41. Marco
Marco
I send Zo ahead to evacuate the neighbors on both sides of the Conti home.
“All of them?” His big-eyed, doubtful reaction is the most I’ve gotten from him in a while. “What the hell am I supposed to say?”
I cinch my holsters into place and ensure they don’t shift. “Tell them there’s a gas leak or something. I don’t give a shit. I want the houses empty and both ends of the street blocked off. Make it happen or don’t come back tonight.”
Zo stalks off without a word, and Luca watches him go before addressing me. “You sure you want to do this? You know as well as I do if we step foot on Aldo’s property, the Council will declare open season on the Argentos. That’s breaking the Code, Marco.”
Unsanctioned acts of aggression against another crime family are as strictly prohibited as unapproved relationships.
The Council hates attention, and a gang war is a surefire way to get it.
When I only stare at him blank-faced, Luca simply nods.
“All right. I’ll go help Zo clear out the civilians. Give us an hour.”
An hour seems like an eternity when I want Bianca returned to me now, but I busy myself with coordinating my men and strapping weapons in the holsters around my waist and legs.
The plan is simple. Go in, demand that Aldo give Bianca back so that I can kill her, then shoot Aldo in the dick on my way out.
I haven’t had time to work out the exact details, but I feel good about what I have so far.
I throw a leather jacket on over my body harness to hide my extra magazines, my thoughts going inexorably to Armani and the last mission I led.
Stumbling through the house, unsure what to bring and what to leave.
Downing shots in the kitchen with Armani “for courage.” The memory of what a reckless, irresponsible asshole I was stings, but I don’t turn away from it.
Being cavalier about my own life is one thing.
Being careless with the lives of those who call me their don is another.
I have a responsibility to my men to organize every part of this operation to a T and to stay as clear-minded as possible. The very fact that I’m thinking like this means that Bianca got to me after all, and I grit my teeth against the sour taste in my mouth at the realization.
Luca and Aldo get the hour they asked for, and then the rest of my men and I head out. We pull up to what appears to be a police blockade, only the cop who waves us through has a familiar pair of gray eyes and a chilling smile.
Having the NYPD on the payroll has its perks.
I park in the center of the street and climb out, scanning each of the neighboring structures. Houses lay abandoned for over a block in every direction. Some of the buildings still have lights on, the front doors ajar.
Did he call in a bomb threat?
Knowing Luca, probably. Not that I care. Luca lets several more cars through, and soon the street outside of the Conti estate is crawling with my soldiers. Zo comes over, assuming a protective position a foot behind me. “Everything’s in place.”
“Good.”
The Council takes the Code, created by the Councilors themselves for the families under their protection, very seriously.
Failing to abide by the rules results in serious consequences, and one of the big ordinances is that a family’s personal stronghold is protected against assaults from other syndicates.
It’s a way to stop members from plotting against other families and absorbing their organization.
Luca was right that if we attack now, the Council could consider the Argentos a rogue force and wipe us all off the face of the map, despite the Council not yet officially welcoming the Contis into the fold.
My father and brother didn’t leave me in charge of this family just for me to destroy it with my carelessness, so I stay where I am, even though everything in me demands I march through those doors and drag Bianca out.
Regardless of the Contis’ status, blatantly attacking the home of my father-in-law when Bianca and I are supposed to be playing the part of the perfect couple is worthy of significant reprimand.
Behaving for the sake of the Council is the only thing protecting Bianca from me, but that won’t be the case for much longer.
I call her number. My people already surround the place, so there’s no running from me now.
The phone rings a few times, but my wife’s not the one who eventually picks up.
“What’s the meaning of this, Argento?” Aldo reminds me so strongly of his daughter that the similarities sicken me. The anger in me compounds, leaping higher.
“I have a proposition for you.” My voice is a cool, controlled siren’s whisper. A song for Aldo and Aldo alone.
“Go on.” He’s almost too eager to take the bait, and my answering smirk is biting.
“I know you want the Council’s protection. It’s the only thing you’ve ever been after, Conti. I’ll speak to them on your behalf if, in exchange, you advocate for my divorce from your daughter.”
He may be the only person who can get the Councilors to agree to end to this farce of a relationship.
Aldo hums thoughtfully. “Why do you think they’ll listen to a word I say?”
I shrug even though he can’t see me. “You’re a smart guy. You’ll figure it out.”
Aldo guffaws at my flippant response. “That’s not how this works.” He quiets before finally acquiescing. “Fine. I’ll come outside, and we can discuss terms. Tell your men to stand down.”
The call ends, and a few moments later, the front door opens.
Aldo comes out onto the steps, his hands up to show he’s unarmed.
As soon as I see him, I raise my gun, firing off a round that goes wide just because I’m still angry about the way he behaved at my dinner table all those weeks ago.
When Aldo drops, I relish how easily he goes down on his knees for me. “You son of a bitch, Argento!”
I aim again.
“You know you aren’t cut out for this world, Marco.” Aldo’s assertion rings out, and I pause as he gains his feet. He’s disheveled, his clothes stained with patches of blood. It seems I’m not the only one who’s tried to kill the prick tonight.
Wait…where the hell is Bianca?
