Chapter 24
Ileave Livia in the dining room and head to my office. I'm dreading this meeting as it's the one where they are going to look to me for the answer to the Rossi family attack on our warehouse.
Entering my office, I see Gio and Marco sitting.
I take a seat behind my desk. There's no time for anything but business, so I look at Gio and say, "Tell me what you've got."
He stands, chest out, and dives into all the intel he's gotten. He's throwing everything at me in an attempt to make up for the delay. It's been weeks since their attack, and gathering intel was a bit more difficult than initially thought—something I'm going to fix.
"...and that's all we've gathered so far," Gio finishes, his fists clenched together.
I lean back in my chair, processing the intel.
The Rossi family's operations are more extensive than we initially thought, hence the delay.
They've been quietly expanding their territory, encroaching on our turf while we've been distracted with other matters, most specifically the deal with the Greeks.
"Good work, Gio," I say, my voice steady despite the rage simmering beneath the surface. "Marco, police willing to do anything? Hit any of their warehouses?"
Marco shifts in his seat, straightening his tie. "We've got a few key players in our pocket, but the sudden retirement of the commissioner is proving a little difficult to navigate while everything's up in the air."
"Mayor still in office?" I ask.
"Still there," Marco says.
I nod, a plan already forming in my mind.
"So what's the play, Zo?" Gio asks.
"We hit them where it hurts," I say, leaning forward. "Their new shipping route through the harbor, the one they're not supposed to have," I say, standing and walking around my desk to lean against it. "We intercept their next big shipment, destroy it, and leave our own damn message."
"That's millions in product," Marco says, eyebrows raised. "They'll be furious."
"Good. Let them feel a fraction of what we felt when they took out our warehouse, not to mention, poor Little Nicky."
The memory of Nicky's body, riddled with bullets, flashes through my mind. The kid had been loyal to a fault, barely out of his teens.
"Gio, I want you to personally oversee the operation. Take our best men, leave no survivors."
Gio grins. "With pleasure, brother. I'll get those fucking roaches."
"Marco, your job is to make sure we have an ironclad alibi. I don't care how you do it, but make sure there's no way this can be traced back to us. New commissioner or no commissioner, see that it's handled. No arrests."
Marco nods, already pulling out his phone. "Consider it done."
As my brothers discuss the finer points of the plan among themselves, my mind drifts. I think of Livia, still warm and soft in our bed this morning. The way she looked at me, her eyes full of trust and something dangerously close to love.
For a moment, I allow myself to imagine a different life. One where I'm not plotting revenge at the start of my day, where I can wake up next to Livia without the weight of an empire on my shoulders.
But that's not the hand I've been dealt. This is my life, the Bonventi legacy, and I'll be damned if I let anyone threaten it.
"Enzo?" Gio's voice pulls me back to reality. "You hear what I said?"
I blink, refocusing on the task at hand. "No, sorry, just thinking through the logistics. We need to move fast on this. The longer we wait, the more vulnerable we become."
"Agreed," Marco says. "I can have everything in place within 48 hours."
"Make it 24," I say. "I want this done before the Rossis even know what hit them."
My brothers nod, understanding the urgency. We spend the next few hours hammering out the details, ensuring every possible angle is covered.
"Alright," I say, standing. "You both know what needs to be done. Let's make this count."
As Gio and Marco leave my office, I pour myself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one burning gulp. The familiar heat spreads through my chest.
I look at my watch. It's barely past noon, and already the day feels endless. I think of Livia again, wondering what she's doing, if she's thinking of me too.
With a sigh, I push the thought away. There's work to be done, a message to be sent.
A few hours later, I finish the last of my tasks and, while I wait for something to come up—because it always does—I decide to check out flights to Sicily.
I haven't been back this year, so it'll be nice to see everyone.
I've also never brought a woman with me, so that will be interesting.
At least everyone will stop trying to set me up with the local women.
Ah, I can show her my grandfather's home. I'm sure Tony would let us stay there for a few days, seeing as I gave it to him when his exporting business went bankrupt.
I get the itch to smoke a cigar and walk over to my small humidor box and open it. As I look over my Cubans, there's a knock at the door.
"Come in," I say without turning around.
I hear the door open, and then there's a brief moment of silence before they speak.
"Sir," they say, and I turn to see Alex. "Livia is in the library and she asked for you to go and see her when you can."
I nod. "Okay, I will go now. Thank you."
As I am about to walk out of my office, Marcella appears holding a phone.
"Sir, I have Little Nicky's mom on the phone."
Dammit, I had forgotten I'd told Marcella to reach out to her. After the hit, I'd sent her flowers and a bank note letting her know her house was paid off. I also sent her a check for $50,000. It wouldn't bring her son back, but I wanted her to know I care. The family cared.
"Hello, Ms. Angelo. This is Lorenzo Bonventi. How are you doing today, ma'am?"
There's a slight pause and then she speaks. "As you can imagine, I've been better. I wanted to tell you that I got the flowers and the money. You didn't have to do all that. I knew what could happen. I tried to warn him. I did, I just…"
"Listen, I can't bring Little Nicky back, but I can do whatever I can to make it right. I will make sure that I do. If there's anything you ever need, you just call this number, okay?"
"That won't be necessary. I don't need anything else from you, besides maybe just one more thing."
"You name it, Ms. Angelo."
"Get the bastards who did that to my poor boy," she says before her voice cracks.
Of course, I want to tell her I plan on burying every last fucking one of the men responsible, but I can't say that over the phone.
"Okay, Ms. Angelo. You take care now," I say, hoping she knows I'll fulfill her request.
I hand Marcella the phone, and she places it in her pocket.
"There's also a few things I need your signature on," she says.
I sit down and go over the shipping documents and sign them. She leaves, and I follow her out.
I make my way to the library, excited to finally see Livia.
As I open the library door, I see her face. "Hello, cara mia."