Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Joshua
W hile Cristian makes introductions, I subtly rake my gaze over Gia Bianchi. I haven’t previously paid her much attention because she was always just a kid, but there’s no denying she’s all grown-up now. Gia has matured into a stunning woman who strongly resembles her mother. Frankie has been best friends with our mom since they were little kids, and they remain super close.
Fiery shivers shoot up my arm when we shake hands, and what the fuck is up with that? “It’s good to see you, Don Accardi,” she says, whipping her hand back like I’ve just electrocuted her.
“Wow, Gia. When did you get so hot?”
Caleb just has to go there. I honestly think he can’t help himself. It’s an inbuilt reaction, as natural to him as breathing. “Caleb,” I snap under my breath. “Don’t.”
Gia narrows her eyes at my twin before remembering where she is. A fake smile ghosts over her mouth. “Don Accardi.” She grips his hand in a firm but brief handshake, ignoring his unprofessional remark.
“Please take a seat,” Cristian says, holding out a chair for her. We’re all lined up on one side of the table, and she’s in the firing line on the other, yet she looks poised and unruffled as she sits.
My eyes soak up every delicious inch of her body as she lowers herself into the chair. Her suit is good quality and a perfect fit, hugging her figure in all the right places. She is tall and slender with shapely hips and big tits, and my dick is stirring in my pants, which is annoying. Her long golden-blonde hair is swept up in a high ponytail that emphasizes her high cheekbones and exquisite face. Ruby-red-painted lips pull into a pleasant smile as she pins me with striking ocean-blue eyes.
She will have Liam McDermott drowning in a pool of his own drool in no time.
“Now who’s being a dick, brother?” Caleb says under his breath so only I can hear him. “You are obvious in the extreme.”
Massimo clears his throat and pins us with a warning look.
We zip our lips and let our president open the meeting.
“Thank you for meeting us on such short notice, Ms. Bianchi.”
“You can call me Gia, Don Greco, and it’s no problem. I’m happy to be here.” There’s a slight tremble to her voice, indicating nerves, which isn’t surprising. She’s only twenty-two and sitting across from a group of formidable men who are about to grill her. It’s only natural.
Massimo’s warm smile attempts to put her at ease. “We have a proposal to put to you. Before I outline the situation and the assignment, I want to make it clear this is highly confidential, and it cannot be discussed with anyone outside of this room.”
“Apart from your father,” Fiero clarifies, fiddling with the cuffs of his suit jacket. “He is privy to the details.”
Gia nods while wetting her lips. My eyes follow the motion like they have a mind of their own. “I understand, and I won’t discuss it with anyone.”
“That includes your best friend,” Caleb adds. “You cannot mention anything to Elisa.”
Heat flares in Gia’s eyes, but she hides it fast as she looks at my twin. “I don’t think I was unclear, and using your personal knowledge of me like some kind of weapon is not welcome or professional.”
Cristian fights a smile as does Ben. Gia is ballsy, and she’s only going up in my estimation.
“Let’s stick to the agenda, Don Accardi,” Massimo says, leveling Caleb with another warning look.
“I’m ensuring our informant understands the severity of the situation. Clarifying the need for confidentiality is important.”
“Now we’ve confirmed that, let me outline the situation,” Massimo says, redirecting his gaze from my twin to Gia. “For the past ten weeks, someone has been stealing narcotics from under our noses. Several delivery vans have been hijacked on the roads in slick operations. Two nights ago, our entire shipment was stolen from an Accardi cruise liner docked at our shipping port.”
Her eyes pop wide. “How is that even possible? Our security is the best in the business.”
“It is, but someone has found a way to infiltrate it. Knowledge of deliveries is restricted to us, our Irish partners, and the local dons we supply product to across the US. Don DiPietro’s freight company handles all distribution in and out of New York. By a process of elimination, we determined someone within the Irish mafia was double-crossing us.”
Lines crease her brow. “I thought Diarmuid O’Hara was a trusted partner?”
“He is,” I interject. “We believe it’s his brother and he’s trying to frame him so we take O’Hara out, paving the way for Liam to assume control.”
“Is that the only motive?” Her big blue eyes stare straight into mine. “Or does he plan on replacing us as the main supplier of narcotics in The Big Apple?”
