29. Salvatore
twenty-nine
Salvatore
I watch Isabella and her friend Cecilia from the monitor in my office. They are drinking and talking over the loud music of the club. When she said she needed a girls’ night out, this was the last place I thought she would come to.
I wasn’t even here. After Bastian called me, I left my meeting and drove straight over.
They are in the VIP area, and according to Bastian, they haven’t moved from their table.
“Are you going to keep looking at that screen all night?” Gabriel interrupts my screen ogling.
“I didn’t ask you to follow me.”
From beside me, Marco throws a dart, and it hits just below center.
“I win.” Dante moves from the wall and picks up the darts.
The three of them followed me here after I left the meeting with my underbosses. The meeting was over anyway. I just didn’t want to let them keep talking about the same thing.
Fucking Sabatini and how to catch him.
I appreciate their attempts to come up with a solution, but none of them worked for me. Yes, we need some strategies, but my mind was elsewhere.
Luca, my underboss, was the only one who didn’t say anything. Because he knows it isn’t his place. But if I go down, they are all going down with me, and that is the problem. At least he has most of his business legalized.
Matteo has newly taken over and his power is growing, but he needs to establish himself more. He and all his men will do as I say and want, no discussion needed.
His father is more skeptical. Even if he says he stands with me, I can’t forget he worked under my father. His eldest, Enzo, is on my side. We have a similar vision of where the future of our family and its organization should be going.
What they think doesn’t matter. They all work for me. No matter how much power they got, their companies are mine. I own fifty-one percent of each of their businesses.
“We need to find him. Look under the smallest rock. I don’t care. I need this to end.” I need things to go back to the way they were before. Before my sense of responsibility was taken over by recklessness.
“I talked with Di Angelo,” Gabriel says. He shifts in his seat. “He is checking his men. They captured a few traitors, who are under interrogation at the moment. As soon as he has some information, he will call.”
“Good.” I take my eyes off the screen and look at him. “How are wedding preparations going?” In two months, he is supposed to get married to Di Angelo’s sister.
He pinches the bridge of his nose, exhaling. “My mother and mother-in-law are deep in preparations. I don’t have any idea what they are planning. I told them to leave me out of it.”
“Good. Let’s hope this alliance gives us peace of mind, as did the one with ‘Ndrangheta.”
The days after we came back from Italy were followed by Ruggeri’s call that he and the mandamento decided to cut all ties with Sabatini, leaving him with no support. This means all the support he has is a bunch of rats that can’t be trusted. Rats either from Cosa Nostra or Camorra. And when the money he has is all gone, he will not have them either.
My relationship with Isabella has changed. She is determined to peel my layers one by one to find the monster underneath. She wants to see what I’m hiding. She doesn’t even know she saw into my soul like no one ever has. Not even Gabriel knows the darkest parts of my soul.
She crashed down the high walls I built since I found the truth that will haunt me until the day I die.
Whatever she wants, I bring it to her. She wanted a house, always complaining the hotel wasn’t home. Even if I’m the owner.
So, I bought a house.
No, I bought her a house. Because after our agreement is over, I will go back to my previous life. The thought of that makes my chest contract, robbing me of my breath.
I ignore it. Just like I have been ignoring all the feelings I’ve had since I met her.
My attention goes back to the screen when a girl hugs Isabella and slides into the booth with them. She looks familiar. I try to remember where from when Marco leans in and almost glues his face to the screen, fixing his glasses.
“My, my. Am I seeing this right? You see her too, Sal? I’m not imagining her, right?”
“Who are you talking about?” I narrow my eyes.
“The pixie there with your wife.”
“Do you know her?”
“You know her.” He gives me a look like I’m missing something, one he always gives me when he explains his nerd things to me. “She planned your wedding.” He whistles and shakes his head. “Very bossy spitfire for her size.” A wide grin appears on his face and disappears when a group of guys approach their table, and they laugh with the girls.
My grim expression matches Marco’s as we watch the men flirting with the women. I don’t care that the other women are flirting because Isabella is not. She just smiles politely. The smile she learned and mastered, one usually reserved for socializing when she is not in the mood.
The group of newcomers slide into the booth with the girls, one of them too close to my wife. I stand and decide it’s time for me to show myself.
I leave the room with Marco on my heels, ignoring questions from Gabriel and Dante.
I stop at the bar and tell the bartender to forget their order because they will leave as soon as I join my wife.
I put my hand on the back of the seat, behind the guy who is too close to Isabella, and when he looks at me, confused, I bark at him. “You are in my place.”
He has the audacity to glare. “And how’s that? I think I’m in the right place. Maybe you are the one in the wrong place.”
I can see from the other side of the booth Marco having a glaring contest with the girl he called a pixie back in my office.
I tried to stay calm on my way here, but it was useless.
I edge between him and Isabella, who has a bemused look on her face. She hides her smirk with her drink. I take her free hand, the one with my ring on her finger, and kiss it. After I’m finished, I turn it to him and flash him the ring.
