Chapter Four- Buddha
“Are you sure?” I rubbed my eyes as I listened to Tomasso’s question.
“I’m pretty certain she’s a part of it.” I had no choice but to confide in my father about my suspicions about Catalina. We sat in his office at the main house, Snow next to me as we tried to figure out what we were going to do about Francesco, Luca, and Edwardo.
Tomasso rubbed his chin as he sat behind his desk. I could tell his mind was buzzing by how silent he got. “Do you think the four of them were working together to steal the diamonds?” Tomasso asked what I had been thinking about since I realized Catalina was up to no good.
“It’s a very strong possibility,” I answered, pulling the overgrown hair in my chin thoughtfully.
“Gesu Cristo (Jesus Christ),” Tomasso muttered, running a hand through his thinning hair. He seemed as though he’d aged about five years since he’d gotten shot and had his stroke.
“Wait a minute, this is getting confusing as a mothafucka. Does this mean Edwardo knows Enzo is his son? Catalina and Edwardo were co-parenting all along?” Snow asked, looking at me with a confused expression.
Both my father and brother were now looking at me, waiting to hear my thoughts, which, quite frankly, I had no idea how to reply to.
“I dunno, that would mean Enzo would also be a part of this, and I don’t think that he was.
This shit is fucking giving me a headache.
We gotta find those fuckers, get some fucking answers, and, not to mention, get those fucking diamonds back.
Fucking Ivan’s wife will have her Russians cut my balls off. Time is fucking running out.”
“The only way is to find Edwardo and make him talk. He’ll lead you to Francesco and Luca, then you can take it from there,” Tomasso said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
“We don’t know where that fucker is either.
I’ve tried calling Angel multiple times.
I think he disconnected her phone. I wanted to suggest this before, but I knew we had to wait until we were stronger after getting out of the hospital.
I think we should go over there.” I frowned at my brother, unsure of what the fuck he meant.
“Go over where?” I asked him.
“Edwardo’s- we should go to his house and see if he’s there; maybe he’s just keeping a very low profile.
That scary mothafucka could be hitting us with an Uno reverse; he knows we probably would think he’s not there.
Whole time that goofy is right there hiding out in his home,” I thought about what Snow said; he could be on to something or not. I looked over at Tomasso.
“What you thinking?” I asked, waiting to hear his thoughts.
“I don’t believe Edwardo’s there, but it won’t hurt to check. Find someone in that house who can tell you where they are and make them talk. Take all the guns you need, just be safe,” I scratched my chin as I listened to Tomasso. The more I thought about it, the more doubtful I became.
“There’s only one problem…”
“What’s that?” Snow and my father asked simultaneously.
“If Snow and I roll up in there, they’ll start blasting before we even get answers.
Even if Edwardo isn’t there, his goons will certainly be, even if it’s just a couple of them, mothafuckas.
They know Snow and me; we gotta get someone unfamiliar in there first to distract his men.
Then maybe Snow and I can sneak in and get one of those goofys to squeal,” I explained what areas in our plan needed to be fixed before we could proceed.
“Who the fuck can we get if neither of us can do it?” Snow asked, looking at me. I thought about his question, but I didn’t have to think for long.
“There’s only one person we can ask…Dior.”
“Get the fuck outta here, Buddha. She’ll never fucking do that. She’s probably still mad as fuck that you got her to do that fake AI video for Ciara’s mother. There’s no fucking way she’ll agree to this.” Snow began shaking his head from left to right.
“Aye, let me deal with my wife, alright. She’ll do it, trust me. I may have to convince her for a bit, but she’ll be on board,” I set the record straight even though Snow had a skeptical look on his face.
“All I’m saying is, make sure you have a plan B nigga,” Snow said, riding my last nerve.
“Shut your dumb ass up. I told you I got this,” I sneered, my upper lip at him as Tomasso face-palmed himself, sick and tired of the two of us always going at it.
“Is that it? I’m an old man; I need to go take a fucking nap,” Tomasso said, getting ready to stand up and leave.
“There’s one other thing,” I said, stopping him in his tracks. Tomasso gave me a look as though he was tired of my ass.
“What now, Buddha?”
