Chapter 12
12
H e should have thought it through before asking Stormy to stay with him in his suite. Neither of them had managed to get much work done. The past few weeks she’d spent fifty percent of her time using his personal space as an office, which threw his normal strict routine into chaos. He couldn’t blame her; Effie was suffering with colic. Jackson and Whiskey had brought his niece to the doctor constantly. Being new parents seemed draining.
Worried about their safety Reeves had driven with them on more than one occasion. All he could imagine was them being ambushed and killed in a hail of bullets. It wasn’t as if that hadn’t happened to Jackson in the past.
Walking through the house, he headed down the short hall into a small sitting room. Closing the door behind him, he took a seat furthest away from the windows closest to the bookshelves. The room had been a small library for his mother. He missed her every day. At the same time, he knew she’d been disappointed in his decision to leave school.
Reeves often sat in the room pondering over that decision. And the one to become the consigliere for the family. His position was supposed to be an advisor to the boss. A trusted friend and confidant, the right-hand man.
By the very nature of the job, a consigliere was one of the few in the family who could argue with the boss and was often tasked with challenging the boss when needed to ensure subsequent plans are what’s best for the family. As consigliere of the Salvador family and the Garduna, he took a more hands-on approach to things.
Jackson was what Reeves called a new-gen don. His brother did things his way, not the old way. Typical of a cowboy, just like their old man.
While in Dallas, he had realized he hadn’t been living a life. He had been only surviving. He was tired of dealing with fools who would never understand their place. Mario Serrano was one of those individuals. The man thought he was more powerful than he was. Reeves knew it would be him or one of the soldiers that would have to ultimately deal with him. Up to then, Reeves had been the one with blood on his hands. He chose to be the one so no one would have damning evidence against the Salvador family.
His other reason for not living his life to the fullest, he blamed on his feelings for Stormy. His heart belonged to the raven-haired beauty, and it kept him up at night. After finding out she’d been in an abusive relationship, he’d been agitated. But then he found out she was being stalked by the ex. He went into full-blown possessive mode. Now she was sharing his suite. Sleeping with him. Steepling his hands beneath his chin, he thought about all of it.
Reeves realized some things weren’t important. The whys of Stormy ending up with her ex that was not important. How would she want him to deal with the man? Not something he needed to know. Why? Because it didn’t matter what she said or thought about it. He would handle Paul Delacour however he felt was necessary. Still, that relationship nagged at him.
“Reeves,” Jackson said softly where he wouldn’t get shot by scaring his younger brother.
Coming out of his thoughts, Reeves saw Jackson standing right inside the room. “Sorry, I was headed to the kitchen and changed direction, needing a minute to myself.
“We have things to discuss. Things that are long over do. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“You make it sound like there’s some big secret lingering between the three of us.”
Monroe walked in, dusting his clothes off. “I had no idea making pancakes was so messy.”
“Is that why you wanted me in the kitchen? To cook breakfast?”
“We hoped you’d lend a hand.”
Jackson chuckled. “No, we were hoping he’d lend two hands.” Watching Reeves carefully, he knew something was bothering him and had been since his Dallas trip.
“You didn’t spend a lot of time in Dallas on this last trip. And we haven’t had time to talk about it.”
Reeves stared at his hands thinking about how once upon a time he used them to write essays for his college classes. Now, when he looked at them, all he saw was blood. “Serrano is a clown. He had me meet him at a damn mob museum.”
“That’s different and maybe interesting,” Monroe said taking a seat near the windows where he could keep an eye on the workmen as they worked.
“Some of the same pictures we have of dad and the other bosses were on display. Lifesize.”
“We might have to go to Dallas and tour this museum,” Jackson joked as he watched Reeves intently staring at his hands. God only knew the amount of blood Reeves had spilled.
Knowing his brothers’ moods, Jackson got down to business so he could go give his wife a break with their daughter. “Tell us what happened with Mario.”
“He talked, and I listened. For fuck’s sake, there we were at the museum sitting in a speakeasy. Reeves used air quotes. And the ass talks about running their product through our territory. There’s surveillance everywhere recording us. I finally laughed, telling him I loved the way he spun a story and that as always it was nice catching up. Then I left.”
Monroe was shocked, laughing at how ridiculous the situation was. “Who does he think he is? John Gotti.”
“That’s not notorious enough for Mario Serrano. He thinks he’s Al Capone.”
“So, you got nowhere with him?”
“No. And I won’t.”
“But that isn’t all of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“He tried to have me taken out,” holding up his hands to stop his brothers from interrupting, Reeves finished speaking, “I went back to find him, but he was already gone.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
“I think it’s time to have a sit down with the families. All the families that fall under the Garduna. It’s my opinion if we don’t call out the Serranos other families will try us.”
“Let’s set it up. Two weeks at La Familia.” Jackson didn’t wait for a response; he got up and headed to find his wife.
When his brothers left him, Reeves looked around, wondering how they had figured out he was in their mother’s library. He thought he’d found a place where he could be alone. Glancing around the quiet room, he realized Stormy could use the small library as a makeshift office. Whiskey used the main library as hers, kicking them out whenever she had time to work on her manuscripts.
Shoving to his feet Reeves stepped over to the desk and took a seat behind it. His left hand felt along the underneath of the desk’s ledge until he felt the hidden latch and tugged it forward. Out popped a small slender drawer that unless you knew it was there, you’d never find it. Inside lay some of his mother’s handwritten notes, letters she had been writing, even a few cards yellow from age lay amongst the papers.
The smell of her perfume still lingered on some of them, bringing back memories of his childhood. As much as he wanted to sit there and ponder over what was, he had things to do.
“Reeves.”
Looking over, Reeves saw Jackson standing right inside the doorway. “Was there something else, Jackson?”
Jackson took a few steps inside the room. “Mom would be proud of the man you turned into. She would also want you happy.” Staring at his brother, he needed his brother to know no matter what he would support him. “If being the consigliere is becoming too much, we’d understand if you want to step down.”
Closing the small drawer, Reeves pushed back from the desk. Standing up, he stepped towards Jackson and for the first time in years he told his brother the truth. “I think sometimes I made a mistake not staying in school.”
“What do you want to do?”
“After we get the Serranos’ dealt with, I’d like to be the consigliere in its true form. No more handling business myself.”
“You can stop dealing with that now. We have capos and soldiers that can deal with any problems.” It wasn’t too late for Reeves to find his way back, Jackson thought. “But I’d love for you to continue cooking at La Familia”,” he joked.
“I’ll never give that up. It relaxes me.”
“I love our Sunday meetings at the restaurant.”
“Maybe we could start having family dinners there once a month.”
“I think that would be great.” Were they changing things? Was this the change he’d been wanting, or was this one of those moments he’d hold on to when others faded to the recesses of his mind?
“Reeves, you can always come to me. I’ll always listen.”
“I know. It’s been something I needed to figure out for myself. Now that I have, I’ve clued you in.” He smirked. “One more thing. I think the meeting with the other families should be handled at Bandara.”
“I agree.” Jackson nodded, slapping Reeves on the shoulder before leaving him alone with his thoughts. “By the way, this room would make a great office for Stormy to work in”,” he added before disappearing into the hall.
Reeves chuckled hearing his brothers’ words. “Yes. I think it would, too”,” he said to the empty room.