Chapter Four
Noah
Pacing back and forth over the floor of my office, I clenched and unclenched my fists. I desperately wanted to tell that bitch I would have her tongue cut from her head for speaking to me in such a manner.
“Calm down, for fuck’s sake.”
Normally, Gio was one of the few people who could talk me down from an intense rage. Today, though, his voice only grated on my nerves.
“You were too fucking nice to her.”
“Somebody has to be,” he countered, casually lighting a cigarette and leaning back against my desk. “The Costa siblings are up her ass for no reason.”
Coming to a stop in front of him, I said, “Don’t tell me she has you in her hooks, too.”
“All that really matters is that your father likes her.”
I scoffed. The fact that he wanted only her and not me to comfort him when he was in distress sent me over the edge. That man was my father, my flesh and blood.
“Maybe you’re just pissed she clocked your man.”
“Yeah, well, he’s immediately fired. If someone as simple as a doctor could spot him, then he’s shit at his job.”
“As simple as? You make her sound like an uneducated country bumpkin instead of a whatever-the-hell kind of surgeon.”
Gio blew out smoke, and I resumed pacing. My heart rate was returning to normal, so I could only assume my blood pressure had also dropped.
I couldn't seem to ruffle her feathers, and that bothered me more than it should. She was too calm, too collected. I’d caught her off guard the day before, but only barely. Sailor Wentworth wasn't a delicate flower, and for some reason, I hated her for it when I should have admired her.
“Where did my sister get off to?”
“Hovering over Benito until the good doctor leaves.”
“I’m sure she’ll love that.”
I saw Gio shrug out of the corner of my eye as I made another turn. “In all sincerity, why do you hate her guts? You haven't spent enough time in her presence to know what she’s like.”
“It started with the way she backed up Dad instead of agreeing with the hospital. He’s out against medical advice, so why the fuck wouldn’t she side with that same advice?”
“She did mention informed consent and a patient’s right to refuse.”
“Stop defending her!” I shouted, fed up with both him and Dad.
“You want her to do as you say without question, and she wants your father’s rights protected. Who sounds like they’re in the wrong here?”
I snarled, and he put his hands up in a peacemaking gesture that wouldn’t work on me at the moment. But I did need to focus on something other than the damn doctor. We had an arms meeting coming up, and I had to prepare for it.
“Has Mancini gotten with you?”
Gio’s brows went up at my abrupt change of subject, but he didn’t question me out loud. “He was scouting the location today.”
Finally dropping onto my chair, I stared at his back until he turned to face me. “We need to buy a place that we can use every time instead of coming up with a new location for each buy.”
“The last time we discussed that, you said the bastards would find a way to infiltrate our properties to ambush us.” He leaned forward, bracing his fingertips on the desktop. “And you weren't wrong. We’d have to have twenty-four security of the highest caliber.”
“It’s not like we can’t afford it.”
“Who would we use? Barrett? Brennan? Do you even trust anybody enough for that type of monumental job?”
He was right about that. I trusted my blood relatives and Gio. If I were honest, I trusted Lorenzo Mancini because he’d never given me a reason not to. But I still double-checked whatever he did for me.
Trust but verify.
And the rest of the world could go fuck itself. I didn't trust anyone outside of my extremely limited circle, and for good reason. If someone decided to rat me out, I’d either spend the rest of my life in prison or find myself strapped to the electric chair.
I’d sooner eat a bullet.
And, of course, there were others who would be happy to make that happen for me. Death was always the easier option over prison or, God forbid, making a deal to save my sorry ass.
“Maybe not,” I finally said. “Maybe it’s a terrible idea and we need to keep doing what we’re doing.”
“I’ll let you know when I hear from Lorenzo.”
“Thanks.”
He left, and I watched him go. Clearly, he would never struggle to talk Vicki down from one of her epic tantrums. It took more to rile her than it did me—a fact that never failed to annoy me—but when she was pissed, the whole city would know about it.
I hadn't seen her have a meltdown in a while, which might be because she’d had to worry so much about our father’s health recently.
She was more subdued than usual, which benefitted us all.
Checking the security cameras, I saw that the sedan was gone, meaning Dad was alone again. Rising, I removed my suit jacket and draped it over the chair before heading down the hall.
Time to eat crow.
Dad was in the same spot he always was these days, eating a bowl of soup. Some old black and white played on the TV at low volume, and I felt reluctant to interrupt him.
“Dad,” I said quietly as I approached the bed.
“Noah.”
“I need to apologize.”
“Agreed.”
Fuck me, he wasn't going to make this easy, was he?
“I shouldn't have let her get under my skin like that.”
“Sailor is the one you should apologize to. You had no right to put your hands on her.” Finally, he looked at me. “If you had scared her off, I would never forgive you.”
Holding my tongue, I tried to regulate my thoughts so they wouldn't show on my face. He’d really choose her over me?
“That wasn't my intention. Besides, she clearly doesn't scare easily.”
“I told you to leave the matter alone, but you just had to sic someone on her, didn't you?”
Tucking my hands in my pants pockets, I nodded. “When it comes to you, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
“And while I appreciate the sentiment, you have to lay off.” Setting the bowl on his side table, he added, “You found out she does exactly nothing with her life, didn't you?”
“It seems so.”
“Is that what really made you angry? To learn you’ve been wrong about her?”
Perhaps he had a point, but I was reluctant to admit it out loud. “Everyone has friends, family, hobbies. I wanted to be certain none of hers are in direct opposition to ours.”
“And?”
“As she said, she went to the grocery store and the post office.”
“No friends or family, then?”
Why did he seem so concerned about her life? “Planning on making me call her mommy?”
“What the fuck, son?” He shook his head. “Certainly not.”