“We think we know how the fake delivery driver got inside our compound.” That definitely got our father’s attention. He stopped and looked at me, hungry to hear what I was about to say.
I looked at my brother before I spilled the tea. “We think it was Matteo.” My father’s head snapped back, his expression betraying his shock.
“Matteo? Are you sure? He’s worked with me for a really long time. Why the fuck will he betray us like this?”
“We did some checks on the day Lorenzo was killed. Apparently, he agreed to meet up with Matteo, and that’s the last he was heard from,” Tomasso ran his index finger over the tip of his nose as he listened.
“Be sure that it was really him. I don’t want you taking out an innocent man. Does he think you’re on to him?” Tomasso questioned. I immediately shook my head.
“Nah, we’ve been playing it really cool. We just gotta handle this Francesco bull-shit first, then we’ll deal with Matteo,” I filled my father in.
“Alright, one of you knuckleheads, come help your old man up,” Tomasso said, bracing his palms on the desk as he tried to get to his feet. Both Snow and I stood on either side of him, assisting our father to stand up.
“Don’t worry, my figli (sons), I’ll be back to the old Tomasso really soon,” he said, smiling bravely as we walked him to his office door.
Deep down, we all knew what didn’t need to be spoken.
Tomasso Ricci would never really be the same again.
His body had weakened a lot by both getting shot and having a stroke.
It was safe to say our father was officially out of the game.
*****
“Are you fucking shitting me?” Dior asked; her face bore the look of someone who truly believed I had lost my entire mind.
“Does it look and sound as if I’m shitting you?” I asked, casually leaning against the bathroom vanity as she got out of the shower.
“So let me get this straight. You need to know where Edwardo and his minions are, so you’re sending me…
your wife into Edwardo’s home, pretending to be God knows who.
I also need to somehow sneak you and Snow inside of said house, so you can place your guns against someone’s head until they give information about his whereabouts.
Providing that Edwardo isn’t even there.
Did I leave anything out?” Dior asked in a sarcastic tone.
“Yes, I need you to ask your friend, Mia, to go with you. I don’t think you going in there alone will make it believable,” I watched as she wrapped her towel around her naked body. It had been a minute since we had sex; my mind hadn’t been in the right headspace since everything happened.
“You know, Buddha, you really are a confusing mothafucka. One minute you’re telling me not to say anything to Mia about you and your family, and now you want her to be part of Operation Find Edwardo.
I’m sick of this,” Dior muttered, walking away from me, making her way into our bedroom.
I followed her because I’d be damned if Snow was right, and I needed a plan B.
“Well, now I’m telling you to let her know she can be a part of this. I can’t send you alone; it will look too suspicious, plus it’s not safe,” I paced the bedroom floor as Dior stood staring at me in disbelief.
“You really are a piece of work, you know that. You yell at me and are constantly rude to me for no reason since you got shot. You refuse to sleep in the same bed with me. You won’t open up about that day you and everyone else got shot.
Let’s not talk about the fact that we hadn’t had sex in a minute.
Now, you’re ready to toss my ass in the mouth of danger like nobody’s business,” Dior took her towel off and flung it at me.
I caught it just in time before it slapped me in the face.
I realized what Dior’s problem was and what needed to be done to set things right. I walked over to her as she rummaged through the dresser and stood behind her. Bending, I placed a kiss on the side of her neck as my hands moved upward, cupping her firm, bouncy breasts.
“Jesus, what are you doing?” Dior spun around to face me, slapping my hands away.
“You’re clearly horny; let me buss that pussy open and adjust your attitude real quick.” I reached for her throat and gently wrapped my fingers around her neck as I bent my head to kiss her. Disrespectfully, Dior placed her hand on my mouth before my lips could touch hers.
“Na, I’m good. Besides, I still got your little toys, remember? Phillipe and Buddha, I’ll make sure they’re fully charged. I’ll call Mia and see what’s up.” Turning her back on me, she snatched a handful of clothes and marched off to the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her.
“A nigga could never do anything right in your eyes! Don’t forget to scream my name when you use them mothafucking toys!” I shouted at the closed door. I know I have really been a shitty husband lately, but I'll make it up to her once I figure out where the fuck Francesco, Luca, and Edwardo are.