Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
LORDES
Istepped off the private elevator onto the top floor of the Palladium.
The weight of anger sat heavy in my chest as I walked the familiar corridor to Nicco’s office.
Three days in New York negotiating with the LaGrassa’s had done nothing to cool the rage that had been building since I discovered Labria was staying with my Maurizio.
My fuckin’ cousin. My own blood. Although we weren’t close, the betrayal cut deeper than any knife could, but I kept my face neutral as I approached the mahogany door with its discreet gold nameplate: Nicco Bregoli Jr. with the Trinacria symbol curved beneath his name. That was something new he added.
I didn’t bother knocking. I pushed the slightly ajar door open to find Nicco seated behind his massive desk.
His eyes were fixed on his computer screen.
Cenzo stood nearby, leafing through a stack of documents with his usual intensity.
The office smelled of expensive cologne and the faint trace of Cuban cigar smoke that perpetually hung in the air.
“Lord,” Nicco acknowledged without looking up. “Good to have you back. How was the flight?”
“Normal, like any other flight.”
“The LaGrassa negotiations went well?”
“We got what we needed,” I answered, my voice clipped. I unbuttoned my suit jacket and took a seat in one of the leather chairs facing his desk. I didn’t wait for an invitation to sit and never needed one.
Cenzo gave me a nod of greeting, his expression unreadable as always.
“Before we get to that,” Nicco said, finally looking up from his screen, “I want to discuss Marie’s email to her brother.”
“What’s the status?” I asked, forcing myself to focus on business despite the storm raging inside me.
Cenzo sat next to the chair beside me and cleared his throat. “I’ve reviewed it. Lord, Nicco let Marie send it to him last night.” He pulled a printed copy from his folder and read:
Tom, I hope this reaches you. I’m safe and in hiding.
I’m not sure what’s going on, but I had to leave you and come back.
I didn’t want any trouble, and being with you would put a target on my back.
I think the people who are looking for you found me.
I’m afraid to disclose my new location. Some strange guys showed up at my job when I was off.
My work friend warned me, and I got the hell out of town.
I need some money. Anything you can spare to keep me and my kids hidden.
We’re staying in a motel, but I don’t want to say more. Reply if you can.
“Simple,” I commented. “Non-specific enough that she could deny any intention of setting him up.”
“Exactly,” Nicco nodded. “We’ve made it seem like she needed him. He doesn’t know she’s here in Vegas. The email came from an untraceable IP address with a new Gmail account we set up, but one he’ll recognize as hers.”
“And the tracking?” I asked, drumming my fingers on the armrest.
“Already embedded,” Cenzo confirmed. “If he opens it from any device, we’ll know the location.”
“And you think you can trust her?” I asked Nicco.
“I don’t trust any women, but I had to do something to try and lure Tom out.”
“I agree.”
“Now all we can do is wait.”
I nodded, but my mind was already drifting elsewhere. To Labria. To her packing up her things from our house. To her staying with Maurizio, sleeping in his house, under his roof. The thought made my blood boil.
“Lord?” Nicco’s sharp voice pulled me back. “Are you with us?”
“Yeah,” I forced myself to focus. “Good strategy. But Tom’s smart. He might suspect a trap.”
“That’s why we’re not pinning all our hopes on this,” Nicco replied. “It’s just one approach among many.”
Cenzo tucked the paper back into his folder, and his expression shifted, softening in a way I rarely saw. “On a different note,” he said, “Brittany had her first ultrasound yesterday.”
The shift in topic caught me off guard. I raised an eyebrow. “Right. You have a baby on the way with a teenager. Everything good?”
Cenzo ignored my insult, and a rare smile spread across his face, transforming his usually hard features. “She’s twenty years old. And everything is perfect. Strong heartbeat. She’s about eight weeks along.”
“Congratulations,” I said, genuinely meaning it despite my darkened mood. “You’ll going to be the father of two.”
“God help me,” Cenzo muttered. “She’s talking about names already. Even bought a few books. I haven’t told my son he’s going to be a big brother yet.”
“And I’m sure you haven’t mentioned your new baby mama is three years older than him.” Nicco joked.
“No, brother, I haven’t.” Cenzo huffed, genuinely embarrassed by the oral revelation.
Nicco leaned back in his chair. “The Bregoli family grows stronger. Father would be proud.”
I nodded, feeling a pang of something I couldn’t quite identify. Envy? Regret? I’d always assumed I’d have children with Labria someday. Now, that future was crumbling before my eyes.
