12. Massimo
12
MASSIMO
I was in a dark fucking mood.
It had everything to do with my little wife playing her own version of hide-and-seek in our marriage.
One week had passed, and we’d barely spoken more than a handful of sentences to each other. And how could we have any kind of conversation when she spent most of her time trying to avoid me?
Fucking hell, had I been too rough on her that first night? Did she truly see me as everyone else? A fucking monster?
And why the fuck did that bother me so much?
“Are you listening to me, Massimo?” Elio asked across from me in the car.
“No,” I answered, letting out a tired sigh.
Beside me, Matteo let out a small chuckle while Romeo took me in. The last thing I needed was for my third brother to psychoanalyze me. Even more so than usual.
“Is everything okay?” Romeo asked just as the car pulled up to one of our strip clubs. It was a small, ugly building in probably one of the worst areas of the city. We conducted business there and went for meetings without fear of being overheard, considering the place was rigged to prevent signals from entering. There would be no cell service for a while.
If shit happened, we didn’t need to call for law enforcement or any kind of backup. I had enough men around to deal with it ourselves.
“Fine,” I answered when it felt like my brothers were all waiting for me. They didn’t look like they believed me, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I opened the door and got out before anyone could say anything, my eyes moving about and taking in my surroundings. I spotted a couple of my men around the premises, and Valentino’s bright cherry-red Corvette parked nearby. I shook my head as Elio came to stand beside me.
“One of these days, his love for that car is going to get him killed,” I said.
Elio grunted, but I knew he agreed with me. Having just moved up in rank put a bigger target on the fucker’s back than it had before.
“Let’s go see what Valentino found out from Chicago,” I said.
We walked to the entrance of the strip club and were immediately greeted by the scent of cheap perfume and the click, click, click of the heels from the few women present.
The club didn’t officially open for another three hours, but there were some entertainers around, willing to come in early in case we needed to hold any last-minute meetings.
Inside was barely lit, and the scent of alcohol and cigarettes teased my nostrils. Lenny, the bartender, and my eyes and ears, nodded at us in greeting, his eyes moving to the seats in the front of the stage. A girl was onstage, her bleach-blonde hair tied in high pigtails, her face full of makeup, with her outfit consisting of a fluffy pink bra and matching thong that left very little to the imagination. In front of her was Valentino, nursing a glass of scotch and a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. His eyes would dart to the dancer every so often, but at least the fucker didn’t look distracted.
Friends with Elio or not, I had high expectations of my men, especially those higher up in rank, and Valentino wasn’t an exception.
A half-smile formed over his lips, the scar from his and Elio’s wilder days more prominent than usual. He turned and took us in, saluting.
Elio rolled his eyes. “He fucks around more than Matteo.”
Beside Elio, Matteo laughed. “Don’t insult me, brother. Valentino’s got nothing on me.”
Romeo rolled his eyes when Matteo started making a crude gesture with his hips that got some of the strippers nearby giggling. My youngest brother moved his eyes over them, a glint appearing.
I ignored them and headed over to Valentino. When I got close, he made a move to stand, but I shook my head, indicating that he should remain sitting while my brothers and I got comfortable in the surrounding chairs.
Valentino settled back in his seat, his light-brown eyes moving over to his glass of scotch.
“A little early for a drink, no?” Romeo commented.
“I haven’t had a drop.”
“Then why order it?”
Valentino shrugged. “Keeps my hand occupied, I suppose.”
“How was your trip?” I asked, wanting to get down to business.
“Interesting. It seemed your father-in-law had taken to entertaining a few guests just days after your wedding to his beloved daughter.”
Beside me, Romeo tensed, and Matteo’s face darkened. Elio didn’t show much reaction, but that was because he was better trained. But I had no doubt he knew what this meant.
I leaned back against the chair just as a waitress dressed in a skimpy black lacy skirt that covered nothing and a matching bra came by with drinks. She quietly placed them down, her gaze moving to mine briefly before straightening and walking away. I didn’t bother to look at her. I recognized the girl as the one I frequently fucked when I came here, but fuck if I could remember her name.
“How many are a few guests?” I asked, taking a small sip of the scotch.
