Chapter 22 – Nico #3
“And there was no camera footage?” My grandfather shifted. There was no missing the way his shoulders shook during the effort to move his weight in the seat.
Tony shook his head. “None, signore.”
Just a little longer.
I fought not to stare at the window. Her feet weren’t visible underneath, which meant she was perching on the sill.
Like a damn cat. I watched the men, but no one was directly facing the window.
My gaze darted over their faces, waiting to make sure no one did a double take or stared at the thick, velvet drapes.
“Then we’ll leave that mess for Carlos to deal with. So long as he brings in another shipment, we’ll give him free reign to hunt the city,” my grandfather decreed. “What I want to focus on is finding Enzo. If my underboss is alive, he may need our help. Put every man on the hunt.”
My nails bit into my palm. How dare he. How fucking dare he!
The men had actual work to do to keep this operation flowing.
The East Coast was full of jackals and other vultures.
A small slip would be seen as a sign for them to pounce.
Putting the manpower into a useless manhunt would be astronomically stupid.
The don was putting everyone at risk.
I considered the weak, old man sitting on his throne behind his desk.
He hadn’t had boots on the ground in more than four decades, not that he did much field work back then either.
Senicide was an unforgiveable act. A murder of a family member without just cause was.
But the older my grandfather grew, the more the question of just cause played through my mind.
Witnessing him drive us closer to the cliff of doom brought the crisis to a head. It would be on me to right the course. And if nature didn’t act for me, I would have to take matters into my own hands.
I hung my head. Heaven forgive me.
A knock behind me jarred those tangled thoughts. I looked to my grandfather, who gave me a nod. The door swung open, and the family doctor smiled up at me.
“Signori, mi scusa,” he chimed.
“Di nulla,” my grandfather responded. “What can we do for you, Dottore?”
“I have your evening medicine, and I would like to check your vitals, Signore.”
My grandfather scoffed. “I’m fine, Augusto.”
The doctor looked around the room for help. His gaze landed on mine. There was a plea deep in those chocolate brown eyes.
“Nonno, the good doctor is responsible for your health,” I responded. “We need you at the helm, and if a little TLC right now ensures you have years left to lead us, then call it quits tonight.”
“TLC?” Grey Tony muttered to Alfonso.
The other capo snorted. “Fuck if I know.”
“Fine,” my grandfather ground out. “You make a good point, nipote.”
His easy acquiescence shocked me. It told me how badly he actually felt.
The capos rose and began to file from the room. The don made no move to leave.
“Go join the party, Dominico.” My grandfather glared at me.
“Signore—”
“Out,” he barked. “I only want Augusto.”
A stone sank in my stomach. He could be in that room for hours at this point. Someone else would come and chat with him. He might look over the books, working until the wee hours of the morning.
Rae didn’t have that long.
I stormed from the room, blew past the ambling capos in the hall, and pushed into the party. My gaze swept over the throng until I spied my grandmother. As if she’d been waiting, her eyes turned to me. She began walking, even before I jerked my chin.
“One of the maids is missing,” she sighed, stepping into my side. “Sanderson’s been having so much trouble with that girl.”
The housekeeper lived on borrowed time. Someday soon, I was going to let Franky can her.
“I’ll deal with that. You need to make Nonno go to bed.”
My grandmother gave me a bewildered look. Her soft, paper-thin hands trembled. “He’ll never listen.”
I pursed my lips. “Back me up.”
Nonna nodded.
“Attenzione!” I boomed.
The hush spread through the gathering like a wave racing back to sea.
“I want to thank you for coming.” I smiled. “Please forgive my lack of tact, but the night is late. My family needs to rest and recuperate after the week we’ve had.”
Beside me, Nonna gasped softly. “Nico! So rude.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder. “We are grateful for your support, but please excuse us for tonight.”
“It is late,” Guilia agreed, turning to Alfonso. “We should let them rest.”
I blessed her. She didn’t deserve to be made a widow. Unfortunately, that seemed the only way to deal with her husband.
Following their lead, the guests began to trickle to the door.
“I’ll get them out, but you need to go make him go to bed,” I whispered hoarsely to my grandmother.
“He won’t listen.” She clasped her hands.
Pursing my lips, I looked up and found Arabella’s eyes. Jerking my chin, I summoned her.
“Take Arabella,” I told Nonna.
“He won’t,” she pleaded.
Damn, I never wanted my spouse to hold that same fear of me.
Rae never will.
I almost smiled at that thought. I could see this situation play out different decades from now. Rae would march into the office, shake me soundly, and order me to bed—where I’d drag her with me.
Heart attack or no, nothing was stopping me once she was mine.
“Either you make him go to bed, Nonna, or he will get worse.” The tone of my voice sent my grandmother jerking back. “I don’t mean to scare you, but I must be blunt. He’s not doing well. Tonight was too much.”
Arabella caught the tail end of the conversation and nodded. “I feared as much.” She took my grandmother’s hand. “Come on, Mama. Let’s go. I’ll help.”
I studied the young woman. There wasn’t the same fear of the don in her face. She might be a quieter soul, but she had an inner strength that had been sorely misjudged.
Whenever she did find someone, they’d better be fucking worthy of her. Or their death would be slow and excruciating.
A few guests lingered, chatting in small groups. Plainly ignoring the signal that the party was over. I shifted on my heels. They weren’t from the famiglia, which meant I couldn’t pull my handgun out and shoot the ceiling.
I was saved from making a scene when Theo and AJ brought the valet keys to the first group.
“Oh, we weren’t quite ready,” the woman sneered.
“It’s time to leave, ma’am,” the butler clipped out. “The staff is coming in to clean, and then we’re all going to bed. So unless you want me to prepare a room upstairs, I suggest you head.”
The second group made their way to the door while casting sideways glances at the others.
“Lovely evening, Dominic.” A blonde smiled and pressed her big tits against me as she hugged me.
I nearly choked on her perfume. “Good to see you, Camron.”
“It’s Carmen,” she gasped, instantly offended.
“Right, but I’m not Dominic.” I made a shooing sign with my hand. “Bye-bye, now. Take care.” Get the fuck out of my house.
Her friend was giggling hard. “That was wicked fun. Have a good night, Dominico. Glad your paps is doing better.”
I gave her a tight smile. Theo had a handle on the remaining trio, so I retreated, marching down the hall to assist my grandmother.
I pushed open the office door without knocking.
Rae’s scream pierced the air.
Dio mio! The pipes on that girl. My dick was instantly hard, and I swore to myself she would scream like that for me again.