Chapter 11 | Michael
Michael
Ibreathed a sigh of relief once Bianca left, lowering to my leather office chair and rubbing my forehead. She’d been ambushed by my proposal, but I felt that we’d reached an understanding in the end. Bianca wanted to keep Alexis safe, and my protection was the best option for that outcome.
Moreover, she and Alexis were now broke and homeless, and I felt an urge to ensure they were both safe.
Assigning Nick to guard Alexis at one of our safehouses wouldn’t be well-received by my cousin.
He preferred to be by my side as my premier bodyguard and right hand.
But men had turned on me before, and Nick was the only person I trusted to keep Alexis safe.
I’d realized shortly into our conversation that Bianca would need firm reasons why I wanted to marry her. Marrying Victor’s widow was one; my desire to produce an heir with Victor’s widow was the second. And of course, keeping her and Alexis safe was the third.
Those three reasons had seemed to resonate with her, and I felt confident that she would choose to move forward with my plan.
But the thing I didn’t tell Bianca? I would be fine if she couldn’t give me a son.
I’d always planned to make Nick my heir—not only was he blood, but he’d earned it.
His loyalty to me, the family and the business was unparalleled.
Nick was my father’s brother’s son. Uncle Peter was much younger than my father, which was why Nick was thirty versus my forty-seven.
Peter had never wanted Nick to be part of the business, but he passed away when Nick was twelve, and I took him under my wing.
I taught him everything and gave him the opportunity to go to college and visit our grandmother in Italy as I had when I was young.
I wanted Nick to choose the business instead of me forcing him into it.
When he’d returned from Italy, Nick had entered my office and lowered to one knee. He’d gazed up at me with solemn eyes and vowed his loyalty and service. In the several years that had passed since that day, he’d become invaluable to me, and I knew in my bones that he was my heir.
Of course, that meant that I didn’t truly need to have an heir with Bianca, but her belief that I did certainly didn’t hurt my cause. Not only would it solidify her justification for marrying me, but it would give me ample reason to make love to her often. As often as possible, if I had my way...
We’d lost too many years to mistakes and regrets, and I planned to make up for that in the second half of our lives.
There was no way that Bianca could know the actual truth: I was madly in love with her, and had been since that first night we met under the full moon.
When I’d seen her on the dock all those years ago, it had been a young love, fueled by lust and the desire to protect her.
But as the years had dragged on, I’d come to know the indomitable woman who’d slipped through my fingers. I worked with Carmen to ensure she was as safe as I could manage, and punished Victor when he hurt her.
Victor had the propensity to treat women callously, and Bianca was no different.
Each time Carmen reported to me that he’d backhanded Bianca across her stunning face, I’d broken one of his men’s limbs.
After a while, Victor had caught on, and I’d reveled in the knowledge that he knew Bianca was one of my priorities to protect.
“You don’t have to keep breaking my men’s wrists,” Victor had murmured to me at one of the family weddings we attended several years after he married Bianca. He approached me at the bar as I waited for my drink, and stood beside me resting his forearms on the bar. “Your message has been received.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, clasping the beer the bartender set in front of me and taking a long swig.
“Bianca is...difficult sometimes,” Victor said dryly. “She isn’t the tepid wife I wish I’d married, but we all have to do our duty. If she disrespects me, she gets punished, as everyone does.”
My teeth clenched so hard, I thought they might break. Facing him, I spoke in a low, furious tone. “I will break every bone in every one of your capos’ bodies if you continue to hurt her. And one day, when the time is right, I will murder you for ever laying a finger on her.”
Victor chuckled, cold and humorless, before lifting his glass in a mock salute. “Break them all you want, you feckless bastard. Your family will never defeat the Rossis, and you’ll die knowing that the woman you so desperately want belongs to me.”
He’d sauntered away as I shot daggers through his back with my eyes.
He returned to his table, sitting by Bianca, who looked dazzling in her formal dress.
I gazed at her, feeling the uncontrollable tug in my chest as I always did when I saw her.
..knowing she was mine, and that one day, no matter the cost, I would kill Victor and finally claim her as I should have all those years ago.
Clearing my throat, I returned to the present, shaking my head to clear the memory.
In truth, my love for Bianca had only continued to grow over the years.
I had paramours, of course. Ones who understood that my heart belonged to someone else, and that I could never truly be theirs.
Katia, one of the dancers in a club I owned in Brooklyn, had been my favorite.
I’d cherished her and deeply appreciated her friendship.
I’d paid for her college, and once she received her accounting degree, I allowed her to take over the books at several of my clubs and businesses, ensuring she could provide for her future.
Our romantic relationship eventually cooled as my power grew and I focused on eliminating Victor’s organization completely. But Katia would always remain a valued friend and an integral part of the Caruso family.
A knock sounded on my office door, pulling me from the musings as I called, “Come in!”
“It’s Leo,” Nick said, holding his phone to his ear. “John and Simon have a meeting scheduled with Alexis and Bianca at ten a.m. where they plan to force her to turn over the flash drive. Once they realize she encrypted it, they’ll kidnap her and torture her until she decrypts it for them.”
