21. ~Nico~
21
~Nico~
“Why do you keep staring at your phone?”
I jolted and looked up from it to see Caterina eyeing me with a whole lot of concern.
“What?”
“You were doing it before we left the Manor, then when we stopped for you to have that smoke break on the way here where you paced up and down, claiming that your stressed state was just a result of heading to this meeting with Carlo Benzino, and now you’ve pulled your phone out three times and stared at something on the screen in the last twenty minutes since we’ve been here awaiting Carlo’s arrival.
“I don’t like keeping secrets from the three of you. It leaves us misinformed and risks causing distrust, and a whole lot of things that aren’t conducive to a strong family dynamic.”
Something flickered in her eyes, and then she looked away. “I know,” she murmured.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I’m just concerned about this, why you’re being cagey, and why you seem so distracted ahead of a meeting where we need our full focus.”
“Fuck.” She was right. I needed to be at the top of my game. I couldn’t have anything interfering with that.
I needed to get this shit off my chest. I had to tell her. Now.
Even though I couldn’t tell the person who it impacted the most, I could at least take some of the edge off by telling Caterina.
“Late last night, Carlo sent me this.”
I spun my phone and showed her the text that had come in.
She moved in close and frowned, reading it over.
Carlo: Here’s that intel I promised you. Sorry for the delay. I wanted to give you the necessary time to deal with the complications of the Angelo Simone situation before forwarding this. And to give you all the necessary time to stabilize as this will challenge that. I trust that you will handle it appropriately. Ensure you do, Nico. A great deal hangs in the balance. You must proceed carefully. That necessary show of force to push back the Leones and Marchettis notwithstanding—that was a smart move.
“What intel?”
I took my phone back and opened the attachments that had come along with it. “Here.”
She looked through it all, her eyes widening as she did, as she connected the dots and put together what I had.
The very thing that had kept me awake most of the night.
And the thing that had made it a hell of a struggle to even look Milo in the eye before we’d left, and before I’d sent him out to finalize the last stages of prepping for the upcoming operation within a couple of days.
Evidence that had been kept buried for years at the request of the three families alliance, so as not to rock the boat.
Particularly for the Marchettis.
Fuck, no, particularly for my father.
It was yet another attempt to control me and keep me in line.
They’d known well that if I’d discovered this back then, things wouldn’t have progressed as they had, certainly not when it came to the power structure within the Marchetti Syndicate.
I’d been wrong about my father becoming unhinged due to losing my mother.
Seeing this now, it was clear that had occurred before she’d even fallen sick for those couple of years.
It had started during the war between the three families years ago.
It had shifted something in him.
And Leo had taken full advantage of that to infect my father with his reckless and heavy-handed approach to every fucking thing. His ruthless and risky way of doing everything.
“DNA evidence,” Caterina mused to herself, as she scanned everything available. “Even transcripts of verified phone calls between Marco and Leo back then. The latter caught on surveillance that Carlo had sent to himself before it was destroyed when the house was blown to smithereens. Obviously, to wipe evidence of the kills.”
“Or so they thought. Carlo had been so suspicious of it all, that he’d sent in his own forensics team to check it out before anybody else got in there, before the Marchettis wiped everything—the soldiers under my father’s command.”
“According to this, Carlo even still has the gun in his possession that was used that night at the house.”
I grimaced at the mention of the house again.
Because that house had been Milo’s family home.
That gun had been used to murder his father, Enzo, and his mother, Rosa.
I scrubbed my hand over my face. “It’s here clear as day. The evidence is undeniable. Leo Marchetti murdered Milo’s parents.”
“Yeah,” she murmured, handing my phone back to me. “This is… it’s horrific. Shit .”
“Milo wanted answers desperately back then, but my father instituted a cover up, telling us both that it had been a mistake during the war, that the Benzinos were to blame, that the Bardi house being blown up had been accidental collateral damage.”
“When, in fact, Leo had stormed into the house and murdered them both with a bullet to the brain, and the explosion was just to hide that fact.”
“Leo wanted the position of Underboss so badly that he orchestrated it. And my father wasn’t innocent in it like I’d always thought. The way he portrays himself… that deal with Malcolm Lynch… I’d believed that to be an anomaly. Until he allied with Santino, I thought I could get him back on track if I could just remove Leo’s influence over him, but… it was all bullshit from the beginning.”
“It’s why it’s a good thing that you escalated, that when the marriage directive came down from on high, you chose to fight against the entire system instead of trying to save it.”
“I know, I just… Milo’s parents died so Leo could take power that he never would have gotten with Enzo Bardi still alive. He was the Underboss you fucking dreamed of. The guy believed hardcore in honor and loyalty. In family. And they ripped somebody like that from this world for this.”
“They didn’t want any opposition to the rash, dangerous, and insane approach they wanted to take with the Syndicate. They got rid of Enzo and they tried to leash you.”
“Milo’s going to be heartsick over this. Even after he lost his parents, he still stayed loyal to the Marchetti Syndicate. For me. And yet my father had done this? It’s… all these years he’s given up so much of himself for a system that’s been broken longer than we even realized, for a system that was rotten to the fucking core.” I looked out at her, so stricken by it, too. “It wasn’t until you came into our lives that it shifted things, that I decided to fight it. You were the catalyst.”