“See this? This is how I know you are in my place. So you’d better get lost before I rearrange your face for hitting on my wife.”
“Sorry, man. I didn’t know,” he stutters while he stands.
“Take your sorry ass out of my club. Take your friends with you and never come back here again because you are not welcome.”
He and his friends leave, escorted by Dante, who obviously followed me here with Gabriel, who is leaning on the bar, watching with a distant look on his face.
Marco slides beside the pixie, and I push Isabella deep into the booth as I sit beside her, but before she can move, I grab her hips and pull her into my lap. She startles, her hands landing on my shoulders. She bites her lip, a smirk on her face.
“That was intense.” She leans in, whispering. The scent of alcohol invades my space. “That was hot.”
I take a look at her glistening eyes. She is drunk. “How many drinks have you had?” I grab her by her nape to keep eye contact with her.
“Not many. A few shots before we came here and two margaritas. I can handle more.”
“No more drinks for you for a while,” I say and order her some water so she can sober up a little.
Dante and Gabriel join us, and the conversation changes from Cecilia and the pixie. I remember her name is Clara when she threatens Marco not to call her pixie.
Cecilia is bugging Marco, asking him if she can hire him, but he says he can’t be hired. When she begs him, he says he will think about it, depending on the task. Both Gabriel and I glare at him because his white knight syndrome will one day get him killed. Maybe not literally because we will always be there for him, but on the dark web, we can’t be much help. He is the one helping us in that field.
The mood shifts when the song changes, and the girls slide from the booth and they dance to the music. I run a hand over my face because if I see another motherfucker looking at her, I will start killing patrons at my club.
Just as I thought, a small group of men on the dance floor approach the girls, and while her friends dance with the guys, Isabella doesn’t give them any attention as she moves her hips. With her hands in her hair, she gives me a seductive grin, winking before she faces the girls, moving her ass just to play with me.
I stand, my hard cock pressing into my slacks, and in a few steps, I reach her, pulling her hips into my dick. I don’t dance, never have, but I can stand while she grinds against me.
She laughs as she leans her head on my chest, her arms around my neck while she grinds her ass on my cock. I wrap one of my hands around her stomach, pressing her to me even more, and with my other hand, I grab her chin, turn her face to me, and claim her lips in front of everyone in this club.
Her protest comes in a moan when she fights with my tongue for control.
Music forgotten, the people around us disappear until there is only us and our deep kisses.
Until a bright light flashes and the sound of an explosion comes from the other side of my club, the side where my office is. People scream, and chaos erupts.
Gabriel’s hand lands on my shoulder. “That’s Sabatini. We need to get you out of here. I already called for backup. You need to take the women and get out of here.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Di Angelo called just a minute before the explosion. Sabatini lost all the support he had. He thinks now he has nothing left, he will want to kill you as revenge for Ruggeri and Isabella.” His eyes skim the place. “You staying here is dangerous. I’ll bring the men to the house once we deal with this crisis.”
“I want him alive,” I say before I grab Isabella and we find the exit, followed by Marco and the other two women.
We leave through the fire exit, and I look around while the women climb into the waiting Escalade. Marco follows, and just as I’m about to enter, my eyes catch a figure with a raised gun behind the wall opposite the exit I came through a second ago. Before I get the chance to pull my gun, the sound of a gunshot fills the alley. I don’t look from where the sound came from because I act on instinct and my eyes lock with Isabella’s.
I don’t rely on luck, but the fact I didn’t get shot is lucky. If I moved half an inch, I would have been shot straight in my head. Instead, the bullet passed just few millimeters beside my head and hit the car window, breaking it into pieces.
I fire my gun at Sabatini. Unfortunately, when he didn’t get me, he ran away and none of the bullets I released hit him. He gets into a car and I want to go after him, but the grip on my hand stops me. Isabella’s fingers crush into my biceps, stopping me from following him.
“Get in. We need to get out of here.” I glance in the direction of where Sabatini was before I listen to her and get inside.
Valentino is in the driving seat. He brought Isabella and her friend here, as per Isabella’s request. We drive the girls home first. After that, I tell Valentino to drive us to the new place I bought.
It’s not the way I wanted to tell Isabella I bought us a house so she can feel she’s living in a real home like she wants.
“Where are we going?” she asks after we drive in a different direction than usual.
I take her hand between both of mine and bring it to my lips, kissing it. “We’ll be there soon and you’ll see.”
I could have been killed. I could have lost her and never seen her again. My heart beats hard in my chest.
She doesn’t press for more information, and I let out a breath. I can’t deal with her pushing me. Not when I’m on the edge. Losing all support led Sabatini to attack my club, or was it an attack on me?
As soon as I show Isabella the house, I will deal with the situation. By then, Gabriel should have dealt with the fallout.
We drive through the gate of the gated community and pull up in front of the stone colonial manor I bought for us.
