Chapter 12
Nico
The mansion is ready for Elli when she’s brought in.
I’ve given the order that as soon as an opportunity arises, my men are to take her and Tia, her friend.
I’m not going to pretend that she’s going to step into my arms willingly, but she’s not going to get away from me either.
Bringing her friend who she sees as a sister, I hope will help her see I’m not all bad.
Bruno chuckles from where he’s standing behind me while I look out of the large window of my main office.
“You know this isn’t going to be easy, don’t you, Nico?”
Bruno is speaking to me now as a friend and not as the boss of the family.
“Yeah, she’s going to kick and scream, I imagine.
But I can’t wait for it to start.”
There’s a knock on the door before it opens and Gail pops her head inside.
“Alexander Palmeri is here to see you.”
“Let him in, Gail.
Thank you,”
I respond as I take the seat behind my desk.
Alex steps inside and dips his head in respect.
I point at the seat in front of my desk, which he takes before giving Bruno and then me an amused look.
“What?”
Bruno asks before Alex can start to speak.
“My mother went after Elli.
She apparently went up the fire escape, broke into the apartment through the bedroom window, and sat in wait for quite some time, but had every intention of hurting Elli.
We found two weapons on her body, a pistol and a knife,”
Alex is still smiling.
“So, what happened?”
I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“Well, it turns out that Tia, Elli’s new sister, as they now claim to be, was told by one of the local gang members that he’d seen a woman breaking into the back of Elli’s apartment.
Knowing that Elli’s mother was on the loose, Tia rushed around to Elli’s apartment burst through the door and screamed, ‘Here comes Johnny.’ You know, like that fucking movie.”
Bruno starts to laugh at the vision that he is obviously seeing and I’m stunned because that would probably be enough to startle anyone.
“Anyway, Elli had already had an altercation with her mother, although a small one, but she stood stunned when Tia jumped on our mother, grabbed handfuls of her hair and started pulling at her head as hard as she could.”
“Fuck, that had to hurt,”
Bruno chuckles, but I keep my attention on Alex, because this still doesn’t explain how she died.
“In the excitement of the moment, Tia shakes Renata’s head so badly that a loud crack is heard.
Tia doesn’t realize what has happened, but she’s snapped Renata’s neck.”
Alex chuckles, and I find it unbelievable that he is laughing about his mother's death.
But, when he states, ‘Death by hair-pulling!’ I can’t keep the laughter back, neither can Bruno, who is holding his stomach, and I can see tears in his eyes.
“How do you know all this?”
I ask Alex because this must be recent.
“Elli contacted me before work, and I have to tell you she didn’t give a damn that her mother was dead.
She was more worried that it would hit Tia at a later time that she killed someone.”
Alex is still grinning, and it is a little contagious as I feel myself grinning along with him.
“I can’t wait to meet this sister.
She sounds like she’ll fit right into the family without us having to worry about her.”
Bruno looks at me as he knows I was concerned she wouldn’t fit into the family.
“If she can get past Renata’s death then she’ll make a good right-hand woman for Elli, as well as a sister.
I’m thinking I may need to find her a husband.”
Bruno quickly leaves the room after giving me a don’t look at me look.
I don’t hold the chuckle back as I watch him flee out of the room.
Alex full out laughs, which earns him a middle finger wave just as Bruno slams the door.
“Boss, I think Elli and Tia are going to be a handful, but they are going to be amusing, if nothing else.”
“I have given the order to bring them both in, so we won’t have to wait long to get their reactions,”
I grin more to myself than Alex.
When Tiny walks in and gives me a nod, I know the men have been placed in strategic places to grab them both.
“Boss, Aeron said you will need to visit the mausoleum.”
Tiny gives me a raised eyebrow, and I have a feeling I know who they have waiting for me.
Twenty minutes later, I step into the mausoleum descending the stairs below and into what could be called the crypt.
What it actually is, is a wet room.
Strung up by their arms, gags in their mouths and stripped down to their underwear are Varina’s mother and sister.
“Well, well, look at what we have here.”
I tap my chin, pretending to be in deep thought, but the sight of piss running down the mother's legs tells me this isn’t going to take long.
Turning to look at Tiny, who had walked with me, along with Bruno.
“Do you want the honors for a change?”