It wouldn't be the first time he’d set his sights on a female employee. Ever since we lost Mom, he’d been trying unsuccessfully to fill the void she left behind in our lives.
“Then why can’t I be critical or suspicious?”
It took him a few seconds to answer. “I don’t know, but just as you felt instantly irritated with her, I felt instantly at ease. She has a calmness about her, a reassuring nature, that I like.”
The headache that had been threatening me earlier returned. “Then I’ll have to promise to let it go.”
“Don’t think I didn't notice there was no actual promise in those words.”
Chuckling, I leaned over to kiss him on the top of the head. His hair had gone wispier lately, which was just one more reminder that I might lose him.
“I promise to back off the doctor, as long as she cares for you properly.”
“There, was that so hard?”
He had no idea.
“Any news about the next meeting?” he continued.
“We’re waiting to hear back from Lorenzo about the location. Gio and I were debating buying a permanent warehouse for these things.”
“But you don't trust anyone enough to keep the place secure.”
“You know me too well.”
Since I’d already had too much bourbon for the day, I tucked my hands back in my pockets and stared out the window.
“It’s my job to know how your mind works. I think the idea has merit, but you’d have to be absolutely positive no one could infiltrate the area and get the drop on you.”
“Yeah, that’s been my biggest hangup.”
Dad picked up the remote and turned off the TV, so I focused on what he had to say. “If you don’t trust any of our men with your life, then you need to send them on. There’s no use keeping staff who you don’t think would have your back in a life and death situation.”
“I understand that’s the honest truth, but none of them deserve to die just because I have hangups and trust issues.”
“Then you need to test them and find out whether your hangups are rooted in reality or a byproduct of your mother’s passing.”
Goddammit, why did he have to bring that up? “Low blow, Dad.”
“It’s as much the honest truth as everything else I’ve been saying.”
Mom died because her guard betrayed us. He pulled the trigger in revenge for someone in his family we’d targeted. In a way, it was mob justice, and a way of life we’d come accustomed to, but on the other hand . . .
She was the love of my father’s life. The best woman I’d ever known, with no one else coming in at a close second. One minute she was the center of our universe, as mothers should be, and then she was gone.
Turning from the window, I faced him with difficulty. “Then you understand why I can’t throw my wholehearted support behind anyone these days.”
And not just because I’d personally vetted the motherfucker who plotted to kill my mother while pretending to protect her life.
“That evil man was taken care of, and we’ve tested our current men. Test them again or trust them, Noah. Either that, or give them the final alternative.”
“Dammit, I hate when you’re right.”
Roman Barrett came running into the room, our butler on his heels.
“Sorry, sirs, he wouldn't wait for me to announce him,” Bedford said breathlessly.
Roman spoke over him. “They bombed the site. Mancini was blown to bits.”
My stomach sank before rising to choke me. “What?”
Nodding furiously, Roman continued his report. “I heard it firsthand from Brennan. He said there’s nothing left but a crater in the earth.”
My father struggled to rise, but I put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Now wait a fucking minute,” he wheezed. “Why the fuck would they do such a thing?”
“Hoping to get to one of us,” I said calmly. “Please, sit back down, Dad.”
He huffed and puffed, and I knew he wanted to argue with me.
He simply didn't have the strength.
“The Chinese?” I asked Roman.
“We’re not sure if it was them or a rival family.”
I wanted to throw something, to smash something into a thousand pieces. I wanted to put my fist through someone’s face, but there was no one around whom I could do that to.
“If you hear even the slightest hint it was the Russos or Lombardis, I want swift and merciless punishment.”
Dad nodded. “I agree with him.”
“In the meantime, we have to steer clear of the area so emergency personnel won't make a connection between us and the location.” Perhaps that was their only motive. To make sure the police were looking hard at us for anything they could find. “And we’ll have to make amends to Lorenzo’s family.”
Fuck, I didn't need this right now. Was it to botch the sale, or to put us on the radar? Was it the Chinese, who were meant to sell us the weapons, or was it someone local looking to fuck with us?
“I know your wheels are spinning,” Dad said, “but let the men investigate.”
How did I let them do anything now, when my suspicions were at an all-time high? It wasn't the loss of the good location that bothered me nearly as much as losing a loyal man. One of the few I trusted implicitly, and he’d been reduced to nothing for petty reasons.
“I need to know who did this to Lorenzo. I need to make them pay.”
“Understood,” Roman said.
“Now, let him and Brennan look into it.”
Though Dad meant well, there was no way I would let them take the reins and not check in on them. I didn't have it in me.
“So help me,” I said through gritted teeth. Sucking in a breath, I let it out slowly. “When I find out who did this, they’ll pay triplefold.”
Roman left the room, and I told Dad I’d see him later. I had to find Gio and give him the news, and maybe he’d think of something I hadn't.
Except that, when I found him, he was playing grab ass with my sister in the corner of the main hallway. A lion’s head loomed over them, and I stared up at it as I cleared my throat.
“We have an emergency,” I said.
In my periphery, Gio extracted himself from Vicki’s arms and took a few steps toward me. “What is it?”
“In my office.”
I wouldn't speak about it in front of her, regardless of whether he chose to tell her later. I always tried to shield my little sister, but I wasn’t in charge of her life.
“Lorenzo Mancini is dead,” I announced as soon as the door was closed behind us.
“What the fuck? How?”
His shock helped ground me, and I took a deep breath before answering. “Someone blew up the site he was setting up for us.”
“Who would do such a thing?” After a brief pause, he added, “That’s what you want me to find out.”
“Brennan and Barrett are looking into it.”
“But?”
Turning to him fully, I said, “But I want their work double checked. My father suggested I either test them to see if I can fully trust them or kill them. This is that test.”
“Got it.” I had my hand on the doorknob when he said, “For the record, I think they're trustworthy."
“We’ll see, won't we?”