27. Antonio
Chapter twenty-seven
Antonio
“ I s Gio with you?” Nico demands when I’ve barely said hello after answering his call. His voice holds an ominous tone that has my back straightening and my slumped shoulders from hunching over my laptop tensing.
“Yep, right beside me. We’re in the conference room.”
“Alone?”
“Yes,” I reply, my brow creasing with concern. I’ve never heard my youngest brother sound so serious. He’s always been the don’t give two fucks brother and has worn that title proudly.
“Good, put me on speaker.”
Placing my cell on the table, I click it onto speaker. “It’s Nico,” I add for Gio’s benefit.
He nods sharply. “This better be fucking good news.” Gio’s tone is harsh and filled with the same level of frustration I’m feeling, not that Nico is to blame.
But we’ve run out of leads, and he might be our last chance to find some answers.
Whoever was behind my beating is definitely the person or people behind the stolen money from the company accounts and products from the Port of Naples.
I need to find out who’s responsible so I can return to Lucia. It’s been a week since I saw her in the hospital, and the recovery from my injuries is less painful than us being apart.
“It’s definitely not good news.” Nico’s voice sounds even more brittle coming through the speaker.
“Honestly, any news at this point would help. I’m sick of waiting for something to happen,” I say, all the frustration and pain over this last week leaking through my words.
My wife needs to be back safely in my bed beside me. Although she’s still so angry with me for handing her over to her father that it may not be as easy as that. But her anger, I can fix. Her being hurt because of my company would be terrifying.
“Go ahead, we’re both listening,” Gio encourages.
“It’s Bruno.”
“Fuck!” I yell, slamming my hand down on the table.
Gio glares at me. “What’s Bruno?” he asks. Gio is a man who deals in cold, hard facts, so it doesn’t surprise me he’s asking for more clarification from Nico.
For me, I don’t need anything more. The puzzle pieces just slotted into place. My gut was warning me there was more behind him showing up at the wedding party. Hatred oozed from him that night.
But the mistake I made was thinking it was only me he hated. It turns out his hatred was aimed at all of us, the family and the company.
Anger rushes through my body, and I push up from my chair, sending it careering into the wall behind me, where it hits with a thump and dislodges some of the plaster.
I don’t give a fuck, because I want to break shit right now.
And if my body wasn’t still so messed up from Bruno’s hired help, I’d be on my way to his house to really fuck him up.
“That fucking worthless piece of shit. He got someone else to do his dirty work because he was too gutless to face me himself.”
“Calm down,” Gio urges, but I can’t. Nobody gets away with threatening my wife and unborn child.
I start pacing the length of the room, needing the activity to let off steam, or I really will break something.
A sharp pain in my chest slows my pace. While the bruises are slowly fading to a myriad of colors, the ribs are going to take longer, and I shouldn’t be making sudden movements. But I’m so fucking angry.
Nico’s voice interrupts the wild thoughts of revenge filling my head. “Ant, if it makes you feel any better, a worthless piece of shit is exactly what Bruno is right now. He’s racked up some serious debt at the casinos in Macau, and that’s made the 14K Triad, who run the operations, very angry.”
Stopping, I stare down at my cell, then back up at Gio. His eyes have narrowed into dark gray slits as he leans onto his white-knuckled fists, which are braced against the table.
“Let’s add ‘fucking stupid’ to the list of our cousin’s accomplishments. When he’s got himself mixed up with both the Chinese and Italian Mafia, he must have a death wish,” Gio grinds out.
Maybe he wants to fuck Bruno up too.
“But what are we going to do about him?” Nico asks.
“Cut off his funds and Naples’s connections, then give his address to the Chinese Mafia when they come looking for their money,” I suggest, not a shred of sympathy for the fucker.
Nico’s laughter roars through the speaker while Gio glares at me.
“He got himself involved in this mess. Let him find his own way out of it,” I add.
“I don’t disagree,” Gio says. “But we have to think about the impact on the company. We don’t want this to be made public, or the losses to the business could be double.”
“He can’t be allowed to get away with this,” I growl.
“He won’t. I give you my word.”
It’s all I need because Gio would never break a promise to one of his brothers. He drops his gaze back to the cell. “Nico, can you meet me in Naples tomorrow? I might need some assistance from your Italian connections to deal with the situation at the port.”
“I’ll be there,” Nico confirms before ending the call.
Picking up my cell from the table, I drop it into my suit jacket pocket, but before I start to pack my laptop away, I turn to Gio. “I’m coming too.”
“No, Antonio.” His tone is firm. “We’ll handle this. You’re still recovering. And you need to go and see Lucia.”
I look up at him, and he’s grinning.
“Sorry, bro, but you’ve been a fucking nightmare to be around since she went with her father.”
I want to argue with him, but I can’t when he’s right. Lucia and our unborn baby are everything, and I need to be giving them my full attention rather than the fucker who threatened them. I trust my brothers will serve up a special brand of justice so we never have to see Bruno again.
“Take security with you. This isn’t over yet,” Gio warns as I walk to the door.
I stop, turn around, and walk back to him, then give him a hug. Not a half hug or a slap on the back like we’d usually do as brothers, but one with both arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, brother.”
He doesn’t say anything; he simply hugs me back, careful not to squeeze too hard. And that’s enough—it’s all the acknowledgment I need to know we’ve got each other’s back like we’ve always had.
Stepping back, I inch toward the door—not because of my injuries, which are a little better each day, but because there’s a boulder-sized lump lodged in my throat.
Before leaving, I turn and find Gio standing by the window, staring down at the cobbled street while watching the people of Florence go about their business.
“Good luck and stay safe,” I say, then leave.
On the other side of the door, I’m met by my security guys. Will and Parker are not only my constant shadows since I left the hospital a few days ago, but they’ve become friends.
Hunter Carlson, one of Gio’s partners in his club, recommended the guys. They run a private security company out of DC with other former military buddies. Gio has another team protecting him.
“Hope you guys packed your board shorts, because we’re going to Capri,” I joke.
“Sweet. This job just keeps getting better,” Will replies as they fall into step on either side of me.
I chuckle, knowing the truth behind their words. This week, we’ve had plenty of time sitting around in my suite at the Forbes Hotel talking, and they’ve shared some funny stories about the crazier personal security jobs they’ve had.
“What’s in Capri?” Parker asks. There’s more behind the question than curiosity. The laid-back demeanor of Will and Parker hides two absolute professionals who don’t leave anything to chance. They already know who’s in Capri, but I say it anyway.
“My wife.”
Will tilts his head in my direction like he knows I was about to say more. I was going to mention the baby, but I’m not sure I need to.
“Let’s talk about the layout of your villa as we travel,” he says, and I don’t know why I’m surprised they even know I own one.
Parker remains silent because we’ve hit street level and have turned out of the office to walk the short distance to the hotel, and his focus is fully engaged on what’s going on around us.
I’ve got total faith that Will and Parker can keep Lucia and me safe until Bruno and his band of thugs are dealt with by my brothers or the law.
I’m not sure whose punishment will be worse.
***
Capri
It’s early afternoon by the time the car pulls up to the gates of the Romano family villa. I don’t remember ever seeing these gates shut, but today, they’re locked, and a security guard stands on the inside of them.
Lucia and her father are expecting me, and once my ID is checked, the guard opens the smaller side entrance to let me through. With the Romano property secure, Will and Parker drive on to do a sweep of my villa.
If they don’t think it’s safe enough, Lucia and I will stay here. But I’m confident that with the surveillance cameras I installed a couple of years ago and the fact that it’s also gated, we’ll be at our own villa tonight.