Chapter 34 Cristian
Adjusting the cuffs of my suit, I try not to fidget. The closer we get to the meeting place, the more my heart clenches and fear tries to overtake me.
Allesandro sets a hand on my thigh, offering me as much comfort as he can, even as Luca shoots daggers at me from the other seat.
What the former Martelli Second has against me, I don’t know or care; I have bigger problems than his bullshit—especially not if he’s getting along with Doc.
Considering how most people can’t stand to be around my friend for more than a few minutes due to his mouth, the fact Luca seems to like the asshole is… worrisome.
As much as I’m drawing comfort from my love sitting next to me, all my training and Tennant’s intense security protocols are screaming at me that two Bosses shouldn’t be in the same car together. It goes against every precaution I’ve ever taken since being in charge.
Thankfully, before my thoughts of how easy of a mark we are can spiral out of control, the limo pulls into the lot of the O’Connel outpost.
Allesandro takes his hand away and I feel unmoored. Part of me, the bit that realizes my hold on him is too tight, too much, balks at the idea of being close to him when my husband is soon to be in reach.
Before this whole mess, I hadn’t touched another man in over a decade, and I know what we did in Allesandro’s office was more for me than him, no matter how well I tried to dress it up.
But I needed that anchor, the feeling of not being alone, of having strength and love shoved at me in a way that only two people in my life have ever been able to give.
So…I can’t regret what we did, even if my motivations were fucked up.
The other side of it, though, reminds me I am the one in charge, and I don’t have to answer to anyone, not even the man I married. Especially not when he’s doing God knows what with his two “friends”.
Luca slides out of the car when my guard for this excursion opens the door. After a moment, the two of them give the all clear, and I step out of the vehicle, buttoning my suit jacket as I survey the area.
There isn’t much to this location; a former warehouse that was abandoned years ago by the O’Connel Family. It is as central and neutral as we’re going to get in this situation.
“Ready?” Allesandro asks, straightening his own suit.
Not at all. Can one ever be ready to face their ex and son with the man they dislike by their side?
“Let’s do this.”
Luca and Fin escort us to the doors, and I allow the pang of grief to flow through me at having lost Gabriele at the start of all this.
Another reason we need to find who is trying so hard to take us out, they need to pay for stealing a good man from this world.
Though that’s a point I need to take up with Tennant as well, knowing his actions and decisions guided my men on what side of this line in the sand they ended up.
The building is small, only a handful of rooms, and was probably used as a safehouse or smaller storage facility when the O’Connels were at the top of their game. Now, of course, they’re nothing but a barely held together faction, led by a boy who, while skilled, still has a lot to learn.
They’re waiting for us in the main room: Emilio, Carter, and Jude.
Not seeing Roman sends a flurry of pain through me.
This is the longest I’ve gone without my son since he was born.
The month we had together in between the kidnapping and now wasn’t enough.
Not when we had so much shit to deal with, and the fact the wedge was already between us because of his choices.
Not seeing him almost makes me stop in my tracks, and if it wasn’t for all of my years as a Boss, I would have shown my weakness from the get-go.
The part of me that is a Boss, who spent years preparing my son for scenarios such as this one—where he would have to defend his position to others simply because of who he is—is pissed.
This isn’t the type of situation where you can send in a proxy, not if you’re wanting to show people who and what you are.
Reputations are everything in this world, and Roman isn’t off to a good start.
Scanning the guards they’ve brought with them, I narrow my eyes when I see Marcus standing at Carter’s shoulder.
I also note that they have a fourth guard with them—one of the trips, Dmirti, though I only know it's him as he’s the only guard of the three of them.
I know he is here more to act as Jude’s interpreter than anything, and we’d be assholes to make a scene about him being an extra body.
“Thank you for coming,” Lio says. “I’m glad we’re able to meet like this.” He sweeps his gaze over both Allesandro and I, briefly looking at Luca before focusing his attention back on his former Master.
“We…appreciate you for inviting us,” Allesandro says neutrally, which is more than I thought my friend could be when it comes to his Boy.
