CHAPTER THREE
ROME
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The meeting continued for another hour as projections, staffing concerns, and expansion possibilities were discussed. Julisa walked everyone through the financial reports, while Anthony updated us on hiring progress and operational changes across the casino.
The numbers were great. We were fully staffed, and our pay rate was top-notch compared to our competitors. As of now, we hadn’t had any major customer complaints or accidents on the property. Despite everything Pasquale had thrown at us, this place was thriving.
“The VIP floor is going to need additional security by summer,” Davide said as he reviewed something on his tablet. “Especially if reservations keep increasing like this.”
“We also need better coordination between compliance and management,” Julisa added. “I refuse to go through another month like the last one.”
“Agreed,” I said. “I’ve already got the administration staff working on that.”
VIP reservations continued increasing, hotel bookings were strong, and the gaming floor had already exceeded several early projections. The profits would keep investors satisfied and shareholders happy.
Bottom line, we’d weathered the storm and were on the right track. The staff left at the end of the meeting, leaving only me, Anthony, and Davide in the conference room. I had a few things I wanted to go over with them.
“I’ll be meeting with the security team tomorrow morning,” I said as I closed the folder in front of me.
Anthony looked over at me. “Something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong,” I answered. “And I want to keep it that way. After what happened at Tower D, I’m not taking any chances.”
Both men shifted in their seats at the mention of the attack. It was a sore subject for all of us. However, if something like that happened once, it could happen again. It could happen here.
“The weak don’t mind selling their loyalty.
And I don’t want some weak motherf...” I paused and changed my language.
“I don’t want a weak-minded individual to cause us any issues in the future.
Therefore, I want additional cameras installed across the gaming floor,” I continued.
“Especially near employee entrances, elevators, and the VIP sections. I also want more visible security presence throughout the casino.”
Davide nodded. “You think there’s going to be trouble here?”
“I think some members of my family would love nothing more than to see this place fail. I can’t put anything past them.”
No one argued with that.
“The public already has concerns about this casino being tied to the Cattaneos and DeLucas,” I added.
“I want people to feel safe when they walk through those doors. Guards need to be visible on the floor every hour. Not just standing around looking intimidating. I want them walking the floor. Interacting with guests. Paying attention. While I’m gone, I want you to stay on the security team.
If someone is lax, fire them. We can’t afford to have any issues.
I’m leaving this place in your hands. I’ll be back in six months to review our progress. ”
“Sounds good. We’re off to a good start,” Anthony told me. “I’ve just got one question. I know we want to handle everything the legal way. But if a security issue arises...”
“Handle it,” I told him.
“Legally or our way?” Anthony asked.
“Just handle it,” I told him. “No fuck ups. Handle it.”
I needed him to be able to determine for himself when and how to handle any issue that popped up.
Anthony nodded. “Got it. It’ll get handled.”
“That’s all for today,” I told them, logging out of the iPad, knowing Julisa would be upset if I didn’t. “I need to contact Terzo to see if he can ask Sienna to work as a translator for us.”
Davide chuckled.
“What?” My gaze jerked his way. “You don’t think she’ll do it?”
“Oh, she’ll do it,” Davide told me. “But Stefano is going to be right by her side while she does. Since the Tower attack, Enzo and Stefano are clinging to their women like a second skin.”
“Can’t say I blame them,” Anthony said. “If anything like that happened to Julisa, I’d lose my mind. I would’ve burned Tower D down just so I wouldn’t have to look at it again.”
“Me too,” Davide agreed. “And if I didn’t burn it, my wife would’ve.”
I shook my head as I rose from my seat. I swear, some men went crazy when they fell in love.
“I’m heading out. You two can stay here and talk about the crazy women in your lives.”
Neither man heard me. They were too busy talking about what they would do if anything happened to their wives.
I left the conference room and returned to my office.
Standing in front of my window, I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and scrolled until I found Terzo’s number. He answered on the fourth ring.
“Crazy ass Cattaneo, are you still walking with a limp?” Terzo drawled.
“Crazy ass DeLuca, are you still jealous of your cousins for finding love?” I asked.
“Low blow, Rome. Low... fucking... blow.”
