33. GABRIEL meeting about mole #2
Massimo regards both of us thoughtfully.
Trust is a rare commodity in our world, but we do have it among ourselves.
He wouldn't be where he is, though, if he didn't follow up on any suspicions that might arise, and two of his capos meeting in the parking garage?
Yeah, that would be high on his priority list. I'll let him sweat it for a little bit, just to fuck with him.
Alessio must have gotten the same idea; he nods at me, but there is none of his usual sparkle in his gaze.
Our Don decides to humor us and moves on to the business we came here to do.
"It's time to put an end to El Recaudador." Massimo's voice cuts through the room. Final. Decided. The air shifts with it. This isn't a discussion.
Damiano leans forward slightly, already keyed in. "Good. Took long enough."
Enzo nods once, quiet as always, but there's a sharpness in his eyes. We've all been waiting for this. Massimo's gaze moves calculatingly between us.
"We've let this go on long enough. He's playing us, moving pieces behind the scenes, creating fractures where there shouldn't be any." A pause. "That ends now."
He's right. It has to. His eyes land on Alessio and Damiano. "I need?—"
"I'm out," Alessio announces.
The words drop into the room like a stone. Followed by immediate silence.
Damiano blinks. "What?" he turns toward Alessio. "No—wait, what?"
Alessio doesn't even look at him at first. Just pours himself another drink. Like he didn't just derail the entire plan.
"Sorry, boss," he says, finally glancing up. "I'm out."
Damiano lets out a disbelieving laugh. "No. No, you don't get to do that," he says, pointing at him. "I had a whole argument ready. I was prepared to fight you on this."
That earns a faint smirk from Alessio.
"Sorry, bro," he says smoothly, lifting his glass. "It's all yours."
Damiano just stares at him. Offended. Confused. A little betrayed.
Massimo doesn't react immediately. He looks from one to the other. Then sharply to me. "Explain."
I set my glass down. No point dragging it out now. "Audra used to run with an MC," I say. "Black Canyon Reapers." That gets immediate attention. Enzo shifts slightly. Damiano frowns.
Massimo's gaze sharpens. "And?" he prompts.
I glance at Alessio once. He doesn't look at me. I get the hint. "Audra saw a woman there," I continue. "Years ago. One she described in detail."
"Who?" Massimo grinds out.
I don't hesitate. "Alessio's mother."
Damiano exhales slowly. "Fucking hell…"
Enzo goes still. Massimo leans back slightly, studying Alessio now through the dispassionate eyes of a Don, not a friend. Assessing him as an unknown variable, not because he wants to, but because he has to.
Alessio finally meets his gaze. Dead calm.
Massimo states, "She walked out eighteen years ago."
I shake my head. "Audra saw her six or seven years ago."
That's the part that matters. That's the part that changes everything. Massimo's fingers tap once against the arm of his chair. Thinking. Recalculating.
"If that's true," he says slowly, "that changes a few things."
"That's not a coincidence," Enzo adds quietly.
"Which also ties her directly into cartel circulation," Damiano mutters.
Now we're getting somewhere.
Massimo's gaze shifts back to Alessio. "Do you believe her?"
I stiffen; they better not doubt Audra. Alessio doesn't answer right away. His jaw tightens slightly. Barely noticeable. Finally, he nods, "I believe she thinks she saw something real."
Not a yes.
Not a no.
I let it stand.
Massimo watches him for a long second. Then nods once. Decision made. "Then this just became more than business." His gaze hardens. "This is getting personal." That lands differently. He looks between all of us. "Which means we don't rush it," he continues. "We don't make mistakes."
He pauses. "But we do move." His eyes settle on Damiano. "You'll take point."
Damiano nods once. Serious now. No more joking. "I'll get us that bastard. I'll hand him to you gift wrapped with a bow and ribbons."
Massimo's expression darkens. "Just get that bastard alive; we all have a stake in this kill."
"One more thing," I stop the others before Massimo ends the meeting. "I'm going after Razor."
"Not before I find out what my mother has to do with the Black Canyon Reapers." Alessio pins me with a glare.
We stare at each other. Neither one of us moves. No give. Not a challenge,
worse. A line being drawn.
"You don't get to call that," I state evenly.
Alessio's gaze doesn't waver. "I just did."
The room tightens. Damiano shifts slightly, glancing between us like he's watching a match he didn't realize he'd be attending. Enzo stays still. Observing. Always observing.
"That man is mine," I continue, and my voice drops just enough to make the point. "He's connected to Audra. That makes him my problem."
Alessio rises out of his chair to meet me halfway. "Everything connected to the Black Canyon Reapers is my problem now," he states, just as quiet. "You don't get to run ahead on this." Something sharp flickers in his eyes. "You're too close to it."
"And you're not?" I counter.
The silence is growing tauter, more dangerous.
Massimo exhales once. Low. Controlled. "Enough."
The word cuts clean through both of us. Final. We don't look away from each other immediately. But the moment breaks. Because it has to. Massimo steps forward, inserting himself between the lines.
"Let's find out what the Black Canyon Reapers are up to," he decides in a calm voice that leaves no room for argument.
He looks at Alessio first. "You'll have your hands full figuring out where your mother fits into this." Then his gaze shifts to me. "And you—" I already know. "You'll be busy tracking Javier Salazar down."
My jaw shifts. Not disagreement. Not quite. Just… contained frustration.
Massimo turns back to Alessio. "You still have contact with the MC?"
Alessio nods; his posture relaxes just a bit. "Yeah. My old man's still with them."
