7. Rocco
7
ROCCO
I t took Teo forty-eight hours to get the information I needed. Then, another twelve for me to put a plan together.
Every second that passed was its own kind of torture. I tried not to imagine what Claudio might be doing to her, what lies she had to come up with in order to follow my instructions.
Lie low.
I should have sent the entire Guild after her right then and there. I should have stayed myself to make sure she was safe.
But a second longer confined in that room with her would have been my undoing. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from doing something we would both regret. My own frustration has been the root cause of my torment these last two and a half days as it is.
I keep thinking of the bruise on her neck that I gave her.
I’ve never hated myself more. I’m no better than that scumbag, Lazzaro, marking my territory like some kind of animal.
“You can still back out,” Teo murmurs.
I turn to look at the man by my side. He’s a brother in every sense besides blood.
“After all this effort?” I reply lightly. “Why would I do that?”
The VIP table at the Candelabra is adorned with additional perks this evening. I reach over for the decanter of whisky we’ve been slowly sharing all evening and pour us both another glass.
“Because if I have to sit here and watch you torment yourself over it for another second, I’ll call it off myself.”
I can’t help the smirk that twitches the corner of my mouth. Trust Teo to see right through me.
We were children together, friends before we knew the implications of our allyship— just two underbosses taking on the world, side by side, with outrageous plans to join our two families to create the ultimate underworld empire.
I still consider Teo to be my equal, even if the rest of the world does not.
The fire that killed his parents took everything that was left of his birthright. His people scattered to the wind in fear. I still remember the day a shaggy-haired boy appeared on our doorstep, begging for sanctuary.
He’s hardly a boy anymore. My eyes run over his long, shaggy brown hair that is now pulled back from his face in a disorderly bun.
“I didn’t realize you cared.”
“The Guild may have agreed that action must be taken,” Teo warns, “but your father is still in the dark. Who knows how he might react.”
I hide my grimace by taking a sip of my whiskey. “Remind me how much he owes the Guild?”
It had been the early hours of the morning when Teo had discovered that little tidbit about Lazzaro. Hidden under mountains of bullshit, he learned of a loan taken out from the Guild that should have been paid back a month ago.
“One hundred and twenty thousand dollars,” Teo doesn’t need to double-check his notes; his memory is more than sufficient. “One installment of twelve thousand dollars was made three days ago. One installment of seven thousand was made two days ago.”
I do the math. “Leaving one-hundred-and-one thousand.”
“I’d be more comfortable if we knew what he had taken the loan out for,” Teo insists for maybe the fifth time. The paper trail of Claudio’s transactions had ended with a cash withdrawal of all one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
“Coke? Hookers? A personality transplant?” I offer humorlessly.
“In cash?”
“We’ve got him, Teo. That’s all that matters.”
It was enough to get the lieutenants to agree, at least. They’ll have my back if my father tries to use this as an excuse to back out of our treaty.
As if summoned by our discussion, Claudio Lazzaro himself appears on the stage before us, one arm strapped to his chest in a sling.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Please give a round of applause for Miss Cassandra!”
He gestures stage right as Cas appears, head bowed as she strides toward the mic next to him. I don’t miss the way she recoils from his attempt to kiss her cheek.
For a moment, the moron just stands there, baffled by her audacity, before storming off backstage.
“Good evening, everyone.”
Behind me, someone drops a tray of glasses. I glance over and see Mia staring at Cas with bulging eyes, completely ignoring the carnage at her feet.
I’m staring, not at the bruise on her neck that has tormented me these last two days, but at the matching one under her left eye.
I don’t realize I’m standing up until Teo drags me back down.
“I’m going to end that motherfucker.”
“Rocco,” Teo hisses.
“Let’s keep the lights up tonight, shall we?” Cas simply smiles as she adjusts her mic. If she hears my outburst, she doesn’t let on as she launches into her first song.
But when I finally tear my eyes away to look at my friend, it’s to find my anger reflected back at me.
Suddenly, someone grabs my collar and pulls me backward with a sharp jerk.
“Listen here, Your Majesty. I don’t care what it costs me. You go back there and kill that bastard,” Mia hisses in my ear as a kitchen knife presses threateningly against my neck.
Honestly, this woman terrifies me more than my father.
“Stand down, Chiavari,” I hiss right back. “We’re already working on it.”
Mia slowly lets me go.
“Take a seat.”
She slips into the chair next to Teo, offering him a curt nod. “Princeling.”
“Wench.”
He holds out his hand, and she rolls her eyes before resentfully handing over her weapon.
“What’s the plan?”
“I need you to clear out the office upstairs,” I tell her, although my eyes wander back to the stage.
“Do you want me to lay out the tarp?”
Teo answers for me. “We can’t kill him yet. But Rocco has a plan to get her out, at least.”
“Give me my knife back, and I’ll do it myself!”
“He’s on the list, Chiavari,” Teo explains. “Our hands are tied.”
“I’ll make it look like an accident.”
“Mia,” I tear myself away from Cas’ performance to intercept the redhead’s warpath, “don’t complicate things for me. That’s an order.”
Her green eyes narrow, but I see the resignation in her eyes. Despite all her bravado, I’m still her don.
“Make sure they’re both upstairs at the end of the show. Don’t leave her alone with him.”
