Chapter 7
SEVEN
Marchello
My next plan of action was the most dangerous one yet, but my family always said that men of action came out on top.
I hoped they were right, because this holding pattern had been going on long enough. We had to make a move and get back to the business of bringing our father home.
It was time for us to make a move. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Lorenzo could be a formidable opponent or a useful ally. I had yet to decide which one, so for now, I had to play nice and work with him. Although, working well with others was never really my strong point.
Milo looked around the private club where we had dinner the night before as we waited for Lorenzo to join us. “Maybe we should think about getting into the hotel business. Somewhere tropical. Off-shore accounts.”
“It has possibilities.” I swirled the vodka around my glass as I sat at the bar. “Let’s get the old man home first and then we can entertain it.”
“I heard from Juan.”
“And?”
“There’s a soldier from the Bello family hiding in Sicily.” Milo leaned against the bar. “They think he’s responsible for stealing from Bello and he went into hiding.”
“Why hasn’t Bello handled it?”
“I don’t know, but Juan thinks that if this guy has any information on what happened to the head of the cartel’s nephew, we might be able to offer him protection in exchange for information.”
“Getting mixed up in Bello’s private matters could be risky,” I said.
“I’m willing to take that risk if it brings Dad home.”
“I agree.” I nodded as Lorenzo came toward us. “You can check it out.”
“I’m already on it,” Milo said.
Lorenzo joined us at the bar and took a seat next to me. “I hope you’re enjoying your stay. Where is the lovely Lissia?”
“She spent the afternoon at the spa.” I told Lissia to give me some time with Lorenzo so we could negotiate terms for our new partnership. “She’ll be joining us shortly.”
“Perfect.” Lorenzo nodded. “I’m having dinner set up on my private terrace for a few of my VIP guests. Your entourage is included.”
“I trust there will be ample security?” Milo asked. “We can’t be too careful.”
My brother’s attention to detail was top-notch. As carefree as he appeared, he was always thinking. He stayed a step ahead of everyone. I trusted him with my life.
“All is in order, but you are definitely welcome to have a look for yourself.” Lorenzo took out his cell. “I’ll text my head of security and tell him you and a few of your men are coming to evaluate the logistics of tonight’s event.”
When Milo looked at me, I nodded. It couldn’t hurt.
“We appreciate that,” I said. “Given the current climate of my business and having Lissia here with me, I have to take every precaution.”
“I don’t blame you.” Lorenzo composed and sent a quick text. “I want our association to work out. I’ll do what you need to trust me. I want Lissia safe too.”
“Thank you,” Milo said. “I’ll grab a few men and check it out.”
“The head of security is waiting on the top floor to greet you by the elevators,” Lorenzo said. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Stay with your guards,” I instructed Milo. “We’ll touch base in a bit.”
Things had been going too smoothly since we arrived. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was not a pleasant feeling.
“Would you like another drink?” Lorenzo nodded when the bartender placed a glass in front of him. “Thank you, Cherri.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Garcia.” The bartender with fake lashes and long red fingernails smiled at me. She’d been doing that since I walked in. “Would you like another?”
“No, thank you.” I pushed my empty glass away from me, taking in her sleeve tattoo that went from her wrist to her toned shoulder. She was an attractive woman, but she wasn’t as stunning as Lissia. “I’ll wait for my date.”
I gazed around, noting the exits and keeping tabs on most of the people in the room. There weren’t many but enough to make me aware of who was here.
“I take inventory of my surroundings too.” Lorenzo set his glass on the bar. “Men in our line of work have to be alert.”
“Always.” My father taught me from a young age to be aware of my environment and always have an escape plan.
“Is something bothering you?” Lorenzo asked.
“Not bothering me, but I am curious.”
“About?”
“You said you wanted me to trust you, but we haven’t negotiated any terms. I haven’t agreed to anything yet. How do you know you can trust me?”
“That’s a good question.” He ran his fingers along the smooth granite bar top. “I don’t trust easily, and you’ve recently made my business complicated. But as I said last night, your association with your cartel puts you in a strong position. If I can manage a deal with you, it works to my advantage.”
“Working with you helps me too,” I said. “For several reasons.”
“You need Gian and Collins to back off so you can do business as usual.”
“It’s been difficult lately.”
“Ever since you and Lissia got together?”
“You could say that.”
“I did a little research after our meeting last night.” He shook his head. “You took Lissia against her will.”
“That’s what her family believes, but trust me, you can’t make that woman do anything she doesn’t want to do.” I shrugged. “I have a feeling you already know that about her.”
“Lissia is quite the mischief maker.” He laughed. “I have some wonderful memories of her during our childhood. I may have given you a hard time last night with all the stories, and she played right along with me, but we were nothing more than friends. I adore her.”
