CHAPTER 29
Marcello sat at the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, the cool of the marble floor pressing against his bare feet. His black shirt clung to his frame he hadn’t changed since last night. Hadn’t slept either.
His phone rested in his palm, staring at the text Luca had sent him the previous night
Nino Confirmed contact, I'm thinking the guy he met could be Dante but I'm not sure, we'll need to confirm ID ...they're planning something big it's not just the shipment they're after, they say its a distraction we need to figure out what it is.”
— Luca
Instead, he sat there, his shoulders tense beneath the black shirt he hadn’t bothered to change out of. Sleeves still rolled. Collar unbuttoned. His hair was mussed at the edges not from sleep, but from thought. He needed think of something and fast
But first he needed to to find the mole in ports authority that is selling his information.
He didn't like the thought of it but he always knew treachery and betrayal always found its way in eventually. That was the nature of men greed, fear, weakness.
He hadn’t closed his eyes all night.
There was something about everything that didn’t sit right.
Marcello’s fingers tapped once against the edge of the phone.
The Wolves were playing the long game. That much was clear.
And they weren’t coming for money.
They were coming for control.
The ports. The manifests. The money. The infrastructure he built and his power, he just didn't know what the plan was but before they could do that, he would shut them down.
And if the Wolves knew how to choke that from the inside….....
Marcello’s lips pressed into a line.
The only man he trusted to help him gut this from the inside was Luca, sure they have differences but one thing was certain between them. Loyalty.
The rest of the family?
Too many eyes and ears.. Too many risks.
They still hadn’t caught everyone who was compromised, and Marcello wouldn’t be the fool who spread information to people who might already have one foot out the door.
So, for now, it was him and Luca.
Marcello stood slowly, his movements measured, efficient. He left the phone on the nightstand and crossed the room to the window, parting the curtain just enough to glance at the skyline.
The city looked the same.
But something beneath it had shifted.
He could feel it.
And if the Wolves thought they could crawl back into his city without him knowing, if they thought they could slither in without scent or sound , then they didn’t remember who they were dealing with.
Marcello exhaled quietly through his nose and let the curtain fall shut again Then he he went picked his phone from the nighstand and dialed Luca's number..
Luca picked up his voice slightly rough
“Yeah?
“I need you to call the Mexicans.”
A pause on Luca’s end.
“Why?”
Marcello turned slightly, his voice even.
“They need to reroute the shipment. The real one. Pull it from unit drop. Give it a new path .”
Luca replied slowly his voice even
“They’re not gonna like that. You know they plan weeks ahead.”
“They’ll live. They want their cut and access to the port so they’ll listen.”
Luca sighed faintly.
“Alright. What about the Wolves?”
“We feed them something else. Have the Mexicans throw together a decoy .”
“Using the same unit route?” Luca added
“Exactly.” Marcello countered running a hand over his jaw, slowly.
Luca went quiet for a second. Then asked "Do You want anyone tailing the load?”
“No. I don’t want any shadows tipping them off. We track movements from a distance. Cameras. Port feeds and satellites.” Marcello explained.
“Got it.”
Marcello nodded slightly to himself, then added quietly:
" Make sure the wolves don't find out about anything off with the shipments until they attack."
Luca nodded to himself
Then, faintly, a new sound filtered through the speaker.
A soft voice. Muffled, but clear enough to stop Marcello mid-thought, it was her
“Luca… did you put strawberries in mine too?”
Marcello blinked, that soft voice ....
God,.. he had missed her
His fingers tightened slightly around the phone, but he said nothing. His expression unreadable save for the brief flicker in his eyes.
Then he heard Luca's voice reply in softness, something that he still wasn't used to hearing from the man.
“Yeah, princess. I put them in your cereals too.”
Marcello cleared his throat awkwardly then continued.
" When you're finished come by so we can talk about the plans,"
" Yes boss" Luca finished then the line beeped alerting the end of the call.
Marcello closed his eyes for a second, fingertips brushing the edge of the phone.
He hadn’t expected to hear her voice.
Not through that call. Not like that.
" What is she doing to me." Marcello murmured.
It didn’t make sense. He hadn’t seen her since that one time at Luca’s. He’d told himself to move on from that, .. From her..., he didn't like the control she held against him, like if she asked for the world he would give it to her without question.
That's how much she affected him, And now even the sound of her voice was enough to break his focus for a second too long.
Marcello exhaled through his nose while he scratched his head in frustration before heading to the bathroom to refresh himself ..