8. Gabriel
A few weeks later…
The coke mess kept us busy for the next two weeks. Well, that and the spur-of-the-moment flight to Venezuela to help Massimo retrieve his son. A son he didn't even know he had.
Turned out that he'd knocked up an old girlfriend ten years ago, and now her kid had been kidnapped. I never thought I'd see the day when Massimo would be frazzled, but it finally came. He didn't exactly unravel, but the whole ex-girlfriend, didn't-know-he-had-a-son thing got to him.
I had a chance to get to know Jenna a little after she first appeared.
Massimo ordered me to babysit her, which wasn't a hardship.
Poor woman had been through the wringer.
All banged up after she rolled down a hill.
Her husband and kid were in the hands of the Venezuelans, and the worry was driving her nearly insane.
She turned out to be a decent person, with a pair of balls any man would be envious of. Enzo told me that while we were in Venezuela, she interrogated a man who tried to abduct her and got him talking when Enzo couldn't.
Their long-overdue wedding is in a few days, and tonight Massimo has invited the core group to dinner so we can all finally formally meet.
My phone rings just as I'm about to get in the car.
Unknown number. Again. I stare at the screen for a moment before answering.
I consider ignoring it, but I feel generous.
Over the last few weeks, I've been watching Audra and Pete drift apart a little.
I shouldn't be happy about her unraveling marriage, but I wouldn't be me—selfish bastard that I am—if I wasn't. The cameras don't have audio—one of the rare moments in my life when I listened to my conscience—but it's obvious that Audra and Pete are arguing more, that they're spending even less time together.
Some days she looks so damn lost that it tears me apart.
Only yesterday, I barely kept myself from storming out of the casino to get her out of there, to go pull her into my arms, no matter the consequences.
The phone continues to ring.
"Yeah."
A heavy breath answers me, and I roll my eyes at the theatrics. I already know who it is. Then the voice. "Gabriel."
Something dark twists in my gut. I don't know the asshole's name, just the stupid title he's using, El Recaudador. The Collector. He started calling a few days ago, not just me. Every single person in our outfit. From the valet people all the way to the top.
"Have you thought about my offer?" he asks calmly.
I lean against the car door, looking out over the parking garage.
"You're persistent." I give him that. And a pain in the ass. We're sure he's the one behind the laced coke and the shooting at the club. He wants to get into our territory without destroying the infrastructure. Only the management.
"I'm practical."
"You're wasting your time." There's no use notifying Kale; this guy is a pro. He's using burners and destroying them after each call. Pretty expensive and time-consuming, considering that, between our legit casinos and our… not-so-legit business, we have thousands of people working for us.
A soft chuckle comes through the line. "I don't think so. Men like you eventually realize loyalty is just another word for bad business."
"My loyalty isn't for sale." Not now. Not ever. Massimo is more than a brother to me. So are the others.
"Everything is for sale."
"Not this." He'll be dead the moment we find him.
Silence hangs between us for a moment.
"You're a smart man, Gabriel," he continues. "Smarter than the others around your Don. You see how fragile his empire really is."
"You don't know a damn thing about us."
"I know enough."
I push off the car, irritation starting to crawl under my skin.
"Let me save you another call. The answer is still no." I advise El Recaudador.
"You should reconsider."
"Why?"
"Because when Massimo falls—and he will—you'll want to be standing on the right side of the grave."
I laugh. Not because it's funny. Because it's stupid.
"Listen carefully," I warn as my good humor slowly drains and my voice grows cold. "You keep calling me. You keep poking around my city. Eventually, I'm going to find you." The line goes very quiet. "And when I do, you're going to wish you'd never been born."
Another small chuckle. "You threaten very confidently for a man who doesn't know where I am."
"That's temporary." I end the call.
For a moment, I stare at the dark screen. Sooner or later, we'll find him. And when we do, El Recaudador is going to learn something about Vegas: we always collect our debts.
Saying Massimo is on a warpath is an understatement.
Last week, we got one of El Recaudador's lieutenants.
Massimo dropped the fucker out of his jet somewhere over the Arizona desert.
But it doesn't seem as if The Collector has gotten the message.
All we know about him is that he's a ghost from the past and out to destroy our empire from within.
We'll take care of that problem, but first, we're going to get Massimo hitched. El Recaudador, I shake my head and get into the car. What a fucking ridiculous name.