“The straw that broke the camel’s back?”
“Essentially. But I should’ve done it sooner.”
“You weren’t in a position to do it sooner, Nico. And we didn’t have all the information then. Besides, we were under the impression that keeping our heads down was better for all of us, rather than fighting back and starting our own war that risked all our lives.”
“But it wasn’t,” I seethed.
“And we’re remedying that now. With every move we make, we are. This very meeting today with Carlo Benzino, in fact.” She reached out and stroked my bicep. “Keep your eye on the prize and everything will fall into place. We’ll take those fuckers down. We will win out. You can’t let this brutal revelation knock you off track. What happened can’t be undone. All we can do is control what we do now.”
I stepped into her and brushed my lips over hers. “Thank you.”
I slid my hands down to her hips and breathed her in, taking in that familiar sweet scent from her, and the leather of her turquoise jacket.
It was a strain not to take it further than a brief kiss.
With everything going on, especially Julian’s situation at the Manor, I’d kept my hands off her for days on end.
I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep to that, though.
I’d had to remove my hand from her thigh during the drive because just that touch had threatened to get me too worked up.
I fucking wanted her. I needed her. And I knew the boys were feeling it too.
Julian had started talking about sex like he used to, he’d stopped using the cane, and he seemed to be coming back to himself.
Seemed to. He had another appointment with his therapist right now, so I’d see how that had been once we got back to the Manor, and we’d take it from there.
As for now, I needed to be focused.
So I eased from Caterina and stepped back.
Fortunately, as I did, my attention was redirected from her to the sound of a car approaching.
We watched as Carlo’s striking Ferrari in Blu Scozia rounded the corner into the lot of the abandoned apartment building a few miles outside the city.
It came to a stop a couple of stops over from mine, then Carlo climbed out in a royal blue pinstripe suit.
The passenger door opened, and he was joined by somebody I hadn’t laid eyes on since the last three families meeting months ago.
Remo Caruso, the Underboss of the Benzino Family.
He was in his mid-forties, sporting that maroon bomber jacket that was basically like a second skin to him. Just like the black beanie that always covered his head, come rain or shine. The jacket barely served to contain his bulk and toned muscle, the guy my height. As he closed the door, I caught sight of a holstered Sig strapped to his black jeans. He adjusted his matching t-shirt and hid the piece beneath it.
As Carlo strolled toward us with Remo at his back, swinging his head every which way and scanning the immediate vicinity carefully, he gestured at the apartment building just behind him. “I’m looking at turning this entire thing into a housing complex and building some retail space down the road. For newcomers to the city. Housing prices are cheaper outside here, but the commute’s fair. For young professionals, maybe.” He looked at Caterina. “Maybe I could pick your brain about it sometime?”
She smiled pleasantly. “We’ll set up a call when you’re ready.”
She looked surprised too, given that, aside from my father’s comment at the wedding, this was the first person amongst the three families who’d actually shown respect to her for her business acumen, even asking for her advice. Actually seeing her worth.
Of course, though, Carlo Benzino made it his business to understand his audience, and all those whom he dealt with.
Then again, he could have just as easily blown past that and gotten straight down to business. He already knew we were willing to ally with him. That led me to believe that his comments to her were actually genuine, more than a necessary manipulation.
“Excellent,” he said, settling before us and shoving his hands into his suit jacket pocket.
“Nico,” Remo greeted me agreeably.
“Long time,” I responded.
He smiled, then his gaze flicked to Caterina. “Congratulations on snagging the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Carlo and I were saying that it was about time. You should’ve won it last year, honestly.”
I knew well that it was exactly what she’d thought too. During my stalking, I’d overheard her saying as much to her architect, Nova Henderson.
“Thank you. I just wish the timing of receiving it had been more desirable.”
“Santino’s vindictiveness knows no bounds, I’m afraid,” Carlo commented.
“Especially toward his own daughter,” Remo basically spat in disgust.
“Well, that’s one of the things we’ve allied to combat,” I cut in, before it fired Caterina up—in a detrimental way. Especially when cooler heads needed to prevail for this meeting. And her father was definitely one of her triggers for her monstrous side.
“It certainly is,” Carlo agreed. “Thank you, both for the information regarding Marco’s proposed attacks and for letting us in on the Shawn Price situation concerning Santino and Angelo. Should you require additional resources for the latter, you need only ask.”
“The operation is set, thank you.”
“Then we’ll discuss other urgent matters.”
Remo told us, “Thanks to your intel, we’re well-prepared to stave off Marco’s attacks.”
“We need to use this as an opportunity to do more than that,” I spoke. “With our assault on Santino’s and Marco’s joint business venture the day before, we’ll already have them reeling.”
“And Marco has already taken a hit from his deal with Lynch collapsing,” Caterina pointed out.
“Exactly. This is our chance to strike.”
“You do this and there won’t be any question as to where you truly stand,” Carlo warned. “They will all see this as much more than you merely responding emotionally to what Angelo did to those you hold dear. This will be a definitive stand. You will be classed unequivocally as their enemy. All four of you will, those soldiers who follow you as well. There will be no going back.”
“We’re all aware of the stakes and what this will bring about.”
Carlo’s lip curled. “Well then, let us prepare for war.”
Yes, fucking let’s.