26. Dante
26
DANTE
I laria’s cries are burned into my mind playing on an endless hell loop as I think about handing her over to my cousin when she needed me the most. She’s going to hate me for it, and be furious when she finds out about the contract. No doubt Francesco told her just to watch her start crying all over again.
That pervert probably got off on watching her tears.
And I had done it.
I had been the one to just leave her with him, trusting that he would do the right thing. He probably didn’t.
My hand slid through my hair as I parked outside the casino, hating that I had to come here to meet the asshole from the cartel in the penthouse that he keeps here.
Just outside the city they built this monstrosity of fake luxury.
I’ve been here a few times because people always came here for a meal and to do business, acting like this was a Vegas style place. My eyes rolling at the thought as my stomach tightened thinking about Vegas.
I’d make everything up to Ilaria with Vegas.
Moving into the casino I head over to the elevators, nodding at one of the men lurking around as security. At first glance you’d think he was working here but I knew he was a guard for the Cartel.
He moves over to hit a button, the elevator opening and both of us going inside. It’s quiet as we ride, one floor after another, until he finally slams the stop button turning to me as I meet his eyes.
“I have to do a pat down.”
I nod once, arms extending as I think about the weapons left in my saddle bags. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to bring a gun to the fight but that was because I knew that they wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill me.
If I died there would be a war and their foothold in the entire Northeast would take a hit that would take decades to recover from. I was too valuable for them to just off and have my body found floating in the Charles.
Hands slide up and down my body as I roll my eyes, acting like I’m not thinking about how my whole future revolves around this meeting.
The elevator starts moving again as I lean back, calm, cool and collected as I freak out inside. But there was no time to fully let myself go into any sort of panic. I was raised into this and this was the life I would be living.
I needed to be strong.
Always .
The doors opened, my eyes sweeping around the suite to see what was going on.
Several people were in the living room area, they all were speaking together when I walked in but when Caesar Torres let his eyes land on me everyone went quiet.
Everyone is eyeing me, trying to see if I’m dangerous or if I’m just the son of a dangerous man. Sometimes the son of a lion is a kitten and they want to make sure they’re dealing with someone worth their time.
A minute later, Caesar is standing, walking toward me as he offers me his hand. The sort of action takes me by surprise because I hadn’t expected this.
This meeting was supposed to be tense and talk about the fact that he had shot up my god damn engagement party.
He was the reason that Ilaria was staying at her fathers house and not home with me.
He had ruined all the progress that I had made.
“Dante, I owe you an explanation and most importantly an apology.”
I train my face not to react as my mind whirls and the slow sense of fear starts to creep into my mind.
Had I walked right into a trap? Because the boss of this distribution point in the Cartel should not be apologizing to me.
“Two of my men got eager chasing a lead to a problem we are having. They saw her in your club and went ahead shooting at the target. They didn’t know it was your club and didn’t know it was closed for a private event. I did not clear this and have dealt with them. Any damage for the club I insist on paying for and the next six months of shipments will be boosted to show my apology to you is sincere.”
This is absolutely not how I saw this meeting going at all.
I’m sitting down and look around once again seeing the men are antsy, looking at me and realizing that a stupid move can erase all the work that they had been doing here.
We were giving them a large business and a foothold in a city that they wouldn’t be able to break through if we didn’t okay it.
“Are you telling me two of your men went rogue without orders?” I watch Caesar needing to see his face as I say this.
His embarrassment at the mention of not being able to control his men is clear. No one wants to admit that they had a bad apple in the bunch; you’re only as strong as your weakest members. And if he didn’t okay something like shooting a target then that is something that is a huge issue.
Caesar pours two glasses of bourbon, pushing one towards me as he makes a sound that I know is embarrassment.
“They had been tailing a target. A woman who is attached to someone who is counting cards at some of the casinos we own. She was spotted going into your club and it was the first time they had a clear hit like this on her without anyone present. I would have preferred they kidnapped her and brought her to me if they were being spontaneous but they were young and eager. And have learned that a life is paid with recklessness.”
The way he talked about death, how he killed two people who made a mistake should have bothered me but I could feel it in my stomach. Something turned me on, making me thankful that the two men who had been responsible for the shooting had been taken care of.
They could have hurt Ilaria and their fate had been sealed with such a mistake.
“Do you want me to look at the target? They were at my engagement party. This can be an act of good faith between us.”
I was offering this to seal our bond, to strengthen the alliance and make it known I was accepting his apology. This business needed to be taken care of so I could have my fiancée come home.
Caesar snapped his fingers, a folder coming out and landing on the coffee table in front of me. He motioned me to take it, letting me pick it up and open it.
As Ilaria would say, ‘ Fuck ’.
“This girl was in the club when my table started to get played. The men are all too drunk to seem to remember who they were playing with and the camera seems to have issues whenever they come into a casino. We think there is a group that is working with them but this girl, she has been caught three times as a waitress, handing out free drinks that we think are roofied. Explaining the blank spots.”
I nod my head looking at the picture of Becca in a few different scenarios.
The gritty camera footage that catches her isn’t good but I know her because she is close to my Ilaria and I have to make sure that she is safe so my bride to be is happy.
Apparently she is not safe.
Becca was the good girl friend. The one who was always in pictures glamming up her friends or cooking for them. She always seemed like a little mouse who was quiet and scattering about the background. But she was the one with a chemistry degree from Northeastern that used her degree to make cosmetics that she sold on Etsy and her social media.
And apparently for drugging people.
But Becca was single.
Very single like all of Ilaria’s friends and an only child. So who could she possibly be working with?