“Three. Anatoly Novikov, his boy, Boris, and his brigadier , Sergei Popkov. I’m sure they brought more men with them to Chicago, but those were the men invited to stay at the Lombardi residence.”
“How nice of them,” Matteo sneered.
“And how old is Boris now?” I asked.
“Twenty-one. But the fucker’s big and was already rumored to be just as cruel as his old man. Once good old Anatoly kicks the bucket, Boris could be a problem for us. And if they’re doing what I think they’re doing, that problem is coming sooner rather than later.”
My brothers turned to me. I didn’t say anything, thinking about it carefully. What would Andre have to gain by allying with the Novikov Bratva mere days after my wedding to Luna, one that was supposed to help form an alliance between our two families? They should know we were on the cusp of warring with the Novikov Bratva, especially since they have taken it upon themselves to align with the Devil’s Wings MC in California.
And this fucking marriage had been Enzo’s idea. I had no doubt the fucker knew what Andre was doing. Not that he would ever admit to that.
How interesting, indeed.
“Are they marrying off the youngest sister?” I asked out loud.
Elio seemed surprised. Valentino nodded. “It looks that way. I couldn’t get close enough to plant anything, so all my information is based on mere observations from a distance, but it seems Andre is pushing his youngest toward the heir.”
I cracked a small smile. “What a stupid fucker.”
“Do you want me to stop the marriage?” Romeo asked.
“And how do you propose we do that?”
“Take away the bride. If there’s no bride, there’s no wedding.”
“And where should we stash her while we let the Lombardis and Novikov fight among themselves over their missing bride?”
His eyes told me where he thought he could stash Lina. With me. With Luna. I nearly grimaced at the thought. There were things I’d much rather endure than to have the little brat live with me.
Like getting tortured by the fucking Russians again.
“No, let the marriage go through,” I said.
My brothers shared a look. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“The Novikov Bratva is a weak family. Even with the backing of the Lombardi family, I doubt they could take us on. They know that too. So I want to see what their plans are. What Enzo’s plans are. And I want to know if Emilio is a part of this. Sometimes, we just have to sit back and let things fall into their place. Matteo, keep a closer watch on Marco.”
No doubt Marco would be the one to do Enzo’s dirty work. If dear old Uncle Enzo was working with Andre, he was going to need backing. They wouldn’t act unless they knew they could turn a good portion of my men to their side, like the traditionalists who had followed my father.
One way to do it was to prove I had killed my father.
The traditionalists could stand for a lot of things from their capo dei capi . Killing the old king wasn’t one of them. My mind moved to the blade that I always had with me and kept tucked by my side. It wouldn’t be hard to match the wound from my father’s body to this blade. Forensics was done on the bastard’s body when they found him, at Enzo’s insistence. I was sure he was banking on the hope that he would discover that blade on me one day and convince the old traditionalists of my treason.
I should have gotten rid of the murder weapon ages ago. But I didn’t. It was my fucking pride and joy. My only regret was not prolonging the kill.
And there was a chance my getting rid of the blade could leave a trace behind for Marco to sniff out.
No, it was safer with me. Or perhaps I was being cocky, never believing Enzo or Marco would ever be able to make me fall. I didn’t fucking care.
“Valentino will go to New York while they prepare for the wedding. I want you to be my eyes and ears of the place. Take backup if you must. I want to know where and when it’s happening. Can’t miss my chance to personally congratulate the bride and groom on their big day.”
Matteo smiled a little at that. No doubt he would want to come with me to the wedding.
“Elio, you and Romeo split up, go to Mexico and Canada, and call up our allies. Just because the Novikov Bratva is weak now doesn’t mean that would always be the case. I want to prepare for the worst. And I know I don’t have to say this, but keep this between us.”
I downed the rest of my drink and stood. My brothers and Valentino followed suit. We didn’t say anything as we walked out of the club. I took in a deep breath as we crossed over the door, a restless feeling weighing down on my chest. A storm was brewing up all sorts of shit. I could only hope I was strong enough, capable enough to protect my family and my empire.