Aldo continues babbling about us helping one another while I scan the house through the open door.
Once I realize there’s been no sign of her this entire time, the first breath of panic starts to set in.
Impatient and anxious, I lower my gun, tapping it along the side of my leg as I regard the Conti don. Why did Aldo answer her phone?
I can see his men posting up at the front of the door, and the lens of a security camera reflects oddly beneath the streetlight.
Trespassing onto the property itself uninvited will start a war, but damn if I’m not ready for one.
Until I can figure out what’s going on with Bianca, though, I’ll just have to play along.
I pretend to regard Aldo with new eyes. “How could you possibly help me?”
“Give me your organization. The businesses, the weapons shipment operations, the real estate investments and international contacts, all of it except for the gym. I’ll run everything for you.
Once that load is off your shoulders, you can drink and whore your way through the rest of your life a happy man. ”
Zo and I exchange a silent look of disbelief.
“You want me to just hand off my family business to you?” I pause like I’m actually mulling it over.
“That would be quite the undertaking, don’t you think?
Running both the Contis and the Argentos.
” My jaw tightens, my fingers flexing around the butt of my gun. “Let me guess, you and Bianca—”
Aldo barks out a short laugh filled with derision.
“Bianca? You think I would let that bitch anywhere near my business dealings ever again? Don’t let the fact that she’s my blood be a deal-breaker for you, boy.
I taught her a lesson for you just like the Council asked, and from here on out, she won’t be giving you any trouble at all. ”
What?
A group of Conti men files out through the door. I don’t immediately recognize what they’re hauling, but when Aldo flips on the porch light, my pulse pounds in my ears.
Bianca. My wife. Her face is bruised, which indicates that whoever worked her over didn’t hold back.
That type of battering indicates that she probably fought but to no avail. I feel like someone grabbed a machete and started hacking off pieces of my soul.
Performing a frantic visual inspection, I clock the busted lip, the black eye, and a nasty gash on her forehead still leaking blood. I refuse to glance away from the reassuring rise and fall of her chest.
Aldo’s men dump Bianca’s body like trash at his feet. “As you can see, I’ve already dealt with your biggest problem, free of charge. No messy divorce paperwork necessary.” Aldo chuckles, and this is where I should join in to amplify my charm.
But all I can see is her injured state, and I can’t think straight when she’s like this. Aldo’s still talking, but none of it filters past the static in my thoughts. I was never going to kill Bianca. The sheer terror from discovering her in this condition hammers that truth home.
Bianca has always been the one I break all my rules for. The one who motivates me to fight like no one else can. She showed me that life exists beyond all the death that surrounded me growing up, and that there’s more to me than what people think I am.
And now she’s gone.
Because of me.
If I hadn’t sent her back home, if I hadn’t shut her out, she never would have returned to this fucking monster.
I couldn’t put my own issues aside for five minutes to really hear her, to understand what she was up against. I wanted someone to keep hating because hatred’s easier to swallow than the endless grief that comes with losing a person you love.
Am I really any better than Aldo? Using Bianca like a proverbial punching bag whenever emotions get too big for me to handle on my own.
“What do you say, Argento? Let’s prove to these fuckers that second-born sons are where the real power has always—”
Out of nowhere, sniper shots sound off from the roof of the house across the street. I whip my head around as bullets whiz through the air, striking the Conti soldiers stationed by the windows. The glass shatters, and men fly back, their blood staining the curtains.
A slow smile splits my face. Sergio and his men are renowned snipers, and their presence infuses me with knee-shaking relief.
When I called to ask him for backup, I wasn’t sure if he would come or not.
It’s been years since I asked for help, years since I reached out, and I nearly choked on the words.
By comparison, I was shocked by how easy it was to apologize for Armani. As soon as “I’m sorry” came out of my mouth, the line went very quiet right before a click indicated that Sergio had hung up.
I didn’t even know he would be here until this very moment, and gratitude briefly tempers my terror. I don’t know if the man’s truly forgiven me, but he showed up, and that’s enough.
I told myself that I wanted to give Bianca a clean death, that no one is a more efficient shot than Sergio. But the truth is that not only had my old friend arrived when I needed him most, he saw exactly what I wanted done and did it without me having to ask first.
The Code says I can’t invade another family’s property, that doing so will result in war and punishment, but not even God himself could keep me from running to her.
Aldo barks an order, and several of his men pour out the front door, but I don’t slow.
I push forward, trusting that anyone and anything in my way will fall.
I’m almost to Bianca when Aldo, his face twisted with anger, drives his foot into her stomach. Consumed with instantaneous wrath, I cock my gun and put a bullet in his dick.
Aldo collapses, screaming and clutching at the blood pooling between his legs. He drags himself into the house, leaving a trail of red in his wake. I have no idea if the shot will kill him. I hope not, because I plan to repay him for each and every one of Bianca’s injuries.
I drop to my knees beside her, hesitant to touch her just in case she’s cold. That would be too final, too fast. Tears cloud my vision as I struggle to gird myself against the pain threatening to drown out everything else. “Don’t do this, principessa. Come back to me. Please, I—”
I love you.
I wanted so badly to tackle our problems as a team, but now, it’s too late to even try.