Chapter Three #2
“And it was a wonderful night in my life. I want to end your brother for forcing you to take what you felt was your only option, though,” Halligan said.
The longer they talked, the more things came back to him.
If he had remembered their whole night, he might have stayed in Las Vegas until he found her.
He wasn’t sure. His instincts were still screaming something was off.
“Okay, I love that you like each other, but we need more information. Brother’s name?” Schaefer asked.
Schaefer was the cousin who loved deep diving into everyone’s lives and kept everyone safe with his technology gadgets.
“Franco Rossellini Jr.,” Loni said.
Halligan felt the knot in the pit of his stomach grow when his dad and uncles immediately sat up straighter. His Uncle Burt shared a look with his dad that had him worried.
“You all seemed to recognize her brother’s name,” Halligan said. If it was a threat, they all needed to know about it.
“Not her brother’s but her dad’s. I think what your wife probably doesn’t want to share is that yes, the Rossellini family runs all the motorsports and classic cars but there’s another side to the Rossellini empire,” Burt said.
Halligan stared at Loni. She’d flinched when his uncle had called it the Rossellini empire. She nodded.
“Gigi kept me out of that side. She and Papa kept the casino and the protection racket separate since 2003. When Papa passed six years ago, Gigi placed my cousin in charge of it even though my brother is older by four years and thought he was in line for it,” Loni said.
“It’s been a little over seven weeks since New Year’s Eve. Why now?” Quinton asked.
“Oh, pick me,” Schaefer said, raising his hand.
Everyone chuckled. Halligan appreciated him lightening the mood.
“Well, we’re waiting. Go ahead, son,” his Uncle Peck said.
“Seven days ago, Gio Rossellini, head of Rossellini Casinos, passed away when his sports car lost control and careened off an overpass. Five days ago, Manny Rossellini, current CEO of Rossellini Motorsports, was the victim of a burglary and died in his home,” Schaefer said.
“Dang, he’s cleaning house,” Dillon, Halligan’s oldest brother, said.
Loni nodded.
“After Gio died, I started making plans to leave. I’ve grown up with personal security.
It’s a fact of life. My personal security has been with me for twenty years and was handpicked by my Gigi.
Icilio was helping me plan how to leave, but four days ago, he disappeared.
I was working at home, and he never came to pick me up for an appointment.
When he didn’t answer his phone, I knew I needed to go.
I called the spa I go to and asked if they could fit me in for a nail touch-up.
They said yes. I grabbed a cab and went to the spa.
It’s a women’s only spa. I walked in, got my go bag I had stored there, changed clothes, and then was picked up by a car service that took me to the airport, where I picked up my ticket and asked the gate attendant about the lounge.
I headed toward the lounge, ducked into a bathroom, changed clothes again, put on a wig, and walked out.
I grabbed a taxi. I used four different taxis and cab companies to make it to one of my storage buildings.
Then I left town. It took me four days to drive here because I backtracked and changed cars twice,” Loni said.
“Well, it’s too bad you already married Halligan because you’re gorgeous and you’re obviously brilliant with all the moves you made,” Quinton said.
“Back off. She’s mine,” Halligan couldn’t stop himself from growling, moving closer to Loni. He might not completely trust her yet, but he wasn’t allowing any of the unmarried men in his family to think they had a chance.
Quinton chuckled, holding out his hand. Schaefer, Whiskey, and the others handed him twenties.
“What the hell, dude? I thought it would take you at least until tomorrow to warn us off,” Schaefer said.
“I think it’s great you changed cars and did that.
But we have the marriage license that was filed.
He’ll be able to trace Halligan to here.
But he’ll probably make the mistake of thinking we’re just small-town folks who don’t know anything.
Schaefer, I want the information on any and all properties owned by the Rossellini empire.
Concentrate on the US for now. Whiskey, contact Justice and Pit.
Put them on notice we might need their help.
Hennessy, you let Bluff Creek know what we might have heading our way.
Let’s all sleep on what we’ve learned. Think about whether you want the kids to stay here or if we should send them somewhere else.
And since I’m not sure if I remembered to say this, welcome to the family, Loni, and congratulations on the wedding,” Bill said, holding out his arms.
Trust his dad to get to the heart of what they needed to do but also allay his wife’s fears. It wasn’t like their family hadn’t dealt with things before, but Halligan wasn’t sure they’d ever had to deal with an organization this large.