Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Present Day
“Let’s get a drink,” Enzo said, spotting an open bar on the way back to the hotel.
I smirked because it seemed like neither of us wanted the night to end. We headed for the bar, ordered a beer each, and perched on the stools. We talked and laughed as if we’d been together like this for years, as if this was how we’d always been.
I got up to go to the toilet, checked my phone, and realised it was dead because I’d forgotten to charge it at the hotel. When I returned to the bar, Enzo’s stool was empty, so I scanned the room until I spotted him outside, his back to me, his phone pressed to his ear.
He hung up as I approached, pocketed the phone, then pulled out his vape and inhaled. He looked… stressed. No, worse. Tortured.
“Everything alright?”
He spun around, his blue eyes frantic when he spotted me. “Si. Just tired.”
“Who was that on the phone?”
“Oh–um–Teron. Another attack on my men in the city.”
“Americans?”
“Who fucking else?” he growled, running his hand through his hair. A hand that was shaking. I reached for it, holding it in mine.
“We’ll make sure we get these pricks out of our country. This ends tomorrow. Come on, let’s head back. We need some sleep.”
He merely nodded, not looking any better after my attempt to reassure him. But he kept hold of my hand all the way back to the hotel room.
Enzo slid his key card out of his pocket and hovered it near the scanner, then stopped.
Turning to look at me over his shoulder, I met his gaze with a smile before he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. His open affection still caught me off guard, but that wasn’t what made my gut twist. It was the look in his eyes when he pulled back.
He held the moment like a man trying to trap time in his hands, as though, if he looked long enough, he could seal it in a glass jar and bury it somewhere safe. There was weight in his gaze. Concern. Calculation. Apology.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Be ready.”
Unease crept down my spine. Before I could ask what the hell that meant, the lock beeped.
The door swung open, and Enzo had his gun in his hand. The flash of silver he’d drawn from under his hoodie made me reach for mine, my instincts sharpening.
We weren’t alone.
Enzo stepped inside, aiming his gun at the intruders.
I followed, sweeping the room. Eight bulky men, all armed, stood like military men at their stations.
Two of our Italian soldiers were tied up, kneeling on the carpet with guns to their heads.
The other three were sprawled across the king-sized bed—the one I’d fucked Enzo on just hours earlier. Dead. White sheets now painted red.
We’d been compromised.
The Americans knew we were coming.
My jaw clenched, my fingers hovering over the trigger. Eight to two was not great odds, but not impossible. We could take four each, clean and fast. But no one moved. They were poised, eyes tracking us, yet holding fire. Waiting for an order.
The sound of a flush from the ensuite had my eyes whipping to the slightly ajar door until it opened and a man in his late forties stepped into the room, zipping up his fly as if he hadn’t just walked into a slaughterhouse.
I recognised his dark hair, slanted eyes and crooked nose from the pictures and footage I had of him. Frankie Galiz.
The New York consigliere.
“What the fuck is this?” Enzo snarled. His voice was ice, and his gaze flicked to our butchered men lying on the bed.
“You kept us waiting,” he said in a deep American drawl, striding casually into the room and taking the seat by the window, balancing one foot on his knee. “I got bored.”
Enzo’s nostrils flared. They were glaring at each other with deep hatred, but also… something else. Something sharp and unreadable passed between them, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I needed to take control of the situation before Enzo lost his.
“We’ve come to reach an agreement,” I began, keeping my gun trained on the young American soldier, built like a tank, standing beside Frankie’s chair. “No need for theatrics.”
“Oh, I know,” Frankie smirked. “But they’re always fun.”
“It will be fun to see how fast I can put bullets into your men’s skulls before one touches mine,” Enzo growled, moving his gun around the room until it settled on the youngest soldier, who looked like he should have been scoring touchdowns for the school football team rather than wielding a Glock. “I’ll start with babyface.”
The kid didn’t blink. He stood on the other side of Frankie, his eyes blazing with the same fire as the muscular tank beside him. They looked alike. Brothers, definitely. Possibly Frankie’s sons.
Frankie waved one hand dismissively, signalling his men to drop their weapons. I nodded to Enzo to lower his.
“So…” Frankie clasped his fingers together in his lap. “You flew all this way. It had better be good.”