Louie drops me off at the Sovereign ten minutes later, and I make my way through the casino floor, heading to the private elevator that will lead up to Massimo's penthouse. It's the same setup as in my casino, in all of ours, actually.
"Hold the box," a familiar voice calls. Damiano.
"I don't think so." I laugh and hit the close door button, but the fucker is faster and has his hand in between the closing doors before the lift can take off.
"Asshole."
I chuckle. It's the little things in life that keep me entertained.
Damiano punches me in the arm harder than I expected; he must have been working out again.
I give him the wince he's waiting for. His smirk is worth a hundred thousand dollars, from what I hear.
He was once a model before he got bored grinning at cameras.
The elevator dings, and the doors open to the antechamber of Massimo's suite.
His guards look more wary than usual. Good.
They need to be on high alert until we have the whole El Recaudador situation cleared.
Max, Massimo's head of security, nods at me, and I nod back.
Another man opens the door for us. Jenna looks radiant standing next to Massimo.
A lot better than the first time I laid eyes on her, when her hands had been wrapped in gauze, and she'd sported a shiner that could be seen from the moon.
Damiano steps ahead of me. "So, this is the woman who's been rearranging our Don's priorities," he greets, ramping up his charms.
"And improving them," she replies without missing a beat.
His laugh is genuine. Massimo introduces them, "Damiano, Jenna."
Further down, I can see Alessio and Enzo talking to Amauri, the ten-year-old boy I helped Massimo rescue from the fucking Venezuelans. He, too, looks a lot better than he did the last time I saw him.
When it's my turn to shake Jenna's hand, I put on my warmest smile, "Nice to see you again, Jenna. You look," I throw a glance at Massimo and say, "better," instead of my originally planned beautiful. There is no reason to poke the bear tonight. I have a feeling he'll be poked plenty.
Massimo pulls me into a quick embrace, and we pound each other's backs until we're both coughing. "Let's get some drinks."
Dinner rolls around, and inevitably, Enzo notices me glancing at my phone. "What's she doing now? Taking a shower?"
I shoot him a scorching look. "I'm not some… pervert."
Damiano snorts into his drink.
"I said monitoring."
Of course, Jenna and Massimo's son, Amauri, hears that part. "What's a pervert?"
Massimo answers immediately. "Someone who doesn't mind his own business."
Amauri nods thoughtfully. "Oh. So like when I read Mummy's messages?"
"Exactly like that," Jenna agrees quickly.
I shake my head. "I mind my business."
These men should know better than anyone how much restraint I'm exercising. Ending Pete and taking what I want would be easy. Watching Audra from a distance is the hard part. The slip at the ball proved that.
"From a distance," Enzo adds.
"With surveillance," Alessio adds with a smirk, daring me to talk my way out of this one.
I glare at both of them, then poke at Alessio, who is one to talk. "You hacked your ex-girlfriend's thermostat."
"That was climate control," Alessio replies smoothly. "And she was wasteful."
Amauri looks delighted. "You guys are weird."
Damiano raises his glass. "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to us."
The table dissolves into laughter.
Jenna studies me again. "She's really that happy?"
I look at her. There's no judgment in her expression. Just concern. For Audra. Or maybe for me. Hard to tell. I nod. "She has a good life."
"And you're… what? Making sure it stays that way?"
So the concern is for Audra then. I grin. "Something like that."
Massimo leans back, studying me. "Just don't confuse protecting with hovering."
"I don't hover." I sigh, regretting ever pulling the phone out.
Enzo, of course, won't let it go. "You installed cameras."
"For security." That's all they're getting.
"In her house?"
I glare at him. He's enjoying this far too much. So I ignore the question completely. Amauri gasps again. "You are a spy!"
I can't ignore the kid. "If I were a spy, you wouldn't know."
His eyes go wide. "That's so cool."
Thank fuck the conversation moves on. Until Enzo asks a question that freezes both Massimo and Jenna. It sounds innocent enough. But it hits like a landmine. "So, how did you two meet?"
Massimo stiffens. Jaw tight. Eyes sharp. He doesn't want us to know. Amauri perks up instantly. "Yeah! Mummy never told me!"
Massimo shoots Enzo a look that would make most men reconsider their life choices.
Enzo lifts both hands. "What? It's a normal question."