Chapter 15
Damn it. “She lied to me.”I’d been seething all day. Claire didn’t tell me the truth, and I couldn’t help but feel stupid. She met with her father while my family was throwing her a bachelorette party. Franklin had returned early, and she didn’t say a word. I gave her the chance to come clean, and she’d said nothing.
I was getting married to her tomorrow. What the hell had I gotten myself into?
My thoughts were ping-ponging. Ari had warned me I was being played. And Thea told me something was not right between Claire and Franklin. She also told me Claire didn’t pick the restaurant. She could have texted him, though.
My head throbbed from the chaos. Logic told me Claire and Franklin were working together this whole time. They planned this because he knew we were the ones who kept finding the girls he’d shipped in. They’d played good cop, bad cop, and I walked my family into a trap that could get us all killed.
I just had a hard time believing it. Would she really have spent six months working for a charity just to make herself look more authentic? We were costing them a lot of money. What would I have done to get revenge for Gianna’s murder?
Anything.
Then why couldn’t I swallow the idea that she was capable of it? Because she had sobbed all night long. I didn’t think anyone could fake what I heard. The woman was unrelenting. There had been a lull, and when I hadn’t heard her in a while, I checked on her only to find her asleep.
It wasn’t peaceful either. She tossed and turned and thrashed on the bed. Her mouth would open like she was screaming.
I poured myself another shot and threw it back.
“I’m staying here tonight.” There was a chance I’d say something. I didn’t want to pick a fight right before our wedding. I didn’t know what life would look like after, but I was marrying her. I just had to get through the rehearsal dinner without losing my temper. Once she was mine, then the gloves could come off—so to speak.
Thea hadn’t said anything yet, and neither had Ari.
This morning, after being unable to sleep, I’d come to the restaurant to check in with Dimitris. He’d taken his guys to a Lake Michigan port and taken some girls off Moretti’s hands—not as many as he thought. He’d found one container fewer than he’d expected.
And when I said girls, I meant they were girls. Little girls. If I ever have the chance to kill Marco, I wouldn’t even hesitate. That sick pervert needed to have his crown de-jeweled.
Ari laced his fingers behind his head. “Call the wedding off, Lucas. She’s working with her father.”
“No, she isn’t,” Thea growled.
“You don’t know that.” Ari barked back.
Thea came out of her chair. “Yes, I do. I know what I saw in her eyes.”
My brothers knew about Thea’s history. They knew how I found her. She’d been prey once. I was pretty sure she knew what they looked like.
“I also know what you told Lucas. Her old man was in the bathroom with her.”
“Why did Franklin return to Chicago early and not let Lucas know he was in town? If you had a daughter, would you just let a man take her and keep her?”
“I’m not Franklin Benoit.”
“Something isn’t right,” she said through her teeth.
“Enough! I?—”
The door burst open, and Dimitris and two of his guys were helping Marco Moretti’s twin brother, Gabriele Moretti, into my office. He had been messed up good. He was almost unrecognizable, and he was limping. Blood stains dotted his white dress shirt.
He was supposed to be boss because he had been out in the world a full ten minutes before Marco, but he was stupid and offered his role as head of the Morettis during a card game. When he lost, there wasn’t anything he could do. Marco was in his twenties when their dad suffered a heart attack, and he took over. That was fifty years ago, and there had been more than one rumor that the family’s allegiance was split.
We were all immediately on our feet. Ari was barking orders on where to put him. Thea watched, but that was good. Amid all this chaos, she would see things we missed. I was calling our doctor. If I didn’t like what Gabriele had to say, I’d just cancel the house call.
“What happened?” asked Ari. “And why did you bring him here?”
Dimitris looked at Ari. “I’ll let him tell you.”
Our guys got him on the couch, and he huffed and puffed, grunted and groaned. The guy was obviously in pain, but we needed answers. “Okay, so tell me.”
“Marco’s lost his mind.” Gabriele groaned.
“That’s not new information,” Ari said.
His face twisted. “I caught him with my granddaughter, and the only reason that piece of scum isn’t dead is that his guys got the drop on me. They were letting him do it.” He began muttering in Italian. I didn’t have to know the language to know what he was saying. Marco wasn’t long for this world.
I exchanged looks with my siblings. We were all lost for words.
Grabbing a chair, I pulled it over in front of him and sat. “You’ve got my attention.”
“He’s bringing in little girls. Girls that are my daughter’s age. Morettis ain’t nice people, but we don’t diddle little girls. Our father, God rest his soul, is turning over in his grave.”
“You’re his brother. You didn’t know this was going on?” I asked.
The man gave me a hard look. “He’d already be dead if I’d known. I knew he was getting deeper into stripping and prostitution. My daughter called and said that Marco picked up Annalisa, my granddaughter.” He paused and groaned. “I thought that’s strange. You know? What’s my brother doing picking up my granddaughter from school? There’s nothing special going on.”