I slowly dragged the other empty chair towards me and sat, forcing calm into my bones. Enzo stayed standing, silent and lethal, at my side. My cold expression gave nothing away of the frantic panic rattling through my brain.
How did they know we were here? My mole must have tipped Frankie off that we were coming for him. Or maybe our scouts in New York had been caught sniffing around and were tortured for information. But no, that couldn’t have happened this fast.
I was missing something. And then it hit me whose absence it was. Don Joey Galiz.
“Is Don Galiz not joining us?” I queried to understand this situation better.
“Trying to make me jealous, Consigliere Rossetti?” Frankie’s eyes gleamed. “Let’s not pretend it’s him you want. You flew all this way for me. I’m flattered.”
In my peripheral vision, Enzo shuffled on his feet, itching to destroy him for flirting with me. I narrowed my eyes, still trying to work out Frankie’s angle. I didn’t like his tone or his confidence.
We’d lost our element of surprise, but that didn’t mean all was lost. If Frankie hadn’t told Joey our plans, he was intrigued at the very least.
“You’re right,” I answered, leaning back in my chair while keeping the weight of my gun balanced on my leg. “It’s you I’m here to see. I’ve been watching you, Frankie.”
“As I have you,” he replied, sneering. “We have a lot in common, Rossetti. Fathers. Consiglieres. Brains behind the brawn. Similar…” His eyes flicked to Enzo.
He looked him up and down with obvious desire.
My whole body tensed. “Interests. Though he’s a little too butch for my taste. Pretty, though.”
I didn’t react, but inside I was boiling over with violent anger and disbelief.
We were screwed. If he had, in fact, been keeping tabs on me, I wasn’t surprised he knew I was gay.
But he knew Enzo meant something to me. He also didn’t seem to be hiding the fact that he enjoyed men.
That meant we’d just lost our only leverage.
“The men in this room are my most loyal and trusted soldiers. They know everything there is to know about me. Yes, I have a wife because I needed sons. But she doesn’t care who I fuck, as long as I keep her in the latest couture.
I was only discreet because she demanded to bear my children, but she’s of no use to me anymore.
It’s a new world, Rossetti. You should know that better than anyone. ”
I snapped, so fucking pissed. “Less of this bonding shit, Galiz, and let’s talk fucking business.”
He chuckled. “You Italians are always so feisty. I like that. So what are you proposing? You suck my dick, and I suck yours?”
Enzo took one aggressive step forward with a growl, but I grabbed his forearm to make him check himself. I knew doing this together was a fucking mistake. We only had one hand left to play now. Make Frankie an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“I know your finances are bleeding, Galiz. After your brother died and the Feds dismantled your human trafficking network, you lost most of your investments. You’ve had to rebuild from the ground up.
You did an impressive job until Joey came of age and took over a few years ago.
He’s ruining everything you’ve built. Joey’s war against us is draining you dry. ”
His smile vanished, and he now wore the face of the man he truly was. Competitive. Brutal. Greedy. And pissed off.
“The past ten years have been… unfortunate. Losses on both sides, but deserved. Don Galiz is a proud man, and his determination to avenge his father is admirable.”
Bullshit. I wasn’t buying his loyal consigliere act. He wouldn’t be here behind Joey’s back if he truly felt that way.
“We both know wars are bad for business.”
He tilted his head back slightly, lifting his chin and staring at me down the length of his crooked nose. “Then hand over Don Alessio Barbieri, and Joey’s thirst for blood will be quenched.”
“Hell will freeze over before that happens.”
“Then we have nothing to discuss. Fuck your truce.”
“We have plenty to discuss. You have Joey’s ear, just as I have Alessio’s. We both know how much influence we wield over the men who ‘rule’,” I said, smirking as his lips twitched. “This isn’t about a truce. It’s about profit and money. Peace benefits both. And I know you’re not a stupid man.”
“Peace?” he scoffed, shaking his head. “More like control.”
“Whichever keeps us both alive and makes us very rich, no?”
He stared at me, his lip curling. “I suppose it would only be polite to hear you out before I kill you.”
I leaned forward, holding his gaze to show how serious I was. “The deal I’m about to offer you is for your ears only and will be said only once. Clear the room.”