“We’re not here to waste time,” Lio says. “We all have a lot to do, and a common enemy to defeat, which is why we called for this meeting. To hopefully come to a truce and start working together.”
I swallow back the first instinct that comes to me, which is to ask if that means they’ll be coming home with us. From the way Tennant glares at me from where he hovers over Jude, my former best friend knows what I’m thinking and is plotting my demise.
“Yes,” Allesandro agrees. “This would be a lot easier on all of us if we are able to work together. Especially, since…some new information has come to light.”
I’m impressed by the way he twists his words and dangles the carrot in front of them. I know better than to think any of them would fall for it, but putting it out there, forcing them to give as much as they’re expecting to get, is only fair.
“We’re not here to play games,” Carter speaks up. “If you know something, it’s best to say it. Otherwise, how can we trust your word is valid? Keeping things to yourself…it helps no one in the long run.”
“And how would you know that?” I ask carefully. “Being a Boss was never something you were interested in. How can we trust that you have our best intentions at heart?”
“Careful, Cris,” Carter says icily. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was your uncle speaking and not the man I married.”
Allesandro places his hand on my arm, in both warning and comfort, and I have to bite back the harsh words I want to say. “I am who I am, Amore. I always have been. It is not my fault you’re just now seeing it. This is the game you chose to play when you took up what is not rightfully yours.”
Before Carter can respond, Lio steps in, giving me a hard stare.
“Oh? And who should take up the mantle of the De Lucas then? You? Why is that? Because you’re married?
I don’t think so. Marrying you might have linked the Families together, but they will always be Carter’s to do with as he pleases.
Unless you’re planning to stage a coup against the man you supposedly love. ”
The glint in his eyes says he knows more than he should.
The link between Carter and Leandro is easy to see, all you have to do is be in the same room as the two of them.
Still, Leandro’s made his position well known.
He isn’t, and may never be, ready to accept his birthright, which means, until that happens, Carter is the rightful heir.
None of that makes the facts any less true, though. Carter was never supposed to take up the position of Boss.
I can’t say any of that though. The little psychopath wants me to spill secrets that aren’t mine, giving him a reason to take me down. I refuse to be part of his game.
“We really are here for nothing except a truce,” Jude cuts in, breaking the tension between Emilio and I. “We have a common goal, and by working together, we can achieve it. We are far stronger together than divided, but that does not mean we will bow to your whims once again.”
“And who are you to speak to us in that manner?” Allesandro asks carefully. “I respect your position as Roman’s Second, but this is a conversation between Bosses, is it not?”
Jude doesn’t cower or bend under the pressure, if anything, he lifts his chin higher in defiance, his pale green eyes look dark in the low lighting.
His words are careful, precise, and he doesn’t hold back where anyone else would.
“I’m here for my Boss because he can’t be.
He chose me to be his voice, and that’s what I am.
This conversation is between Bosses, and mine made it very clear how he feels about being in the same room with the man who ruined every single happy memory he had as a teenager.
So, yes, you will be negotiating with me, but know that I have the full backing of my Bosses. ”
Allesandro and I glance at each other, that one word Bosses hanging between the five of us. It was a deliberate word, chosen for their position, and Jude knows it, though he doesn’t look even a bit smug when we turn back to him, which is credit to his training and what he wants to portray.
Stubborn. Allesandro called his Boys stubborn, but I’m more inclined to say wayward and defiant.
“You’re here to establish yourselves as Bosses,” Allesandro tells them.
“We are,” Lio agrees. “Carter and I have already claimed our birthrights, but since Roman is not here, we are giving you word in his stead, along with his Second as witness and representative.”
“If Roman is declaring himself as an Amato Boss, I need to hear the words from his lips,” I inform them stiffly.
“No, you don’t.” Carter shakes his head. “He gave his word and blessing to the Council, and this is our position.”
I tense while Allesandro studies them carefully before asking, “So, you are ruling as three then? One umbrella for three vastly different organizations.”
“Yes,” Lio says simply.
“That’s dangerous.”