His father was and always will be a low-level thug. But close enough to get us intel.
"Good," Massimo says. "Find out what you can." His attention shifts back to me. "Stay out of it for now."
There it is. I don't move. Don't respond. Because anything I say right now won't be what he wants to hear. His gaze hardens slightly. "Razor is off limits," he adds.
That one hits. Harder than it should. A muscle ticks in my jaw. I press the word out I need to say, but don't like. "Understood."
Lie. We all know it. Massimo holds my gaze for a second longer. Making sure I heard him. Making sure I understand him. He puts his arms around Alessio and me. "Good."
The decisions have been made. "Meeting's over."
Chairs shift. Glasses are set down. Movement resumes. But the tension doesn't go anywhere. As Alessio turns, our shoulders nearly brush. He pauses just long enough to murmur— "Don't make me choose between you and this." His voice is quiet, for me alone.
I lean in just enough that only he hears me, making sure he understands the consequences. "Then don't stand in my way. Because I won't stop."
His eyes flick to mine. A fire is burning in them that equals mine.
Before either of us can say or do anything else, Damiano claps his hands once.
He's wearing his brightest grin. The one he always sports just before shit hits the fan.
I groan. Alessio snickers, and Enzo coughs. Massimo is the only one unfazed.
"Well," Damiano announces, showing off his pearly whites, "that was productive." Right before he flips the table. The crash explodes through the room. Glass shatters. Wood slams against marble. Chairs scrape violently as everything topples.
"What the fuck is this?" he snarls, kicking a chair hard enough that it skids across the floor. "This is bullshit, and you all know it!"
He storms toward the door, fury rolling off him in waves. Pure. Explosive. Convincing. "Yeah, let's all just sit around and talk while this asshole plays us, great plan!"
He yanks the door open. Stops. Turns back. "Fuck you," he snaps, pointing vaguely at all of us. "Fuck all of you."
The smile is gone now. Replaced by something sharp.
Cold. Angry. And if you didn't know him, you'd believe every second of it.
Then he storms out, slamming the door behind him.
Silence follows. I hate it. But he was good.
Convincingly so. Anyone watching for El Recaudador will eat that up and report back that there is a division.
Exactly what we want him to see. From now on, when we meet with Damiano, we'll have to be careful not to appear as close as we were.
Damiano put on one hell of an Oscar performance. It would suck to waste it.
I glance at Alessio. He exhales through his nose.
I do the same. A shared, irritated acknowledgment.
Then I turn first. No point staying. Not when my mind is already ten steps ahead.
Not where Massimo wants me to be. For now.
I walk out without another word. But one thing is already clear—orders or not—this isn't where I stop.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. Alessio's name pops up on the screen, Asshole 3. I reach for it, already sensing this isn't a casual call. "Yeah."
"You sound like shit," he accuses, not sounding much better.
I huff out a quiet breath. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
A short pause tells me he's still pissed. Not openly. Not loud. But I know him. I hear it in the way he breathes. In the way he doesn't bother with his usual sarcasm right away.
The MC. His mother. That whole mess. Yeah… that one's not going away anytime soon.
"We good?" I ask anyway.
A longer pause this time. Then, quieter, "Yeah."
Not convincing. But it's enough. We've been through worse.
"Why are you calling?" I get to the point.
"I just wanted to let you know…" he starts, tone shifting slightly, back to business. "Razor's still looking for your girl."
My body goes still, every muscle locking in place. "What?"
"He's got a hardon for her, like he's obsessed."
A dark, slow burn starts in my chest. Obsessed. Not that I can blame him. Audra has that effect on men.
"So you know this isn't going away," he adds.
No. It's not. I sit up slowly. My mind is already moving. Tracking. Planning. Adjusting. He's not getting near her again. Not even close.
"I'm going after him," I warn.
"No, you're not," Alessio shoots back just as fast. "This isn't just your problem."
"He's looking for my woman," I snap.
The words are out before I can stop them. They hang there. Heavy. Possessive. A beat of silence follows. Then?—
"…Yeah," Alessio says slowly. "I figured you'd say something like that."
I exhale sharply, dragging a hand down my face.
"Listen," he continues, in a more measured tone. "We don't move on Razor without coordination. Not with everything else going on."
Meaning Massimo. Meaning Salazar. Meaning the Collector. Everything is connected right now. Too connected. I know he's right. Doesn't mean I like it. A muscle in my jaw ticks.
"Fine," I grind out. "You don't touch him without me."
"Same goes for you," Alessio counters.
I almost smirk. Almost. "Deal."
I hear his breath. Something unspoken lingers between us. The tension from earlier. The history. The brotherhood.
Then Alessio exhales. "Get some sleep," he mutters. "You sound like you're about to do something stupid."
A low huff leaves me. "Too late for that."
A quiet snort on the other end. There he is.
"Yeah," he says. "I figured."
The line goes dead. I stare at the phone for a second before setting it back down. Razor. Looking for her. Obsessed. My gaze shifts toward the door. Toward the hallway. Toward her.
A slow, dangerous calm settles over me. He can look all he wants. He can try. He can dig, ask, and push. Doesn't matter. He won't find her.
But if does, even if he only gets the smallest hint of her—my fingers flex in and out of a fist—then it won't be a hunt anymore.
It'll be a fucking execution. I lean back against the headboard, staring into the dark.
Sleep isn't coming. Not now. Not with this.
Not with her down the hall. Not with him out there. Tomorrow.
Yeah.
Tomorrow just got a whole lot more interesting.