It had been a long time since I had felt this… untethered, as if the solid foundation I had been standing strong on most days was collapsing in on itself. I rubbed at my chest, and Elio looked over at me, his brows pulling down over light-brown eyes. Of all my brothers, Elio looked the most like our father, while I took after our mom. Sometimes, I wasn’t sure who out of the two of us was the hardest for our siblings to look at. To see either the fucking man—monster—who tormented us since the day we were born, to the helpless woman who gave birth to us but wasn’t able to protect us. I knew it wasn’t her fault she was powerless against our father.
“Are you okay?” Elio asked me.
I opened my mouth to answer him, telling him I was fine. I didn’t get the chance. Movement behind Elio caught my attention, and I reacted without thinking.
“Down!” I screamed, tackling Elio to the ground. He grunted beneath me, having taken the impact of my weight. I pulled out my gun and aimed toward the general direction where I saw a few fuckers lurking about. Gunshots boomed out around us as I took in my other brothers, ducking low and shooting at the fuckers. They didn’t seem hurt.
“Okay?” Valentino asked from beside me.
I grunted. “Cover me.”
Valentino nodded, and I pushed away from Elio, ignoring my brothers’ shouts as I ran toward the fuckers. Valentino and my brothers continued to shoot at them, not giving them a chance to fire at me as I ate away the distance. It didn’t take me long to find the first fucker. He was hiding behind a fucking tree. Too busy trying to shield himself from the flying bullets, he never saw me coming. I moved behind and wrapped my arms around his neck, twisting until I felt the unmistakable crunch of his bones breaking. He was dead before he could utter a cry for help.
My eyes quickly surveyed my surroundings, and I caught a leg behind a bush.
I moved toward it without a thought. My mistake was not looking out for the third man. A loud boom rang out just as I felt a stinging pain in my side, which told me I was hit. I looked down. Blood oozed out, and I quickly put pressure on it. Fucking hell.
I turned in time to see Elio tackling the fucker to the ground. I turned back to my target, who was now trying to make his escape when he realized he would soon be surrounded.
I shot his legs, causing the fucker to cry out.
He turned to me, his pupils dilated, making me think he might be on some sort of drug, just as he brought the gun up to his head.
“No!” I shouted, but it was too late. The fucker fired the gun, killing himself instantly.
“Fucking hell,” Elio said, pushing away from the man he had tackled to the ground. He was foaming at the mouth, fluttering as his body shook.
Poisoned.
The fucker poisoned himself. They would rather kill themselves than let us capture them. And they had been prepared to kill themselves too.
I stood up, breathing harshly as I took in the dead bodies on the ground. Matteo and Romeo came up to me, their eyes holding their own surprise and frustration over the fuckers’ actions.
“The first man?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“He was killed by one of our bullets,” Romeo answered.
“And the rest rather kill themselves?” The question came from Matteo. It was a rhetorical one. “Fucking hell, they were instructed to do it, weren’t they? Whatever was the motivation to get them to do it?”
It must be one hell of a motivation.
“Well, it worked. They didn’t even hesitate. Whoever is behind this attack went to great lengths to ensure we would never find anything to lead back to them,” I said.
“But what was the fucking point? This was a suicide mission, considering the skill level of these fuckers,” Valentino said, coming up to me.
My guess? The identity of the man behind this was someone I knew. Everything pointed toward Enzo and Marco, who would benefit if my brothers and I were taken out, but I didn’t have proof. And I never acted without proof.
The adrenaline was wearing off, and I was quickly losing blood. I stumbled a little on my feet, and Elio moved to my side, his eyes moving down to the wound.
“Fuck! You’re hit,” he said, his voice becoming slightly muffled.
I grabbed his shoulder. “Get me the fuck out of here.”
He quickly wrapped his arms around me and led us back to the car. Matteo and Romeo followed closely behind.
I turned slightly to Valentino. “Make sure everything is secure, and get rid of the bodies. I don’t want word to get out.”
He nodded and moved away.
I didn’t say any more. It was taking everything in me to fucking stay awake.
“Take me back home,” I gritted out.
If any of my brothers responded, I didn’t hear. I couldn’t bring myself to care anymore. Not with this fucking blinding pain.
Fuck.