes we should meet with Cristian and Allesandro.”
“Fuck, no!” Roman explodes, his face flushing crimson. “I have nothing to say to my father.”
Carter opens his mouth, but quickly closes it, as if he's unable to provide a counter argument. Unfortunately, I know Marcus’s mind too well. If he’s giving it as an opinion, there’s a strategic reason for it.
Taking a deep breath, I blow out slowly, trying to find calmness in the chaos of my mind. Staring at Carter, I ask, “Why did Marcus ask for that?”
“He believes that we need to force them to acknowledge us as Bosses. He also stated that while Allesandro gave them a solid list of people to investigate, he didn’t give any reasoning.
It’s his belief that by meeting with them as Bosses, we may be able to exchange information.
” Carter pauses, before carefully saying, “I don’t want to make assumptions about what may have happened between you and Allesandro…
but if he hurt you, I don’t want you near him. ”
I smile at Carter, even if it doesn’t reach my eyes.
His kindness is so contrary to his husband’s fucking cruelty that it shocks me they were married.
Shaking my head, I reassure him. “I’m far stronger than I seem.
If Marcus feels this is the right pathway to take, I’d concur.
He knows Allesandro better than I do, and he knows what information we may need.
However, I can’t see Allesandro parting with that information easily. Did he have a suggestion?”
Carter grimaces and with an apologetic look, he says, “He thinks you’re enough of a draw for Allesandro.”
Snorting, I shake my head. “Well, I hate to prove him wrong, but I really doubt I matter that much to Allesandro.”
Carter’s lips press into a flat line, but he doesn’t offer any response.
Roman, however, doesn’t stay quiet. “There’s no fucking way, Amico Mio.
Allesandro doesn’t deserve to even be in the same vicinity as you, and I don’t want you to be hurt.
Besides, there’s no fucking way I want to be around my father. ”
I stand up, rolling my shoulders to release some of the tension. Taking a couple of steps toward his bed, I lean in and lightly hug Roman, trying to be cautious of his injuries. He grabs me hard, almost pulling me on top of him.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Amico Mio.”
Gently, I extract myself from him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
It feels odd, even if it’s right. Turning, I meet Carter’s worried eyes.
“Have Marcus set up a time. If anything, just between Allesandro and me. He’s the one we need the information from, and if Marcus truly thinks he’ll talk to me… I’ll give it a shot.”
“I won’t let you go without protection,” Carter retorts, his frown deepening at my refusal to stay.
“That’s fine.” I wave his concern away. There’s nothing Allesandro can do to me that’s worse than what’s already been done, but if it helps Carter feel better, I’ll take whoever he thinks I should.
“If we can get more information about who to investigate, it’ll be worth it.
Especially, if Luca has insights as well.
I’m not sure about who would call hits on us. ”
From the look they exchange, both Carter and Roman want to continue arguing with me about going, but thankfully, they subside. Carter sighs as he shakes his head. “Let’s see what Hollis can come up with on that.”
“Alright, so we’ll wait to hear from Hollis on that part. I think we have a game plan. One of us will need to talk with Luca, and I’ll plan on meeting with Allesandro. Marcus is right about one aspect, they need to acknowledge us as Bosses.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Carter whispers, but I don’t respond.
I know both of them are concerned, but sometimes you have to step off the cliff just to see what happens. Fuck knows that’s where I’m at with Allesandro. It can go either way. Perhaps things are salvageable between us—but I’m not holding my breath.
If anything, maybe this will tell me whether there’s any hope left to cling onto, because while I hate to admit it, I find myself dreaming of my Master all too often.
Ripping off the bandaid is the smarter choice to make.
I have a feeling Marcus was thinking that as well.
We’ve both sat on the precipice before with Allesandro.
Maybe I’ll be as lucky as he was, maybe there will be some safety there for me as well…
At least, we made progress as a Council. There may be even more questions, but now we have some ideas of how to get answers. Even if it’s not in ways the others approve of.