She has a huge social media following and makes money being in the spotlight. Could there be something hidden there?
There is no use in denying that I know her because I know that she will be part of my wedding party and I am not foolish enough to think that the men in the Cartel wouldn’t realize that. But I’m also very aware that if anything happens to her Ilaria would never forgive me.
“This is my fiancées friend. You are sure she is involved?”
There is a relief that washes over Caesar’s face and I have to keep my hands from clenching as I think about how he probably had research done. Research that involved him looking into my girl as well.
The idea of someone watching Ilaria makes me want to feel skin under my fingernails to watch the way life leaves someone’s eyes when your hand is around their throat and you‘re aware they’re looking at you like their God, their only hope and their curse.
I could have lied about knowing her but as soon as I did that all the goodwill would have stopped flowing between us.
“She is involved. I am sure. There are almost 20 million over two years that have been stolen from our casinos because someone is counting cards. And they don’t play at the chip games but they find the table with the people throwing cash on it. It’s careless but it’s causing me to lose business as these people don’t want to play tables where they are losing money.”
Twenty million dollars isn’t a light amount of money but I could offer to pay off her debt.
“She is very close with my fiancée. I can’t have anything happen to her.”
Caesar nods like he understands what I’m saying but I don’t think it settles in. The Cartel has no problem killing women if they are in the way. A body is a body regardless of the sex.
“If you can get the information of who she is helping I can look the other way for her involvement as a favor to you, Dante.”
The way he says favor makes me regret agreeing already but there is nothing that I can do in this situation but agree.
My blood boiling as I sit through the meeting thinking about the fact that Ilaria has been watched by the Cartel. Thinking about how I didn’t vet her friends enough and brought this danger upon my family. How Ilaria could have been with her friend and been a casualty because of the wrong place, wrong time.
My inability to protect her washes over me again and I know I need to leave. I need to have my eyes on her to make sure she is okay.
“You will get back to me in a few days when you know more?”
Caesar is looking at me, he wants my word and I’m more than aware that I can’t make promises to him about this right now.
“I get married in ten days and then have a honeymoon with my wife after that.” I’m not backing down on this, “After that is settled I give you my word I will find out who is stealing from you.”
He takes this in and holds out his hand, giving mine a shake as I finally breathe out in hope that this is all done.
“If I don’t hear from you in three weeks we will come for the girl.”
It’s not a threat but a promise and I hate that I can’t say anything back to him because he has a right to his money. Instead, I just nod, taking my leave from the hotel suite and thinking about how I want to be as far away from all this business as soon as possible.
The elevator lets me out on the ground floor and despite knowing I should get out of there I head to the bar needing a drink to make me feel better after the last forty-eight hours of my life.
I should go apologize to Ilaria.
I should fix things with my father.
I should knock out Francesco for touching her.
But all those ideas go out of my head as the last person I expect to see is sitting across from me at the bar, smiling looking slightly drunk as she leans her face against her hand.
Ilaria .
I am going to kill Francesco.
As I get up, I feel a hand on my shoulder, looking at the person who I had just been thinking about murdering. He gave me a look and I knew something else was going on.
“She came here with Sammie who is currently in the bathroom fucking the singer that just performed his shitty 90’s heroin chic rockstar set. Let her grieve after you broke her heart earlier.”
I don’t know why he thinks me sitting here is better than going to comfort her but it’s not.
“Make sure that Sammie gets back to Ilaria’s fathers house in the next hour. And I need you to try and get more information on Becca. She was the target of the Cartel. I’ll explain more to you tomorrow after the meeting with the family.’‘ He nodded his head at me but I noticed the way his eyebrow cocked just slightly at Ilaria’s blonde friend’s name.
I really do not need him sleeping with Ilaria’s friends. It’s better if he keeps his eyes in his head and away from people that he will just hurt.
Francesco is a good man.
His mouth and his dick get him in a lot of trouble, which is why he can not be near her friends.
“Francesco, not a word about Becca to anyone.” It comes out as an order to him.
He understands this.
Blood is thicker than water and as he pats me on the back I’m aware he would do anything for me. We share a dream that I will make a reality for us both.
“Love babysitting our brides’ friends.”
I hate how he says our but everything Francesco does is to piss people off so I let it slide. Can’t let him know how badly he is getting under my skin. That will just make him go harder
Walking over, Ilaria notices me as I pull out cash, settling her bill and holding out a hand that she hesitates to grab.
She is still mad at me about earlier and I know she is debating on turning around to order another round. But I need her.
I need her in my bed tonight. I need the smell of her champagne sugar skin and the way her legs lock with mine when she starts to drift off.
I need her kissing me and her fingers in my hair reassuring me that life is indeed worth living.
I need her so desperately that I will beg her if I have to.
“Ilaria, please, let’s go home.”
But I don’t have to beg her, she takes my hand when I say home and stands up, looking at me like she wants to give me a piece of her mind but I’m kissing her before she can.
I’m kissing her like I’ve been thinking about since my office last night.
I’m kissing her because she is safe and I have everything handled and it’s all going to be okay.
I’m kissing her until she pulls away, glaring at me as if she is actually mad about what happened.
“Francesco said he might be my husband.”
And just like that I’m looking over at my cousin who took my place at the bar, watching him drink his vodka straight, like a true psychopath, and wishing I had punched him when he first walked over to me.
“He won’t be. I fixed it. I promise.”
A small miracle, she doesn’t argue with me. Only squeezes my hand and gives me silent permission to take her home.
In ten days I’ll be married to her.
In ten days she will be my bride.
It can’t come fast enough