Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Marchello
Uneasiness flooded my soul as I sat behind my father’s desk. Gazing out the window and taking in the active sales lot, I couldn’t calm the ominous storm brewing inside my chaotic mind.
I had been groomed to sit on this throne since birth. I wanted the cruel empire and all that came with it, but giving Lissia up wasn’t an option.
We were in this together. Did she understand what being in this with me meant? Could I keep her safe and still do what had to be done? Should I let her go? She would hate me either way.
Milo entered the office and closed the door. He had the burner phone up to his ear and was already deep in conversation when he took a seat on the other side of the desk.
“I’m with Chello now,” Milo said. “I’m putting you on speaker.”
I leaned back in my chair, hoping our father had some encouraging news. The more time that passed, the more difficult it became to remain optimistic.
“Marchello,” he said. “I’m happy to hear you’re back where you belong.”
“It was time.” I nodded at Milo, then returned my attention to the phone. “Do you have information for us?”
“I made contact with the cartel that Gallanti has been working with.”
“How did you do that so quickly?” Milo asked.
“I had to call in a huge favor from Juan.” My father’s voice was strong and in control. “It took some persuading, but I got him to see my point of view.”
Juan was our point person in South America, and we had been dealing with him for years. We moved what they needed and laundered their money. We also kept the peace on the streets here and cleared the way in our ports.
“I’m supposed to be lying low and drawing out the person who caused the disappearance of his nephew,” he said. “But Juan understands the hardships my absence has caused for you and Milo.”
A few months ago, shipments were being held up, and people were trying to sabotage my father and his reputation. When a key member of the cartel’s family came to America to check on things, they disappeared. My father fled at the request of the cartel. They thought our family would be in a better position to find the guilty party and bring them to street justice.
“Have you heard something?” I asked. “Do you know where the cartel family member is?”
“Let’s handle one thing at a time,” my father said. “Apparently, the cartel that Gallanti is working with is out of Argentina. They are not happy that Gallanti has brought in Collins. They feel it’s a conflict of interest.”
“They’re moving the same products,” Milo said. “How did Gallanti get caught up in that?”
“When you and your brother intercepted the shipment, they blamed Collins, and now they are refusing to work with Gallanti. Gian and Collins are blaming our family for that.”
“Rightfully so.” I was the one who ordered the intercept of the cargo. “What does the Argentina factor want from us for interfering with the shipment?”
“Luckily, Juan has some strong ties to them. It cost them a lot of money, and their buyers aren’t happy, but they understand why you did what you did,” my father said. “If we agree and are successful in bringing in their next shipment, they are willing to give us a pass over what happened. They don’t trust Gallanti and are looking for another entity to work with.”
“What about the shipment we intercepted?” Milo asked. “The one we’re holding?”
“The cartel thinks we destroyed it because that’s what Collins told them,” our dad said.
“Why would he do that?” Milo asked.
“Because he’s an idiot and probably thought we did destroy it.” I shook my head.
“We need leverage,” our father said. “For now, we keep the fact that we have their products a secret. If we have to use it, we will.”
“This is acceptable to Juan and his men?” I asked. “Us working with another cartel?”
“They are willing to allow us some wiggle room because they need us in power to keep them in power. Having me go underground to help them figure out what happened to their nephew has created a hole in our organization.”
“That’s my fault.” I shrugged but Milo waved me off. “If I hadn’t provoked Gallanti, I could have been a better resource to you. None of this would be happening.”
“No one is saying that,” my father said. “We knew some would come for the territory because they would see us as vulnerable. I left you in a tough position. But we have to get back on track.”
“I know.” Our whole organization relied on getting my father home.
“Juan will be in touch to help facilitate the Argentina shipment. You cannot screw that up. We won’t have a second chance,” my father said. “I trust you with this, Marchello. Work with your brother to get this done.”
“I will.” I rubbed my temple, trying to back off an impending migraine. “I won’t let you down.”
“Let’s move on to problem number two,” my dad said. “The Bello family.”
“What about them?” Milo asked. “We know they’re working with Gallanti. My sources say they have been meeting a lot lately.”
“Keep on them,” my dad said. “I have reason to believe they were involved with the disappearance of the cartel member.”
“Do you think Gian is involved too?” I asked.
If he was, and my father had to expose him to resolve this situation, there wouldn’t be anything I could do to help him. Lissia would have to accept her father’s fate.
“We’re going to have to keep digging,” he said. “Your main focus now is keeping the Argentina cartel happy.”
“What about getting you back?” I looked at Milo. “Shouldn’t that be our priority?”
“It would have been, Marchello, but things have changed and the focus has shifted. I’ll work with Juan to figure out what Bello is up to. In the meantime, don’t bring anyone new into the mix. Trust a small few.”
“You’ll be in touch?” Milo asked.
“When I can,” my dad said. “Stay safe and make smart choices.”
That comment was directed more at me than it was at Milo.
“I’ll talk to you soon.” He ended the call before we could say goodbye.
“He’s frustrated,” Milo said.
“Can you blame him?” I tossed the burner phone back to my brother. “He was referring to me when he said the focus has shifted. I’m the reason we have to deal with Argentina.”
“What’s done is done. Dad seems to have things under control on his end.”
“You mean he’s doing a better job of running things in the shadows?”
“He’s been at this a lot longer.” Milo shoved the phone into his pocket. “You’re doing the best you can.”
“Am I?”
“You came back here. You know what has to be done.”