“You started it,” I told him.
“Fair point.”
“How’s the search for Oro DeLuca going?”
“That fucker is still in the wind. The entire organization is after him, and we haven’t found shit yet. Enzo’s losing his damn mind over this. Stefano is too.”
“I bet. How are Sienna and Eve?”
A scream sounded in the background, followed by the sound of a chainsaw. Was he in the process of torturing someone?
“They’re good. They want to go out and hunt him down, too. They made us promise that if we found him, they’d be allowed to torture him before we killed him for betraying us.”
Damn, those ladies were savage.
“I was actually calling to see if Sienna would be interested in working at the casino for a while, helping out with translations.”
“Hell yeah, she would. She’s going crazy being at home every day, all day.
With Tower D closed for renovations, she and Eve have been losing their minds trying to find something to do.
I think she’d love to help. Plus, this could be my way of making it up to her for not bringing her with me to interrogate a guy today. Do you want me to ask her for you?”
“Yeah, that would be great.”
“Just know, if she comes, Eve will probably want to come too. And right now, Enzo and Stefano...”
“Are clinging to them like a second skin,” I finished for him. “I heard that from Davide.”
“Oh, well. Yeah. They won’t let them out of their sight. Especially Stefano. So, if Sienna comes, they may come too. Hell, I may as well come too. We can have a party.”
I sighed. “Just ask her for me. Our security is tight here. She’ll be safe.”
“When do you want her to start?” Terzo asked.
“Tomorrow, if she can. If she can be here tomorrow morning at nine am, that would be great.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“Hey, Terzo. There’s one more thing I need your help with.”
“What’s up?”
“You remember my cousin, Marcel. The one that was kidnapped and brought to Italy.”
And then fucking tortured. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Just thinking about what happened to him had me wanting to kill those fucking Bianchis all over again.
“Yeah, I remember Marcel. How is he?”
“He’s... he’s okay. Still traumatized. He’s still uncomfortable about leaving the house.”
“He knows those fuckers who hurt him are dead, right?”
“He does. But the last time we talked, he opened up about why he’s afraid to go outside. He believes he’s being watched. Even though he has security guards, cameras, and motion detectors all around his property, he thinks someone is stalking him.”
“Fuck,” Terzo muttered.
“Yeah. And he has unanswered questions about what happened back then. He wants to know how they targeted him. How did they know where he would be? I’ve also got questions I need answered.
How the hell did a family in Italy know where a Cattaneo in Mississippi was on that day, at that particular time?
Unanswered questions like that are the reason he can’t move past this. ”
“Fuck. I hadn’t thought about that part. I can see why he has questions.”
“I promised him I’d look into it. I want answers for him when I get home. Or, at least a lead to follow.”
“What do you need my help with?”
“I want to go over what happened back then with the Bianchis. I was here, so I know the main parts. I was the one who helped track them down for hurting my cousin and for what they did to your grandfather. But I don’t know the intricate details.
I know there was a guy who was supposedly responsible for providing intel to the Bianchis, but he and his girlfriend were found in a river before Enzo could question him. ”
“Oh, yeah. Ettori Zucco.”
“Yeah, him. I want to know where he got his intel from. Did he use the darknet to hire someone to spy on my family? There’s also a site called Underground Communications that provides such intel.
I know a few people from my area who take jobs from that site.
But I don’t think it was any of them. They know the repercussions of going up against my family. ”
“It could’ve been someone new to your area,” Terzo suggested. “Someone who didn’t know what would happen if they went up against you.”
“That could be it. Because there’s no way Ettori could’ve known where Marcel would be that day without the help of someone in my city.
Someone from my own backyard provided him with the intel.
I need to track that person down and end them for their part in what happened to my cousin.
But I must start here and follow the trail. ”
“When do you leave for the States?” Terzo asked.
“One week.”
“Damn. Okay. Give me a couple of days and then let’s meet.”
“I’m spending the week cleaning out the facility I used for my pharmaceuticals. We can meet there.”
“Hell no. I’m not going into your science lab. That place always smells like something that could knock a motherfucker out. I get dizzy whenever I enter that place.”