Chapter 28 - Gabriel
Ican't find any words after hearing what Lydia just said.
Enzo can't be here. Not now. Not with Luca's corpse still warm.
"Fuck, come on," I mutter under my breath.
The door opens before I can respond, and Lydia's eyes go wide at the sight of Luca's body.
"I didn't say to enter, dammit," I snap.
Lydia gasps, one hand covering her mouth. "I—oh god. I'm so sorry, sir. I thought I heard you say come in."
I stare at her, and to my surprise, she quickly composes herself, enters, and shuts the door.
"Sir, I've worked for you for quite some time now. I'm not stupid. I know what you do," she straightens up. "But you're good to me. Paid for my kid's college education and give me a salary way more than I know anyone should. I've cleaned my fair share of blood in this house."
I continue staring at her, reassessing everything I thought I knew about my housekeeper. "Where's Enzo?"
"Front room. I told him I just got in and had to find you."
"Would he leave if—"
"No," she cuts me off. "He said he'd wait as long as needed since it was his fault dropping by so early and unannounced."
Fuck.
"What can I do to help?" Lydia asks.
I don't have time to question her loyalty; Enzo hasn't given me that luxury.
The metallic smell of blood mixed with spilled whiskey fills my nostrils, and every second brings Enzo closer to discovering what I've done.
What I did for Sofia.
We work quickly, Lydia cleaning while I roll Luca's body in the carpet. I drag him to the closet, shoving him behind my hanging clothes.
If Enzo opens this door, I'm dead.
Over the next few minutes, we work in silence, with Lydia visibly wanting to ask questions but refraining.
"Okay, given the time, I think we've done all we can. Do you see anything we missed?" I ask, breathing deeply.
Lydia looks around the room. "No, sir. I think we've managed to do our best."
I nod.
Best better be good enough, or we're both dead.
"Alright, go get him. Say you found me sleeping in the office."
"Okay," she says, leaving with the small wastebasket filled with bits of glass and her cleaning towels.
I examine myself, adjusting my clothes to hide any signs of violence. My hands are stiff from strangling Luca. That familiar ache will last days.
I know from experience.
Had I overreacted?
Should I just have…
No! It was worth it.
I knew he had hit her and treated her like shit.
The bastard couldn’t stop running his mouth about how his mistress was a brainless slut—like he was God’s gift to the world.
Hell, he was always running his mouth about everything.
Whispering secrets to his mistresses, pissing off guys in other families.
Even Enzo had him on a damn leash. His days were numbered, and everyone knew it.
But me? I tried. I fucking tried to give him a chance to do something decent for once in his miserable life. And what does he do? Blows it.
I take one final glance around and ready myself for the performance of a lifetime. I've never been in such a squeeze like this before.
I crack the door, listening for approaching footsteps. When I hear them, I step back and force a smile as Enzo enters.
"Gabriel, sorry for the unannounced visit," he says.
"No worries." I hope he doesn't hear the tremors in my voice. "What brings you by?"
He steps closer, eyes narrowing as they scan the room. "Is everything alright? You seem..."
"Just tired. Long night at the warehouse."
His gaze falls to the empty floor. "What happened to your carpet?"
Shit
"Oh, that? I—I spilled wine. Lydia took it in for cleaning."
He nods, studying the area. After a few moments, he finally turns his attention back to me.
"About the warehouse—I heard from Nikolas the shipment arrived in full. Thanks to you and Luca for handling that."
At Luca's name, my pulse quickens. "Not an issue. We wouldn't let a package going to Demitrakis be light."
"Speaking of Luca, where is he?" Enzo asks.
My chest tightens. The image of his body rolled up in my closet flashes through my mind. "Last I saw, he was heading up his driveway when I dropped him off."
"Hmm. Couldn't reach him. Texted him to call about..." Enzo's voice trails off as he paces the room. His eyes dart to the closet, then back to me. "Anyhow, with Demitrakis and the Ostrowski families on board, we're ready to crush those fucking Russians."
I nod, keeping my face neutral. "Luca mentioned it."
"Yeah, he did good work negotiating. Had my doubts because of how sloppy he’s been lately, but he proved me wrong." Enzo stops pacing.
"The final sit-down with the heads is coming. Need to plan this carefully—wiping out a family isn't simple."
"The Russians won’t know what hit them," I say.
"There’s more," Enzo replies, meeting my eyes. "The Delaney family."
"Fuck Sean and the Irish. We’ll deal with them."
Enzo exhales sharply, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I wish I had 100 men like you, but the Greeks and Polish won’t help unless we bring the Delaneys back in. Can you believe that?"
I hesitate, then offer, "Maybe they’re right. Bring them in, but make them pay their dues."
He nods. “ Let them fight the Russians to prove their loyalty. It’s always chess."
"Always chess," I say in agreement.
"The meeting's in a few days—at my house. Keep it casual. You'll be there."
"Of course, Enzo," I reply. "Anything for the family."
"Good, good," he says. "On a lighter note—how's beautiful Livia doing?" he asks as he looks over at the picture of her on my desk.
My sister—god knows how much I love her—hasn't been on my mind the past few weeks. I've been busy.
"Uh, she's good. Enjoying the California weather. She'll be coming to visit soon. Wants to write part of her dissertation here and visit."
Enzo smiles. "Well, you'll have to let me know when she's in town. I'd love to see her."
Something in his tone makes me pause, but I've got bigger problems. Like Luca's body in my closet.
"Well, like I said, just a short visit. I needed the drive and fresh air, figured I'd stop by to speak in person."
"Anytime, Enzo. You know you're always welcome here."
"I'll see myself out. Get some rest," he says and walks out.
After Enzo leaves, Lydia rushes back. "He's gone, sir."
"Okay, thank you."
"Do you need… help?" she asks.
I shake my head. "Lydia, you've done more than I could have ever asked. Just try to go about your day as usual. I'll take care of everything from this point."
I sit down and take a moment to process what I need to do and how I'm going to do it. First, getting rid of Luca. But how? How can I do this so it doesn't come back to me?
Think… Think.
Two bullets.
Yes, two bullets to the head—the Siberian's signature. The Russians will take the blame, and I'll have Sofia all to myself.
I shower, bag my bloody clothes for burning, and back my car to the side garage. Getting Luca's body into the trunk tests my strength—dead weight always does.
At the empty warehouse, I make quick work of it. Position the body, two clean shots to the forehead. The Russians' calling card delivered.
I smile as I load the carpet back into my trunk. Two more stops: the incinerator for the rug, then the Capstone to collect Sofia.
She's mine now.