36. Saverio
36
SAVERIO
T wo days later, with Raffaele on Lucia watch, I meet up with the Terlizzi brothers. Alone. Dante selects a warehouse out by the airport in Manhattan.
The warehouse is cold as I step inside, the air thick with the scent of metal and oil. I can taste it pervading my mouth as I lean against the wall, waiting. Dante isn’t the kind of guy who shows up late. The Terlizzi brothers might hate me, but this involves their sister. They’ll be here, and they’ll listen, but they sure as hell won’t make this easy for me.
I hear the door creak open, and Dante walks in first. He wears a scowl that makes him look ten years older. He’s followed by Luciano, Salvatore, and, surprisingly, Niccolo. They move like a pack, instinctively positioning themselves for confrontation. There’s no greeting, no handshake, no casual exchange of ‘how have you been?’ It’s just cold stares and tension.
I push off the wall and meet their glares head-on. If they want to go at it, fine, but I’m not here to be pushed around by the big bad Terlizzi brothers.
“What the fuck is this about, Saverio?” Dante barks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Lucky said your brother was stalking Lucia? You better have a plan before I decide to handle him myself.”
“ Half brother,” I correct. We might have the same father, but Kristopher and I are not family—not anymore. “And you’ll need my help to deal with Kristopher whether you like it or not.”
Luciano narrows his eyes, his jaw tightening in frustration. “You’re the reason she’s in this mess in the first place. Don’t act like you’re the savior here, stepping in at the last minute as if you’re some kind of hero. We both know the truth.”
I lock eyes with him, my voice sharp. “Maybe. But this isn’t about me,” or at least I hope it isn’t. I don’t know why Kristopher would follow my fiancé around, but it better not have to do with me, or else he’s dead. “This is about Lucia. Three years ago, someone was stalking her, breaking into her house, and terrorizing her.”
Dante’s jaw drops imperceptibly, and it occurs to me that Lucia might not have told her brothers the whole truth. “Guess we’re all in the same boat then,” I comment. “She didn’t tell me everything, either.”
“Why would she tell you anything?” Luciano sneers.
I bite my tongue to keep from lashing out at him and saying we’ve been fuck buddies for years. “We have a relationship, yes. Is that a problem?”
Luciano takes a step forward, but Dante and Salvatore each grab an arm and hold him back. “You don’t have a relationship with my sister,” Luciano hisses. “You are forcing her to marry you. That’s what you have. You have an arranged marriage that she’s never going to agree to.”
I don’t tell him that it’s not her decision. “One of these days, Terlizzi, we’re going to be family. Make no mistake, I will marry Lucia whether she agrees to it or not.”
Before the arguing can escalate, Dante asks, “What’s the plan?” His voice is calm and practical, cutting through the bullshit to get to the point. “What do you need us to do?”
“We can fuck Kristopher up,” Niccolo offers with a casual shrug, his eyes glinting with a hint of malice. For a professor at Blackmore University, Niccolo has more blood on his hands than some of my men. He’s no stranger to violence, having once beaten his own wife’s uncles to a bloody pulp without so much as breaking a sweat.
“I considered it, but no. Kristopher’s got a lot of skeletons in his closet. He’s made a lot of deals with dangerous people over the years, including one that got him the money for the bar he bought. I’ve spoken to some of his old associates within the Destroyers. They didn’t have much love for him back then, and they don’t now, either.”
Dante lets out a scoff, shaking his head. “So what? You think chatting up some bikers is going to scare Kristopher into confessing?”
“No,” I say flatly. “But he knows I went to see them. If anything, he’s shitting bricks right now. He’s hiding even more than what they told me.”
Luciano is still fuming, but there’s a shift in his eyes. He knows I’m right. He hates it, but he knows it.
“So, what do you need us for?” Niccolo’s tone is lighter but still tinged with a quiet, simmering hostility. “Why can’t your guys help you?”
I turn to him, keeping my voice calm and measured. “I need you there when I confront him. Sure, my guys could do it, but guys can be paid off. Men are always looking to score an extra buck under the table, always chasing that next payday. If Kristopher gets cute, he could bribe any of my men with the right amount of cash. But he can’t bribe Lucia’s brothers. You’ll never let him get away with what he’s done. Your loyalty isn’t for sale, and he knows it. Your presence alone will make him sweat bullets, maybe even crack under the pressure.”
Dante steps forward with his fists now clenched at his sides. “If that bastard is responsible for terrorizing my baby sister, I’ll tear him apart. You don’t need a fucking plan for that, Castiglione.”
I meet his stare, instantly understanding the passion in it. He loves Lucia; there’s no doubt he’s willing to do anything for her, consequences be damned. In another lifetime, in another world, perhaps, we might have been friends or even brothers. Maybe then he’d understand that I love Lucia just as deeply, that I, too, would move heaven and earth for her without hesitation. “I get it, Dante. Believe me, I do. But we need to find out the truth first.”
“You’re asking us to put a lot of trust in you,” Luciano speaks again, his voice lower and less hostile.
I don’t flinch at the unspoken accusation. “I’m not asking for your trust, Terlizzi. I’m asking for your cooperation. We all want the same thing—for Lucia to be safe.”
Salvatore crosses his arms and nods slowly. “Fine. But we’re doing this right. No surprises. Everybody goes into this knowing everything everybody else does.”
“Agreed,” I say, grateful for Salvatore’s practicality. “I’ll handle the talking. Your job is to keep him contained. He’ll see you all there and know that if he tries anything, he’s not getting out of the room alive.”
Niccolo runs a hand through his slightly disheveled hair; his brow furrowed in concern as he glances around the dimly lit warehouse at his brothers. “And what if he doesn’t crack? What if he calls your bluff?”
“He won’t,” I reply, my voice hard. “And if he does—” I glance at Dante, whose fists are still clenched. “Then we’ll handle it your way.”
Dante offers a cold, cruel smile, the kind that promises violence. “We’ll try it your way, Castiglione. But if you screw this up, Saverio, I swear to God?—”
“I won’t,” I cut him off. “I want to get to the bottom of this just as much as you do.”
Another heavy silence falls over the warehouse, but it’s different now. The decision has been made; the lines have been drawn.
No matter how much I may hate the men in this room, we share a common goal. We all want to protect Lucia. They may want to see me fail, but not if it costs them their sister’s safety. We have a tentative alliance, at least for the time being.