Tiny shrugs, “Just cause I’m small compared to all you barbarians doesn’t mean I’m weak or incapable.”
Bruno chuckles and the two soldiers standing on either side of the room awaiting any orders struggle to keep their smirks to themselves.
Staring at the two women, I feel nothing but contempt.
I state, “Okay, I’ll tell you what, Tiny.
Keep them here but don’t kill them.
I want them to suffer long and hard for what they have done.”
I hear the women sobbing, but I don’t care.
They threw Varina under the bus years ago, and I wish I had known as I would have dealt with the situation earlier.
As I turn to leave, I look at first the mother, then the sister, “You both make me sick to my stomach.
Your treatment here will show others what happens to traitors to their Don, to the Famiglia and to their own family.”
Whistling as I return to the mansion, I can’t help but have a spring in my step.
The trash is being gotten rid of and the cleanup was well needed.
I will give out a list of others that need to be cleaned before the week is out.
My soldiers are going to be kept busy for a while, but I don’t give a fuck.
It’s needed, and it’s happening.
Now, I need to get an announcement ready for my engagement to the beautiful Elliana Palmeri.
Taking out my phone, I make a call to Gail, and instruct her on exactly what it is I want her to do and to make sure that the announcement is sent to all my Capos.
I even had her place a piece near the bottom of the announcement of how everyone has to address Elli once she’s my wife.
Tiny walks into the office and shakes his head at me.
“You know you are going to cause a shitstorm with your runaway bride, don’t you? Maybe you shouldn’t be a husband, ‘cause Boss they keep running from you.”
“Shut up, you’re as bad as Bruno.”
“Everything is arranged.
Your woman will be here by morning, but I’m not sure how you are going to approach the situation.
Don’t be looking at me for clues either.
I’ve no idea how to soothe a woman’s anger,”
Tiny chuckles as he turns and leaves the office.
****
I don’t sleep as I’m concerned about Elli and her friend being brought back to the mansion safely.
I have two soldiers at the ready, one for each of their bedroom doors, and I’ve extra soldiers patrolling under their bedroom windows.
Yes, my runaway bride, you are not running again.
It's mid-afternoon before Tiny strolls into my office grinning.
“You best go speak to your bride, boss.
She’s awake and kicking up a storm.
You got yourself a live one, and she’s going to be far more fun than I thought.”
Stepping out of the office, passing Tiny, who is grinning at me like a fool, I head to the stairs.
The nearer I get to the bedroom Elli has been placed, the more of a ruckus I hear.
“Tia, if you can hear me, you need to trash the room.
I don’t care who has us here.
They need to know we are not an easy mark,”
Elli bellows.
Chuckling behind me, I turn to see Tiny, Bruno, Aeron, and the two extra soldiers.
The two on guard duty are standing beside their respective bedroom doors and flinch every time something smashes against the inside of the door.
“Got it, sis,”
we all hear and I look over my shoulder towards the soldier in front of Tia’s door and smirk when smashing begins from her room.
“Okay, open the door,”
I say to the soldier outside of Elli’s door.
“Be careful, Boss, the room’s going to be wrecked by now,”
Bruno chuckles.
The door opens, and the soldier quickly steps out of the way.
I enter the room and dodge the vase that is flying toward my head.
Lifting my arm, I block what would have been a nasty hit, but things fly fast and furiously.
Someone grabs my arm and drags me out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
“Wow, she’s going for it.
Maybe it’s a good time to let her wear herself out.
Then go in when she’s run out of all that steam she’s created,”
Aeron grins.
Bruno throws back his head, laughing, and it only takes a minute for Tiny, Aeron and me to join him.
I notice even the soldiers are struggling to hold it together.
“Good idea.
We’ll come back later.”
I quickly make my way back to my office, but I have a stupid grin on my face all the while.
Later turns out to be the next morning, and I can’t help but think my woman has a hell of an energy level as she didn’t stop smashing things until I’m sure nothing is left intact.
She knows some colorful curse words too, but it’s when she goes quiet that I start to think I may risk speaking to her again.
Tia, on the other hand, had run out of steam hours ago and had been humming and singing.
But, she also seems to have gone to sleep at last.
The mansion has stilled, and the silence is deafening at this point.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, is waiting to see what happens next.
I have to admit I’m one of those everyone.