He snarled. “I call Rocco, one of his guys who don’t like Marco much, asking him where Marco’s taking Annalisa. Rocco don’t know nothin’. He says, I’ll call around. He calls me back, and that bastard has her at that club that Benoit owns. Rocco and a couple of his guys and I go there. I can hear her, Kalantzis. Screaming. I don’t wait for no invitation.” The man lowered his gaze. “I find her…” To see a grown man shed tears isn’t common, and even less so in my world. “Marco’s laying on top of her. I fly over and kick him in the head. Rocco storms in and sees what’s happening. I tell him to grab Annalisa and get her out of there. I’m gonna beat Marco to death with my own hands.”
A knock came from the door, and Thea answered it. The doctor walked in, and she locked it.
While the doctor was taking care of him, we continued talking. “Is Marco still alive?”
“Yeah, someone must have tipped him off and his guys showed up, but Rocco’s got my back, and my guys arrive. Marco splits. I’m shot.”
I looked at Dimitris. “How do you come into play?”
He shrugged. “How do I always come into play?” He smiled.
The cockiness was going to get him killed.
Gabriele looked at him. “Marco’s sent an army, and they’ve got me. He shows up outta nowhere. Next thing I know, Marco’s army ain’t so many, and your guys are getting me out of there. I hate it, but I’m in your debt.”
He jerked and cursed as the doctor checked his leg. “Take it easy, my guy.”
Ari and I exchanged a look, and I made an on-the-fly call. “You know Marco and Franklin are working together, right?”
His eyes narrowed. “No, but I had my suspicions.”
“He’s bringing little girls into the port.” Dimitris dropped the information on Gabriele.
The man looked at my brother. “Little girls?”
“That’s right.”
“I knew Benoit was into that stuff, but I had no idea Marco was in bed with him.” He switched to Italian, rattled off a few sentences, and went back to English. “I don’t think most of the family knows, but they will as soon as I can call a meeting.”
“What do you think the family’s going to do?” Ari asked.
Gabriele worked his jaw and winced as the doctor stitched up his leg. “They’ll either see it my way, or they won’t leave the meeting.” There was vengeance in his voice.
“You want help?” I asked flatly.
He looked at me. “Help?”
“Benoit and Marco are working together. Benoit killed our little sister and dad. We’ve been too weak to go after him, but if we work together, maybe we can bury both of them.”
Gabriele’s eyebrows furrowed as we stared at each other. “Killed your little sister?”
“I don’t know if he knew she was ours. She was already buried when we found out it was Benoit. One of his girls, a recruiter, had told her how pretty she was and that they wanted her to audition for a movie. Gianna lied and told us she was spending the night at a friend’s house. When Mom didn’t hear from her the next day, she sent us to look for her. While we were gone, cops showed up to inform us that she’d been found dumped by a pier. She’d died of an overdose, and there were signs of excessive lower-extremity trauma. She was thirteen.”
“Ain’t you marrying his daughter? Ain’t that tomorrow?” he narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
“I think they’re playing me.”
Gabriele held my gaze for a moment. “All I know is that it’s a messed-up family. I was at a fundraiser for the mayor years ago and decided to take a look around the place. She couldn’t have been more than seven, and I saw him slap her so hard she dropped to the ground. He just walked away.”
Thea looked at me. “I told you.”
Maybe what I saw in that garden was a show for me. There was a chance she was just going for revenge served cold, but that was one helluva long game to put up with the likes of Franklin.
“So we have a deal?” I asked.
“Accordo.” I didn’t know a lot of Italian, but enough to know that meant deal. He spat on his hand and thrust it out. “Moretti and Kalantzis are united until we settle this.”
I followed his lead and spat on my palm before shaking his hand. “Deal.”
We dropped our hands, and Gabriele crossed his arms over his chest. “We need to be smart about this, Kalantzis. Marco has pull in the Morettis, and until I can call the family, we need to watch our backs. By now, he knows it was your family who saved my life. He’ll be coming for blood. You okay, or do you need help?”
“I’m marrying Claire tomorrow at St. Andrews. I don’t think Benoit will cheap out on security. He’s got a face to keep for the public.”
Gabriele glanced at his phone for a moment before attempting to stand up. Our guys stepped in, helping him off the couch. “Rocco’s got Annalise safe and with her mother. They’re surrounded by security. He’s coming to pick me up and take me to her.”
He shook my hand again.
Our alliances were growing, and with it, we had a chance to finally give Franklin what was due him. My only regret was that I couldn’t do it tomorrow in front of all the people that he’d spent decades trying to impress.
While it was disappointing, knowing that a noose was beginning to tighten around his neck gave me comfort. I couldn’t wait to pull it tight.