“She has another appointment in two weeks,” Cenzo continued. “They’ll do more tests, make sure everything’s developing right.”
“Keep us updated. We can never have enough Bregoli’s.” Nicco said and then turned to me. “Now, what’s your assessment of Primo LaGrassa’s situation after losing his nephew?”
Grateful for the return to business, I straightened in my chair. “Primo’s shaken. Tino was his late brother’s son. Primo feels that his death leaves them vulnerable, especially with the feds watching their online activities closely.”
“What are you suggesting?” Nicco asked.
“We send some monetary compensation for their loss. Primo also wants us to arrange a marriage for his illegitimate daughter. He says she’s a virgin.” I tapped my fingers against the armrest.
Cenzo nodded. “Makes sense. I forgot he had that other daughter. The LaGrassa’s have been loyal. Dom always said we protect our allies.”
“Agreed,” Nicco said. “Make the arrangements, Lord. But keep it quiet. We don’t need anyone thinking we don’t take care of our people. We can arrange to marry her off to a soldier. I haven’t seen his daughter in years. I need a picture of her.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I promised, my mind already calculating. “I spoke with Lolita while I was there. She seemed confident they could manage with some additional support.”
At the mention of Lolita’s name, Nicco gave me a look I couldn’t quite decipher. There was something knowing in his eyes, something that made me uneasy.
“Speaking of support,” I said, my voice dropping slightly as I finally allowed myself to approach the topic that had been burning in my mind. “I understand you provided some to Labria this week.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Cenzo shifted his weight, sensing the change in atmosphere. Nicco’s expression remained neutral, but his dark eyes hardened, meeting mine directly.
“That’s right,” he confirmed without apology. “I did.”
“You provided a moving truck and men to help her pack her shit and leave me,” I stated as I leaned forward in my chair.
“I’m trying to keep the peace.”
I’d spent three days in New York pretending everything was fine, making deals and shaking hands, all while knowing Nicco was helping Labria erase our life together. “That seems like something you should have discussed with me first, brother.”
Nicco’s expression remained impassive. “It was a practical solution to a family problem.”
“Practical?” I repeated, the word like acid on my tongue. “You helped my woman move out of the house we share while I was away on family business.”
“Ex-woman,” Cenzo corrected quietly from his position near the window.
I shot him a glare that would have silenced anyone else. Cenzo simply held my gaze, unimpressed.
“I know exactly what happened at my house on Wednesday,” I continued, turning back to Nicco. “I watched the entire thing.”
Nicco raised an eyebrow. “I know you have cameras in your house?”
“Of course I do.” I didn’t mention that I’d installed them after Labria left, sensing her eventual return for her belongings.
“Hidden ones. I saw everything from my hotel room in New York. Labria, her sister, your men. You.” I paused, letting that sink in.
“You personally went to oversee it. That’s an interesting level of involvement for the don. ”
“Her sister was there?” Cenzo asked, his interest apparently piqued.
I ignored him. “I’ve been tracking her car too. She went back to Maurizio’s townhouse the next day. Today. She’s still there.”
Nicco leaned back in his chair, studying me with those calculating dark eyes that missed nothing. “You’ve been busy, and she claims you haven’t tried to contact her.”
“I’m waiting,” I corrected. “I have a plan.”
“And what about Lolita LaGrassa?” Nicco asked. His tone was casual, but his eyes were sharp. “How thorough were you with her?”
The question caught me off guard, though I didn’t let it show. “What about her?”
“Labria seems to think you fucked Lolita. She claims to have evidence of this, pictures, text messages. She even says she saw you kissing her.”
I felt a flash of irritation. So that was why Labria left. She thought I was cheating on her with Lolita. The idea was almost laughable.
“And she confided all of this to you?”
“I’m the don. People come to me with their problems, and you have not reached out to her. It’s been about a month. What the fuck is going on?”
“She blocked me for the first week.”
“And you’re no longer blocked and you know where she works and where she lives.” Nicco added.
“Yes, but she doesn’t get to tell me what to do.”
Nicco leaned back and studied me. “Well, she seems to think you’re fucking Primo’s daughter, and I couldn’t convince her otherwise. She doesn’t want to hear from me. She wants to hear from you. Well, she did. I don’t know what the fuck she’s thinking now.”
“I flirt with Lolita,” I admitted. “It’s strategic. She’s well-connected in New York. She has her father’s ear. The harmless flirtation gets me information I wouldn’t otherwise have access to.”