Chapter 25
Rico
“We need to figure out what to do with the girl and fast,” Constantine says with frustration from his desk, Carina propped on his thigh.
One of his hands is splayed on her stomach while the other is formed into a hard fist on the desk.
Her hand rests assuringly over his. Her thumb brushes rhythmically back and forth.
“I will not stand to lose this business with Alvaro and I will certainly not lose any more of my men.”
His eyes fall on me. A silent warning and threat I can read clearly.
“How much money was lost?” Carina asks.
“Four million,” I answer.
Constantine breathes thinly through clenched teeth. A string of muttered curses in Italian poured from his lips. “How am I to explain this to Alvaro? He entrusted us with his new drug. And what have we given him in return? Absolutely no reassurance we can handle the distribution.”
“We are at war, Don,” I supply. He gives me a leveled look. “Casualties and product loss is expected.”
The muscle in his jaw ticks. “Si, but if this is to continue then what business will remain? My father was a smart man, you know this just as well as I do, Rico. If you lose the trust of one partnership others will follow in a domino effect.”
“Then we regain trust with Alavro. Our cocaine business with him is successful. This has been a rough start—” Pietro snorts. “but it will be just as profitable, if not more, than the other drugs.”
“If, and I mean a humongous if, he decides to continue another shipment, who do we trust most to store it?” Gino asks.
“Marquise,” I answer. “He should be able to handle the weight of this.”
“He’s only used to running drugs from Queens to Brooklynn. This is asking him to take on more territory,” Constantine interjects.
“He’s our most trusted distributor,” I counter. “We’ve never once had a problem with him or his runners.”
“It’s true,” Pietro agrees. “Marquise runs a tight ship. I mean his shit is so air locked that not even the cops not on our payroll can make headway.”
“It’s settled then,” Constantine says. “Set a meeting with Marquise later this week to see if he’s ready to take on more responsibility. If he proves himself with the new shipment coming in then he’ll earn himself a pay raise. Capisce?”
“Capisce,” I echo.
“In the meantime we need to send a message to Seamus. And it has to involve Imogen.”
Everything within me rejects that idea. My whole body tightens to the point of pain. “I thought we agreed no harm would come to her.”
“And none will,” Carina assures me. “But Seamus needs fear. This is the only way we can provide it. Fear is a tool, Rico. If I remember correctly you told me that.”
I had. Before Carina had accepted the darkness within herself, before she had accepted Constantine I had told her to lead in this world she had to use fear as a tool. No man would listen to her otherwise.
I despise when my own words are used against me. I can’t argue against it.
“I’ll plan it,” I tell them, my tone brooks no argument. Anything regarding Imogen goes through me. Don Constantine and Donna Carina be damned.
Constantine nods his head but the tension still resides within him.
Sensing this Carina starts to soothe him by rubbing his chest in a circular motion.
Her love and affection for him is always blatantly displayed.
I never understood the need for public displays of affection but I think for them it’s just as natural as breathing.
And I can’t help but imagine Imogen soothing me. Her hands roaming my chest. Her pillowy lips pressed against the crown of my head. Her delicate fingers running through my hair.
While I’ve always been opposed to touch I find myself longing for hers.
Dio mio. Perhaps I have lost myself to insanity after all.
“Rico,” Constantine addresses me and I return my attention to him. I incline my head. “A word before you leave.”
I nod my head. Gino disperses quietly while Pietro snickers as if I’m a child who has gotten in trouble.
“I see you and Pietro have put your differences aside,” Constantine comments.
“Si.”
“Bene. We’re a Famiglia. I know Pietro can be a bit much—”
“Only a bit?”
He chuckles. “But he is an integral part of this Famiglia.” Sobering he continues, “We had originally thought Seamus had loved his daughter enough to surrender. But it seems as if pride and vengeance for his son has taken hold of him. The war has begun and we need our core members of this Famiglia to be on the same page. To remember where our loyalties lie.”
“My loyalty lies with you and the Famiglia,” I assure him.
“And what about the girl?”
I stiffen. “What about her?”
“I’m going to ask the question again. Today you are going to provide me with a clear answer. Before I had asked what is going on with you and the girl and you had responded you don’t know. That answer isn’t acceptable. Not when you’ve brought her to our home. What is happening between you two?”
How can I explain to him what I cannot even explain to myself? The need to protect her. To be near her. The jealousy and rage. The lust and need. To want to experience everything I had never thought possible for myself.
How do I tell my Don that I want everything from her?
“We’ve come to an understanding with one another.” Is what I tell him instead. And while it’s not a lie it doesn’t nearly encapsulate the truth.
He hums, contemplating. “An understanding.”
“Si.” His eyes narrow disbelievingly. He’s always been too sharp for his own good. It’s why he’s massively successful. A great eye. An exceptional ear. A killer instinct. Constantine was born to be in the position he is today.
“Understanding or not do you know where she stands?”
By my side. “Si, Constantine.”
He raises a cool brow. “Then you are prepared for every outcome?”
I know what he’s insinuating. Using her as bait in the crossfire to end this war.
The idea repulses me, makes me physically ill.
Intentionally harming her, seeing her face etched in fear and sorrow, is not something I want to be responsible for.
But in order for us to win it’s an inevitable consequence.
“I am prepared,” I say lowly. Constantine nods his head but Carina catches my change in pitch. Her intuition is strong. It will be difficult to skate around the truth with her. “Is that all?”
“Until I hear from Alvaro, si.”
I nod my head to both of them, paying my respect before I leave.
My heart races with anticipation as I close the door behind me. Rounding the corner I stop at the sight of her.
Art in physical form.
As radiant as the sun and just as blinding.
Utterly captivating.
Feeling my presence she turns on her heel. A hitch of breath. The softest of blue eyes. But in the depths of them holds a sadness anyone can see.
“You’re upset,” I conclude and her shoulders drop further. “What happened?” I demand as I cross the floor with determined steps. She doesn’t retreat. Only waits for me to reach her.
“It must be nice,” she begins with a forlorn smile. “You have people who care for you deeply.”
I should’ve known her seeing a family dynamic would only remind her of the loss of hers. A very careless mistake on my part. This is where my lack of emotional empathy blinds me. I promise to be better aware for her sake. Sadness does not belong in her eyes.
“You have people who care for you as well.”
Her voice is painful. Eyes now on the verge of tears. “Not enough to rescue me.”
A tear does manage to escape. Before she can duck her head and hide I tip her chin upward with my forefinger. I watch as the lonely tear falls. With my thumb I gently wipe the stain from her cheek. She leans into my touch, starving for affection. Even if it’s from a monster like myself.
Perhaps I can give her a small offering. A morsel to nibble on to satisfy us both.
I reach inside my suit jacket and retrieve my pocket knife. It flicks out with a snap of my wrist.
Tantalizingly, I maneuver the tip of the knife against her skin. The vein in her neck jumps as her face and chest becomes flush. I move the blade slowly, allowing it to kiss her skin in the way I long to.
Fuck.
I lean in, my lips against the shell of her ear. She trembles before me. “You’ll rescue yourself.” Swiftly I cut the tie that binds her wrists. The rope falls between us in a quiet whoosh.
And then she does something unexpected. Something that sends my heart galloping and my blood rushing south.
She places the flat of her hands against my chest, rises to the tips of her toes and places a soft kiss to the underside of my jaw.
It’s impossible yet undeniable how her kiss warms my entire being. And I don’t understand it. I don’t understand her.
But god do I ever want to.