I look through the window, satisfied with the decision I made to buy this house. After our deal is over, she will be safe here.
I exit the car first, taking in my surroundings. I turn toward the door and give her my hand.
She looks at me with confusion on her face. “Where are we?” she asks, clutching my hand.
“Home,” I say with a smile. “We’re home.”
She turns to me, her eyes searching my face for the answers. Something she does when she doubts what I’m saying.
“You own this?”
“No, I don’t. You do.”
Her lips part for a second. “I…? How?”
I give her another bright smile. “I bought it for you. You always complain about the hotel and how it’s not a home.” I take a step toward her, intertwining my hand in her hair. “This wasn’t the way I wanted to tell you. The house needs decorating. It’s not ready to move in other than one bedroom and the kitchen. I guess now you can do the decorating yourself.”
She stares at me, her eyes unblinking, glistening. Her pale cheeks turn pink.
Before I can react, she throws herself at me, kissing me. I wrap my hand around her waist and pull her toward me. Her hands pull at my hair while I lose myself in her, kissing her lips, chasing her tongue.
Coughing from behind me interrupts us, and I pull from her, remembering Marco and Valentino came here with us.
When I turn toward the sound, Marco has his tablet already in action and typing. Valentino gives me a nod. “The area is clear from the inside and outside, boss.”
My eyes turn toward Marco. “I’ll be setting you up with a security system in the next two hours since you missed informing me beforehand.” He shakes his head, worry on his face. “I’ll focus on places that are a priority for your safety before I organize the rest.” He shoots me a look over his glasses. If he was anyone else, he would already be shot dead, but I know Marco means it from concern, and he doesn’t like anything half-done.
“I wasn’t planning to move here soon,” I say.
He shrugs and keeps typing. I take Isabella’s hand and lead her through the double solid wooden doors inside the house.
We enter the foyer that spans the home from the front to the back.
Her eyes sparkle as they assess the area, taking in the surroundings. “This is beautiful.”
“Let me give you the tour.” I take her hand and lead her toward the living room. Our feet echo in the empty space as we walk on the wooden floors.
My chest expands and my heart flutters at the satisfied look on her face when she enters the grand living room, her eyes roaming the built-in cabinets and elegant trim and moldings.
I lead her to the family room with the curved ceiling windows and the fireplace in the middle.
All worry and anxiety are erased from her face as I lead her through the rest of the house. Her shining eyes and the bright smile on her face are my clue that I did well.
I lead her to the right wing of the mansion where our bedroom is. I open the door to the vast space where the king-size bed is placed in the middle. The moonlight lights up the darkness of the room through the double door on the right. I switch the light on and lead her inside.
I take her face in my hands and look at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, but I have to deal with what happened. Someone will bring your stuff to you. Please don’t leave the house until we get this situation under control.”
She shrugs. “It’s fine. I have to write anyway.” A smile spreads across her face.
I kiss her, and before I can deepen the kiss I pull away, otherwise I will never leave.
I press call on Gabriel’s name, and as soon as it rings, he answers. “Talk to me,” I say, walking into the wood-paneled library where Marco is placing the security system. Two young men I usually see at Marco’s have delivered what he needs, and they are now helping him.
Bastian came with a dozen other soldiers. Marco had pointed to their guarding spots around the mansion.
“There are a few casualties, but fortunately, no one is dead. The bomb was set in your office, which means the target was you. Your office is completely destroyed, as is the storage room. Half of the downstairs bar is gone. The bartender was lucky he was on the other end of the bar, otherwise, he would be dead.” Gabriel exhales heavily. “We were lucky those men started to flirt with the women. We would be dead too if you weren’t jealous.”
I ignore his jealousy comment and focus on what matters. “How did he get in?”
“The bomb came in one of the packages. I saw it on camera. It was placed in the office with your name on. You were obsessing about Isabella, so you didn’t see it.”
“What else?” I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Di Angelo called again. He gave me the names of our men that work with Sabatini. I’m on my way with Dante, and you will not like the information I have.”
I did not like the information Gabriel shared. I’ve been pacing the room where we temporarily set a few pieces of furniture and some electronic devices that Marco installed so we could work.
Gabriel came with the names of the men that have been working with Sabatini. They all are rats; they were picked by that traitor Bernardo, my father’s right-hand man. Rossi and Mioni. Each one of them has a small army of men that are loyal to them.
They were also my father’s captains that I stripped of their places because they stood with that bastard Bernardo when he challenged me after I killed my father. I thought Bernardo was scared and decided to retire, but it seems he had other plans. I should have known better. I should have killed him that night, but he was like a father to me, and I didn’t want to kill another person I was close to.
“I sent men to each of their homes. What do you want to do?” Gabriel asks.
I stop pacing with one thought on my mind. I need to get the situation back under control, and there is only one way to do this.
“What I should have done five years ago.” I take my gun from the table. “Kill them. Kill them all.”