“Fuck,” I rasped, standing and calling the number that had recently dialed my phone. Lifting it to my ear, I waited for Bianca to answer.
“Hello?”
“We’re out of time, stella,” I said, closing my eyes at the fact that I would have to rush things more than I’d previously thought.
“John and Simon will use your ten a.m. meeting to force Alexis into captivity until she supplies the information they want. You can’t stay there any longer, Bianca. I’m sorry.”
Silence crackled through the phone until I heard her deep sigh. “Okay. I was just updating Alexis on our conversation. I’ll...I’ll marry you, Michael. As long as you take care of Alexis, I’ll do whatever you want. Please, we have to keep her safe.”
Closing my eyes, I fully accepted the knowledge that Bianca was finally mine. Not under the circumstances I wanted, and not the way I’d ever imagined for us, but our long, winding path had finally come to its fated conclusion.
“I’m honored to protect you, mia. Tell Victor’s men you’re taking a walk, and meet Nick at the deli on the corner five blocks south of your home.”
“Okay. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“Be safe and call me if anything seems suspicious.”
The phone clicked off and I sighed, throwing it on the desk and rubbing my eyes.
“I’ll retrieve them safely,” Nick said. “And then you can assign someone to guard Alexis.”
“I’m assigning you to guard her, Nick,” I said, immediately understanding the order would make him furious.
Nick’s mouth fell open. “No, Michael, you need me here by your side! We have several men who can guard her—”
“I only trust you,” I said, hardening my gaze. I hated pulling the power card with Nick, but he was stubborn, and we didn’t have time to argue. “We should only have to shield her for a few months, maybe less.”
“A few months?” he asked incredulously.
“She has information that many people want, including me. This is why I need you to do the job, Nick. Not only do I want you to protect her, but I want you to gain her trust. I want the information on that flash drive—the information in her head. It’s the key to me taking down the last of Rossi’s empire.
I want you to earn her trust and get that information for me. ”
Nick licked his lips as he contemplated. “I’m not really the friendly type, Michael, in case you haven’t noticed.”
I smirked as I observed him. Nick had always been quiet and imposing, since he was tall and broadly built.
He’d been diagnosed with dyslexia and developmental language disorder as a child, and had been a quiet, shy kid.
But he’d been smart, and had fought through the impairments to perform quite well in school.
When I’d offered to pay for his college, pride had shone in his eyes at my inherent belief in him.
After finishing college and visiting Italy, he’d grown into a stoic, confident man, but I knew he preferred solitude to being sequestered with anyone, much less the daughter of his boss’s rival.
“You’re perfectly nice and kind, Nick, and I want you to be that way toward Alexis. I don’t want her harmed.”
“Why are you going out of your way to protect Rossi’s wife and daughter?” he asked, frustration in his voice.
Sighing, I rubbed my forehead, annoyed at the headache that was forming. “Bianca and I have a history I’ve never told you about. I know I’ve told you that I’m fond of her, and I admire her for putting up with Victor, but there’s more to our history.”
“Like what?”
“We don’t have time for that now. Let’s just say that I proposed to Bianca once before and botched the shit out of it. I don’t plan to fuck it up this time.”
Nick’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, what? How long have you known her?”
“Too long for her not to be mine,” I said, my eyes narrowing with purpose. “And now, she will be. I need you to go pick them up so I can work on finding an officiant who’s available on short notice. Please don’t fight me on this, Nick. We need to be united.”
Nick straightened his spine. “I don’t always understand you, Michael, but I trust you and have your back. If you want me to protect Alexis and earn her trust, I will.”
Rising, I walked around the desk and shook his hand. “You make me proud, son. I never had a son of my own, but you’ve always been one to me. I hope you know that.”
Nick cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable and moved at the same time. He shook my hand firmly, and I smiled, knowing that was his way of affirming my statement.
“Go on. We don’t have much time.”
I watched his broad shoulders as he exited the room, and then lifted the receiver of my desk phone. “Where’s Leticia? I need a room prepared for Bianca Rossi.”
“I’ll have it done shortly, sir,” Burns, the head of my household staff replied. “Leticia just arrived and it will be her first task of the day.”
“And Carmen?”
“Leticia is set to train her today. I expect her to arrive soon.”
“Excellent. Thank you, Burns. I also need you to find me an officiant who’s available to perform a wedding at two p.m. here at the house.”
“Uh...of course. A wedding for whom?”
“For me.”
“Well, congratulations, sir,” he said, causing me to grin at the surprise in his voice.
“Thanks. I also need an officiant who’s willing to...bend the truth about the timeline. I’m going to get the marriage license today and complete the ceremony, but the officiant will need to officially record that the wedding happened tomorrow to comply with city law.”
“And do we know the bride?”
“I’ll keep that under wraps for now. I need this done quickly, Burns. Thank you.”
Replacing the receiver, I glanced at my watch. It wasn’t even seven a.m. yet, and the day had already seen several disasters averted. Lowering behind my desk, I sent a simple prayer to the universe hoping that the rest of the day would go as smoothly.