I smooth a hand down my tie. “That’s a smart question. It’s one we have considered, but we don’t have an answer to it.”
“Yet.” Fiero leans forward in his seat. “Which is where you come in.”
“You want me to infiltrate the Irish and find evidence pointing to Liam.” Her gaze bounces around the room, and there’s no mistaking the sheen of excitement in her eyes.
She wants this, just like I thought.
“Two of your colleagues have already tried and failed,” Ben says, gripping the arms of his chair tight.
Her face pales, in stark contrast to her vibrant lips. “You’re talking about Aldo and Pisano?”
“Yes. Both are dead,” Massimo says, his tone grave.
Fear spikes in her eyes, quickly replaced with sadness. “I trained with them. They were friends as well as colleagues and highly skilled made men.”
“They were, but the stakes were high. Are high,” Massimo corrects.
“You’ll be entering enemy territory alone,” I explain. “Surrounded by hot-blooded highly trained men. They’ll be expecting us to send more spies.”
“But they won’t be expecting us to send in a woman,” Caleb adds, leaning his elbows on the table. “It was Joshua’s idea, and it’s genius. They won’t see you coming.”
“How exactly will I be infiltrating their ranks? It’s not like I can sign up as a foot soldier. They’d instantly smell a rat.”
“Your task is to seduce Diarmuid’s brother Liam. To get close to him so he trusts you and you can uncover evidence of his treachery,” Fiero confirms, running a finger along his collar. The guy hates wearing suits, feeling more at home in his bike leathers.
I didn’t think it was possible, but she turns even paler. “How do you know it’s Liam who is behind this?”
“We don’t.” Cristian links his fingers together on top of the table. “But whoever is doing this is sophisticated, controlled, and intelligent. They also have the right contacts and resources to pull this off. We spoke extensively with O’Hara this morning, and he is adamant his brother is the only one capable of running this kind of operation.”
“As you’re aware, the Irish HQ is in Boston, but they’ve held a smaller operation in The Big Apple since we partnered with them a few years ago,” Ben says. “Liam has been pushing his brother to take control of the New York business for some time. Diarmuid has always resisted because he doesn’t trust him, but today he’ll be confirming Liam as head of their business here.”
“You want to give him enough rope to hang himself,” she says.
“There is more chance of discovering what he’s up to if he’s right under our nose. We also believe there is someone on the inside helping him. There is no other way to explain how he stole a whole cargo out from under us and bypassed our security systems,” Massimo says.
Before Gia came in, we discussed whether to mention the possibility of a potential rat. We need to contain that intel for several reasons. But everyone immediately agreed she needed to be fully informed so she’s not going in blind.
“You will need to be extremely careful,” Cristian adds. “Aldo and Pisano may’ve been identified by our rat. They could do the same to you.”
“Which is why you’ll need to go undercover in disguise.” Massimo slides an envelope across the desk. “That contains ID in a fake name, a fake résumé, and family history. Memorize it. If Liam checks, what he finds online will corroborate that backstory.”
“You’ll need to dye your hair, wear contacts, and dress a certain way,” Ben says.
“What exactly am I expected to do?” She shifts uneasily in her chair.
“Whatever is necessary to get him to trust you.” I drill her with a look.
“You want me to fuck him to get intel?” Her nostrils flare.
“Don’t act so horrified,” Caleb says. “You’re not a virgin, and from what I’ve heard, you have no issue spreading your legs to achieve a goal.”
Her mouth pulls into a thin line as she glowers at Caleb. If Gia was armed, she’d probably shoot or stab him for those words. I’m not sure I’d blame her. It’s lucky for my twin all visitors must leave their weapons at the armory downstairs.
“Unless what I’ve been told about Nepal isn’t true?” Caleb asks, leaning back in his chair and smirking.
I work hard to keep a neutral expression on my face as my brother spews that horseshit. I have no clue what he’s talking about, and from the furious looks the others cast his way, it’s clear they are in the dark too.
“I don’t know what you think you know, but you’re wrong. I’m not a whore , Don Accardi.” She hisses the word. “I’m an educated, trained informant, and I wrongly thought I was being treated as an equal when I was hired to this program.” She turns her rage in Massimo’s direction. “Is this why you allowed women to apply? To be whores masquerading as spies? Has everything I’ve worked so hard for this past year all been for show? Was this your plan all along?”