Knowing what had to be done and doing it were two different things. My father deserved better from me. Being caught between him and the woman I could potentially tear apart when I had to take out her father wasn’t where I wanted to be. If Gian had anything to do with the cartel’s missing nephew, they would expect me to handle the situation.
“This is more than a territorial thing, isn’t it?” Milo asked.
“What?”
“Kidnapping the mafia princess,” he said. “At first, I thought not returning her was an ego thing, but now it’s more. You’re in deeper than you’re admitting.”
“Do you want a drink?” I would need one for this conversation.
“I’d rather you answer the question so we both know what we’re dealing with.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you in love with the mafia princess?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” If I did, I wouldn’t confess it to my brother first. Hell, I hadn’t even admitted it to myself.
“How far would you go?” He got up and went to the shelf with the vodka. “Maybe we should have a drink.”
Or two.
“The good bottle,” I said. “The one from the Ivanovich family.”
“It’s that kind of conversation, huh?” Milo squatted in front of the cabinet and took out the sleek black bottle of expensive alcohol we only drank when we were in crisis mode. If there was ever a time to drink that vodka, now would be it.
“I like her,” I said as he poured two shots into crystal glasses. “I mean, she drives me to the brink of wanting to murder her, but then I look into her eyes, and something changes.”
“You want to fuck her?” He handed me a glass.
“Yeah, well, I want to do that even if I want to kill her, but it’s something else.” I swirled the clear liquid in my glass before clinking it to Milo’s. “There’s something about her that I’ve never had with anyone else.”
“Neither of us have had a serious relationship.” He chugged his shot. “Dad made sure of that.”
I drained my shot glass. “I don’t have anything to base it off, but I’ve had women in my life before.”
Most of those women didn’t mean much. They kept my bed warm when I needed them, some were good for conversation, and others were just arm candy. The family business always came first. My father’s grief might have been enough for me to stay single through my twenties, but to be honest, watching my mother blow up was the deal-breaker.
“Pour me another one.” I handed Milo my glass. “I didn’t want her to be different. I didn’t need her to disrupt my life.”
“What makes her different?” He poured us another round. “Why her? Other than the fact that she’s gorgeous.”
“It’s more than her beauty.” I took the next shot from him. “I like the way she is with me. She challenges me, like she’s begging me to put her in her place because she knows I want to. But that also frustrates the hell out of me.”
Milo slung his head back and spilled the drink into his mouth.
“She doesn’t care who I am—she’s not with me because of my last name. And she doesn’t want my money.” I ran my hand along my jaw. “She wants me.”
“God help her.”
“Right?” I shook my head. “She’s impulsive, and that could be a problem.”
“Aren’t we a little impulsive?” He set his glass on the desk when his phone dinged with a notification. “It sounds like you’ve met your match.”
“The timing is wrong. She’s wrong.” I finished my drink. “But she feels right.”
“I’m a little envious.” He laughed. “I didn’t think relationships were an option for men like us.”
“They shouldn’t be.”
The memory of the black SUV exploding in the driveway flashed before me. I closed my eyes and pushed the image out of my thoughts.
“Look, we both know Dad’s feelings on the subject, but you have to do what’s right for you.”
“I have to do what’s right for her too,” I said. “I can’t expect her to see me as anything more than a monster if I kill her father.”
“Maybe you won’t have to do that.”
“Everything is leading in that direction.” Even Lissia’s nightmare.
Milo scrolled through his phone with a frown.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” He continued to swipe his finger across the screen. “I set up alerts on that security system we installed at the safe house. I thought if I liked it, I could use it here and at some of the warehouses.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s effective.” He came around the desk and stood next to me. “I had it installed on the trees past the house and down the driveway. I made sure we could see any cars that got too close to the property. Most of the time it’s just the guards.”
“Most of the time?” A dreadful sensation came over me. “Why did you say most of the time?”
“Hold on.” He studied the screen. “I don’t know whose car this is.”
“Milo, what is it?”
“Do you see this car?” Milo asked as he pointed to a black muscle car. “It’s on the access road to the house.”
“Maybe they’re lost.”
“I thought that too but scroll to the next frame.” He handed me the phone. “You’re not going to like it.”
“What?” I took the phone from him, gripping it tight when the image of Lissia walking down the road came into sight. “What is she doing? Why would she be there?”
“I’m not sure.”
The footage ended. “Where’s the rest of it?”
“That’s as far as it goes. The car must have caught wind of the cameras and got out of sight, or maybe they left because their GPS took them to the wrong place. That’s possible.”
“So you’re saying we don’t know if she saw the car? If they saw her? If it was just someone in the wrong place?”
“They probably weren’t there for her or for us. How would anyone know that’s our safe house? It’s just another big house in the woods.”
“But the car happens to show up on the day I go back to the city?” I slammed my hand on the desk. “I left her there alone. Come on, Milo.”
My phone rang, and I glanced at the screen. Ricardo.
I quickly answered it. “Where the fuck is she, Ricardo?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t I pay you to know?” Rage bubbled inside my chest. “Where is she?”
“She went for a walk but hasn’t returned. I pulled the security footage. It’s like she disappeared from the property.”
“Get out there and search for her,” I yelled. “We’re on our way back.”
“I’ll send some more guys out there,” Milo said as he composed a text. “I wouldn’t freak out yet.”
“You wouldn’t?” I ripped my suit jacket from the back of the chair and pulled it on. “When should I freak out?”
“I’m thinking that this situation happened before, and Lissia came back. Remember? I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Where the hell would she go?” Milo asked.
“I don’t know, but when I find her, I’ll bring her back and make sure she can’t sit down for a week.”