10. Salvatore
ten
Salvatore
After I escorted Isabel to the room of my suite, I waited outside for Dante. I called for him to guard Isabel. The prize I caught is too precious to have it guarded by anyone other than him.
He is the only man I can trust to do this properly. It’s not my men I don’t trust, it’s her. I need to be careful because I don’t know what she’s capable of. Dante will know what to do in any situation, and he is not easily fooled. Maybe it’s because of his lack of emotions or how everything needs to be logical to him. Either way, I can rely on him.
I gave Isabella two weeks. The sooner I make an alliance with Ruggeri, the better, making me one step ahead of Sabatini.
I could have just made arrangements and shipped her back to her father, but I knew she would never choose that route. Besides, marriage is perfect for any kind of alliance with Ruggeri.
I need this marriage, not that I have ever wanted to get married. Marriage leads to a family, but my world is too cruel to bring a child into. And I don’t plan on bringing any into this world.
Isabel will not get a house with a white picket fence or two-point-four children. What she gets is a choice. I gave her the chance to choose her own boundaries and terms; she refused. Now, I get to set the terms of our marriage.
This is only business. A strategy to use against my enemies. It doesn’t matter that she smells like citrus and flowers or the way she looks at me with her big brown eyes filled with secrets, trying to figure me out. I don’t know what I want from her, but what I do know is that I will use her as a bargaining chip.
However, I don’t want any blood to be shed or innocent people to die. This is what I worked for. This is my legacy, one I killed my father for, and I will not let anything or anyone stand in my way.
I exit the elevator, stroll toward Gabriel’s office, and enter without knocking. I find him with a sour look on his face as he scrolls on his phone.
“Why the look?” I ask as I sit in the chair in front of his desk.
“De Angelo called. He has established power in a few locations his father had before. He’s establishing his authority more and more every day. However, he still wants that meeting.”
“Arrange the meeting in three days, on his territory. And ask him for another shipment of weapons. We need to be prepared if we get attacked.” I inspect his face. “But I suppose that’s not the reason for your discomfort?”
“Actually, it is.” He pushes a hand through his hair. “Look, when I was there last time, I almost hooked up with a girl. However, before anything happened, I found she was De Angelo’s sister. After I found out who she was, I left, though I’m not sure what her intentions were that night. From what we know about them, they are not that conservative. However, she was a bargaining chip to her father. He was looking for a high bidder to give her to before he got arrested. I’m not sure she told her brother that I almost fucked her, and I sure didn’t.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Will this be a problem for you working with De Angelo?”
“No, of course not. I just wanted you to know before the meeting.”
“Noted. Just so you know,” I add, with a grin, “you are going to bear any consequences if there are any to be.”
He stays silent and nods before running his hand over his face.
Changing the subject, I say, smirking, “I gave Isabel two weeks’ notice about the wedding. I need you to organize everything. Maximum fifty people and ask her who she wants to be present. Just a small ceremony in the church.”
He raises his eyebrows, a bemused look on his face. It is his turn to question me.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s for technical reasons. She is a devoted Catholic, as is her family. Marrying in front of God is the only thing they will take seriously.”
He raises his hands in defeat. “I didn’t say anything.”
“But you wanted to. I can read your expressions.”
“Well, like I told you, it is a good idea. But don’t get lost in the game, Salvatore.”
“I won’t.” At least, I hope I won’t.
As soon as my plane touched down in Chicago, we were all on high alert. This was not our territory, but I had ten of my people with me and Gabriel. Dante stayed in New York, watching over Isabel.
It has been three days since I locked her in my suite. In those three days, I avoided her. I took a room on the floor beneath the suite and kept busy. Away from her. She kept asking about me, but I refused to talk to her. I gave her space to think and realize that there was no other option and that there is no way out of our little arrangement.
Gabriel asked her about the ceremony, and as suspected, she declined to discuss it with him, demanding to talk to me. I want… no, I need her to stew a little more.
First, I need to secure De Angelo’s cooperation. I need the product he can get me and his partnership in the war against Sabatini.
As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Four cars are waiting for us, and in front of them is a young man who looks like a young James Dean, wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He looks like a college student going to a frat party, not a capo in the making.
“I thought he was older,” I say to Gabriel.
“He is twenty-seven. Besides, he’s lying low. He needs to blend in with the people on the streets. Connect with them. For now, the only business he owns legally and as a formality is the gym. He is, after all, an excellent boxer. Even if he studied, it was more for his father. As you would say, for tactical reasons.”
His taunting comment doesn’t pass me by.
“Fuck you, asshole,” I say. I get off the plane and stride toward Nico De Angelo.
“De Angelo, it is a pleasure to meet you,” I say, giving him my hand.
He takes it. “The pleasure is all mine. Call me Nico. After all, we are beyond the formalities.”