“Never again,” she mutters her agreement as the three of us watch in sullen silence as Cas finishes her song.
As the room erupts in applause, Mia takes her leave—only to hesitate at my shoulder. “You mess this up, you hurt her…I will tear both of you a new one.”
With that, she saunters back into the crowd.
“Remind me why we put up with her again?” Teo murmurs.
“Her father has single-handedly funded the Guild for decades?”
“I’m starting to think it’s not worth it.”
We spend the rest of Cas’ performance slowly nursing our drinks and trying not to watch the clock. By the time she announces her final song, I’m already on my feet.
Teo is only two steps behind me as we stride across the room toward the staircase. A nod from Mia is all the confirmation we need—the office is clear, and no one will be disturbing us tonight.
When Mia appears at the door ten minutes later, Cas and Lazzaro are in tow, and her face is set into a grim line of determination.
I’ve taken the time to make myself comfortable behind my desk, leaning back in the ancient leather seat with practiced ease. Teo lounges on the couch by the fireplace, feigning disinterest as he palms through one of the bookcases’ many tomes.
I try not to stare too openly at Cas, but I appraise her anyway. She’s still in her performance outfit, so there may still be additional damage hidden under that leather jacket of hers.
“Mister Moretti,” Lazzaro greets me tightly, and I tear myself away.
“Lazzaro. Why don’t you take a seat?”
He alone walks forward to the single chair in front of my desk. When he realizes Cas hasn’t followed, he snaps his fingers at her.
Mia takes a step further into the room.
“Miss Chiavari,” I say firmly, “would you mind closing the door on your way out?”
The look she gives me could level a building, but she obeys regardless, shooting her friend one last, desperate look before clicking the door shut behind her.
“I trust our…arrangement the other night was to your satisfaction?” Lazzaro has the nerve to ask as he makes himself comfortable in the chair.
Cas drifts awkwardly to his side, the bruised side of her face turned away from me.
“Quite,” I offer him a tight smile. “You’re a lucky man, Lazzaro.”
He has to believe I’m doing him a favor. It’s the only way to prevent him from taking this straight to my father. My plan only works if Giuliano is kept in the dark for as long as possible.
Even if it means I look like an even bigger asshole, I have to play the part to get Lazzaro to trust me. Which means I have to speak his language.
“I like to think so.”
I gesture carelessly in Cas’ direction. “Do you find yourself particularly attached to her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Since Danny is no longer of any use to me, I’m in the market for an upgrade. And after her…performance the other night, well. I must say I’m impressed.”
Both of them stiffen at my words, and I can’t bring myself to look at Cas for fear that my mask will completely crumble.
“You want Cas?”
“On a…trial basis, really.” I shrug. “Perhaps I can sweeten the deal for you?”
Lazzaro stares at me as if trying to decipher my next move. “What kind of deal?”
“Claudio,” Cas’ voice cracks as she tries to protest.
That fucking scum bastard.
“I’ve recently been informed that you took a loan from the Guild a few months ago.”
Claudio’s head snaps to where Teo is lounging, and he glares at him.
Teo waves back merrily in return.
“You owe them money?” Cas whispers in horror.
It dawns on me that there is a very real possibility that Cas has no idea that Lazzaro is a part of the mafia. That, on top of everything else, he’s lied to her about the nature of his employment.
Would Cas have even followed him to Brooklyn if she’d known? Probably not.
It’s an unfairly bitter pill to swallow.
“After your recent payments, you’re down to one hundred and one thousand.”
“I’m aware,” Lazzaro answers through his teeth.
“I’m glad to hear it,” I smile again. “Because at this very moment in time, I find myself in a forgiving mood.”
Claudio blinks as he begins to understand what I’m getting at.
Still, I keep nudging him along. “Teo, what’s the interest rate on loans from the Guild?”
“There isn’t one,” he replies promptly.
“And why is that?”
“Because there aren’t any late payments.”
Perhaps the most effective banking system in the world. The threat of death tends to keep prospective borrowers away. Mia’s father, Chiavari, makes that abundantly and terrifyingly clear.
The fact that Lazzaro has gone so long without making a repayment is a massive anomaly—one that speaks to a corruption that goes far deeper than the few factions that defected when my father retired.
To have even pulled this off, Lazzaro would have needed an accomplice within my inner circle.
“How interesting.”
Despite Carmine Bellini’s insistence that he was the only rat trading secrets with the Cartel, information is still getting out from somewhere embarrassingly high up the food chain.
So I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both these things are happening at the same time. In fact, I’d be willing to bet my life that the second rat and Lazzaro’s accomplice are one and the same person.
We just need Lazzaro to slip up and lead us to them.
“You’re due to make your final payment next week, aren’t you?” I lie.
The date I’m referring to was taken from the forged loan agreement Teo initially dug up. The original expired over a month ago.
“Yes,” Claudio plays along gratefully, and it feels a bit like leading a lamb to slaughter.
I pick up the fountain pen at my side and examine its opal exterior with disinterest. “Given my forgiving mood and the fact you have something I desire, I would like to make you an offer, Claudio Lazzaro.”
Claudio sits up a little straighter. “All right.”
“I will strike off your remaining one hundred and one thousand dollars…in exchange for a hundred and one nights with your darling Miss Cassandra.”