“No. Absolutely not,” Massimo says, and it’s hard to doubt his sincerity when it’s written all over his face. Massimo trains a vicious gaze on Caleb. “Apologize to Ms. Bianchi. You are way out of line.”
“I’m not apologizing for speaking the truth, and it seems we were wrong about Gia. If she’s not prepared to do what is necessary, she doesn’t belong in the program.”
“I belong as much as every man I trained with. My objection is using my sexuality instead of my intelligence and skill.”
“I hear you’re pretty skilled in the sack, so that’s a moot point.”
“Out.” Fiero’s chair slams to the floor as he abruptly stands. He jabs his finger at Caleb. “Get the fuck out now.”
“I’m not leaving. I have every right to raise these concerns.”
Massimo forces Fiero back into his chair. “Don Accardi, please refrain from saying anything unless it’s conducive to the conversation, and you still need to apologize to Gia. I’m your president, and I demand it.”
Caleb clenches his jaw as he eyeballs the woman across the table. “I apologize, Gia. Sorry if the truth hurts.”
I briefly close my eyes. Why must my twin continuously do this? It’s like he has a self-destruct button he can’t help flipping.
“If you’ll excuse Don Accardi and me for a few moments, please,” Ben says, standing up and stalking toward Caleb. Caleb makes no move to get up until Ben whispers something in his ear, and then the two of them walk out, taking most of the tension with them.
“I apologize, Gia,” Massimo says. “What Caleb said is not what we think.”
She lifts her chin defiantly. “You shouldn’t apologize for him. He’s the one who said it, not you. I’m well aware of the trainwreck that is Caleb Accardi. I’ve watched that shit show going down for years.”
“Watch your mouth,” I snap, unwilling to sit by and let anyone talk shit about my brother when he’s not here to defend himself.
“I thought we were speaking openly, but my bad if I misconstrued the situation,” she calmly replies as our eyes go into battle.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Cristian says, claiming Gia’s attention.
I rotate my neck, attempting to loosen the knots in my shoulders.
“Caleb was harsh and misguided in his delivery. Yes, your role is to seduce Liam, but you also need to utilize all your skills to investigate every aspect of his life and the Irish operation while you are on the inside,” Massimo says.
“We will equip you with the relevant tools so you can scan documents, take photos, and capture every piece of intel,” I say.
“And no one is saying you must fuck him. There are creative ways to avoid that if you’re smart enough, and I know you are.”
Cristian, Massimo, and I stare at Fiero like he’s grown an extra head. How do you avoid having sex with someone when your role is to seduce them? Liam doesn’t do virgins, so we can’t take that approach.
“Liam likes confident ballsy redheads,” I say, sliding a few photos across the desk to her. “These are some of his exes and most recent conquests. The ones who lasted the longest were those who challenged him. He doesn’t want a mousy broad. He likes his women sexy and smart.”
“This role was made for you, Gia.” Cristian and Gia exchange a meaningful look, and I sit up straighter in my chair. What the hell was that? “And it’s so much more than sex.”
“Keeping your wits about you while you gather evidence requires balls of steel, cunning, and street smarts,” Massimo says. “If we wanted someone purely to spread their legs, we would not be talking to you. We need someone who is the full package, and that someone is you. I understand aspects of this will be unpleasant, but that is the nature of the informant role. There will always be things you have to do you won’t like, but you signed up for this.”
“My father knows this?”
Fiero nods. “If it helps, he threatened to kill me at first until he calmed down.”
“Well, shit.” Gia knits her hands together on her lap.
“We wouldn’t be asking this if the situation wasn’t serious and urgent,” I supply.
“We will do our utmost to ensure you are protected and you get out alive. O’Hara has promised to provide protection from the inside. We can’t tell you one hundred percent you will come out of this unscathed, but we will do everything we can to keep you safe,” Massimo adds as Ben and Caleb reenter the room.
Air expels from her mouth. She waits until everyone is seated before nodding. “Okay. I’ll do it. I understand the risks and what’s expected of me, and I’ll do everything I can to get the intel we need.” She drills Caleb with a look. “Including spreading my legs if that’s what it takes.”