“Sure we are.” I scan my surroundings before I slide into the waiting SUV, Gabriel beside me and Nico in the front with another guy.
“This is Mack. He will stay by my side today.” I can feel Gabriel stiffen beside me when Mack smirks in the review mirror. I want to ask what Gabriel’s problem is, but knowing what he said to me, it has to be because of his visit last time.
Mack doesn’t say a word as he starts the car and drives us to our destination.
The famous gym is situated in a crowded neighborhood in the downtown of the city.
The moment we enter the gym, we’re hit with the scent of sweat and the sound of flesh slapping. In the ring is a young woman who is landing punches on a man. He looks in good shape, but he has no clue how to fight.
Nico curses and whistles to the young man who was standing in the small crowd around the ring, summoning him with a wave of his fingers.
“What happened?” Nico asks.
“The guy was training with Zack when she showed up. She was doing her thing when he started saying things he shouldn’t. She warned him not to insult her, but he kept going. The rest I don’t need to tell you.”
“Damn.” He shrugs his jacket off and jumps into the ring, pulling her from the guy.
I turn to look at Gabriel, who is staring at the people in the ring, his eyes shining with admiration and a smirk on his face.
“I can see it now.” I chuckle.
“You can see what?” he asks, his eyes never leaving the ring.
“Why you would stay here for a week. Is she the infamous sister?”
“Fuck you.”
Nico comes back holding a young woman. Her huge green eyes hold a mischievous look that is directed at Gabriel, her long ash blond hair in two braids that fall down her sides.
“Sorry about this. Give me five and I will be back with you. You can look around. Be my guest,” Nico says before he drags her with him. She gives Gabriel a dirty look.
I click my tongue. My eyes focused on Gabriel. “That’s one wildcat.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “Let’s take a tour. After all, it reminds me of old times.”
I chuckle.
We don’t have to wait long before De Angelo joins us. After the tour, that we only took for pretense, he took us under the gym where he keeps the goods.
“These are not on the market yet. There are no serial numbers, and they are not in the system. They have been made for a special unit in the Middle East. Of course, my source has taken this on the side for me.” He opens the cases. Black synthetic stock gleams softly under the ambient light, and the metallic barrels exude a quiet sense of power.
“How many are in there?”
“Four, as you requested. It was a little tricky, but my guy made it work.”
I nod, and he moves toward the other case, opening it.
“These were easy to get, cheaper, and available on the market for everyone.” He grins and takes one gun out. “The difference is, these do not have a serial number. However, they have sixteen rounds. Once the magazine is empty…” He presses the release switch, and the magazine falls into his hand. “…You just replace it with a full round of sixteen. Little less than your usual Glock, only this does extensive collateral damage.”
I take the shotgun from him. This is a semiautomatic shotgun. I inspect the weapon, taking my time with it, hoping this weapon will only hurt my enemies.
I place it back into the case. I look at Nico, his hazel eyes gleaming with anticipation. He knows he has what I want. “I’ll take them. At the price you stated. I’ll give you a one million bonus and will consider helping you to claim back your family’s position. I’ll even put a few good words to Commission for you. But first, you will need to do something for me.” His lips twitch as I lay out my request. “It is in the best interest for both of us. That way, I will know how much I can trust you.”
“Name it.”
“I have someone who is threatening me. Wants to take over my territory, but we both know I will never allow it. Therefore, I may go into a war. And if so, I expect you to be by my side as an ally. The situation is imminent. Things will develop in the next few weeks, a month tops. After that, I may need something from you and, as an ally, I expect your cooperation. After that, I’m ready to negotiate all the ways I can help you.”
Nico doesn’t say anything. His eyes glimmer as we stare at each other. We both need each other. While I would never work with his father, I will with him. As expected, he offers his hand to me.
“Fine by me. I will help you in any way I can.”
I take his hand, sealing the deal.
The second part of my plan is making the deal with Nico De Angelo, leaving me one step closer to my goal.
Part one is my marriage to Isabella. That will lead to my alliance with her father and will establish more power within crime organizations.
After my father’s death, I have been struggling to erase the sex trafficking ring from our business. It has been almost a year since I made a bloody statement and killed the bastard who thought he could conspire against me.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t working alone. A few of my father’s men have been missing since that day. One of them is my father's consigliere. I still need to find the son of a bitch.
Someone has been giving information to Sabatini about the family business, and I have a few suspects. But better than fighting the enemy, I will pull the rug from under their feet.
And that will be my marriage with Isabella Ruggeri and an alliance with ‘Ndrangheta. They will not see this coming. The huge contributor to my plans is Isabella, and she didn’t even know it.
When she showed up in my hotel, she poked the bear. Little did she know that I’m no bear. I’m the hunter, and I will hunt them all down and use her as bait.