“Why did you lose contact with one another?” I asked.
“We got older.” He lifted his glass from the bar. “Our fathers didn’t do as much business together and life got in the way. We fell out of touch.”
“It’s an odd coincidence that she walked back into your life now, isn’t it?”
“I can assure you, Marchello, I didn’t know she was with you.” He looked into his glass. “When I struck a deal with Collins to move my products through New York City, I had no idea Gian Gallanti was the means to make that happen. Collins was the middleman, and I only worked with him.”
“I took out that shipment in retaliation to Collins and Gian coming after me,” I said. “It had nothing to do with you.”
“Collins had me believe otherwise.”
“Then why did you agree to this meeting?”
“Something was off, and then Juan contacted me and said I should meet with Nico Accetti’s sons. I thought that might be in my best interest.” He finished his drink. “When you walked in here with Lissia, I realized I was right.”
It always comes back to my girl, doesn’t it?
“When she told me she was being forced to marry Collins, that infuriated me, but when she said he took her from you and abused her, well that was enough for me.”
“I’m going to make him pay for that.”
“What about Gian? Are you going to make him pay too?”
“That’s a bit more sensitive.”
“Because of your relationship with his daughter?”
I couldn’t admit that I had reservations about taking Gian out without looking weak. If I admitted that there was the slightest chance that I would spare Gian, I could put my family in danger.
“She wasn’t supposed to mean anything to me.” I didn’t think that I even believed that anymore. If I hadn’t wanted her from the moment I saw her, I would have made sure nothing happened between us. “I’m trying to protect her.”
“I believe that.”
“Gian needs this alliance with Collins. With my father being underground, the two of them together are strong enough to cause a serious rift in my organization. Some of the other families are already siding with Gian because I took Lissia.”
“I can see how that’s a problem.”
“What is it that you want from our association?” I asked.
The terms needed to be spoken. I had to get back to New York, and the longer we put off negotiations, the longer it would take for me to return home.
“Do you want to get into that without your… How do you Italians say it? Your consigliere?”
“That’s just a fancy word for an attorney. Lucas will understand that we’re having a casual discussion.”
“I’m sure you know what I want,” he said.
Of course I did, but doing what he needed could be seen as a betrayal to my cartel—the larger cartel with a long-standing agreement with my family. The one the Accetti family had pledged allegiance to.
“I’m sure you know the unique set of problems moving your products through my ports would cause.” I stretched out my legs. “The conflict of interests. How others might see it as a betrayal.”
“I’m sure we could figure something out.” He furrowed his brow. “Don’t you think so?”
Enemy or ally?
“I need a way to move my shipments on the east coast. I’ll forgive what happened to my last shipment if you allow me to use your ports and warehouses.”
I couldn’t show my cards yet. I wanted to hold onto that shipment for as long as I could before using it as a bargaining chip. I needed to consult with Lucas, and we needed to see how Juan felt about me working with Lorenzo.
If there was ever a time I needed my father, now was it.
“I can see you’re being pulled in many directions,” Lorenzo said. “I’ll give you time to think things over as a courtesy to Lissia. I’m sentimental that way.”
“I appreciate that.”
Lorenzo looked over my shoulder, something catching his attention. “I can see why you’re willing to go to war. She’s enough to make any man insane.”
“Tell me about it.”
A few gasps and some chatter played out behind me as I turned to find Lissia making her entrance into the room with Randy close behind her. All eyes were on her as she held up her head with such confidence and sauntered into the bar area wearing a strapless powder blue dress.
She’d caught the attention of both men and women. Something about her intrigued people. The sensual way she moved made them pause with wonder like that night at the auction. Everyone was aware of her presence, including me, even if I didn’t want to admit it back then.
She had me long before she opened her sarcastic mouth and taunted me with her cute, Jersey accent and snide remarks.
I smiled at her blushing over putting tickets in the basket to win the Gucci bag. She didn’t need to win any raffle. I could buy her a bag for every day of the week.
Her sun-kissed skin glowed under the lighting as her long, thick hair streamed over her shoulders. I wanted to take her back to the safe house and keep her under lock and key so no one could ever hurt her.
When she spotted me, she smiled like I was the only man in the room. Her man. Could I do everything to keep her safe? The more time I spent fighting this war with her father and trying to keep my own family on top, I put her in danger.
My gut churned with nerves with each step she took toward me. I should have been ecstatic to have such a goddess willing to stand by my side. Instead, all I could see was her approaching a car that was about to explode.
No!
An uneasiness settled in my soul—a premonition of darkness that took hold of me and wouldn’t let go.
What the fuck?
“She’s absolute perfection.” Lorenzo’s voice brought me back to reality. “But you have to ask yourself, is she worth it?”