Chapter Twenty-Three #2
My mind had stopped at sex club. Lucio had mentioned sex clubs, but I had thought he was just being an asshole. Marcie and Vanessa said they knew him from one of his clubs, and now that connections were forming, it was all beginning to make sense.
“Please!” Papa raised his hands in front of him. “This is not the time for disagreements. These events are for business only.”
Maximus stiffened beside me. “What is it you want, Armand?”
Papa waved off his query. “Nothing much, just a little of your charm to smooth over a business deal.”
I almost groaned out loud since I knew from listening to Mama that he was a terrible businessman, and her father had bailed him out several times over the years.
He had passed his inability onto Roberto, and now the two of them advised each other in the world of business.
Some days it had been like watching a picnic for the bewildered as they talked nonsense to each other.
The doors to the room swung open, and Lucio walked in, Poppy on his arm. She looked tense, her face pale, and her normally bubbly personality solemn. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Gabriel slide his phone from his pocket to type on it.
Lucio shot Maximus a filthy look before stomping across the room, his hand firmly on Poppy’s elbow to guide her away from her family.
“Problem?” Papa enquired.
“What makes you say that, Papa?” I asked innocently, deflecting him away from the obvious slight to the Rossi family. “Max and I are very happy.”
Papa wrinkled his nose as his gaze followed Lucio. “He’s been sniffing around looking for loans. He normally gets his ready cash from his in-laws.”
“The in-law bank is closed,” Maximus replied easily. “Sometimes you have to realise when to prune out the dead wood to allow new growth.”
Giovanni laughed, clapping Gabriel on the back. “Thankfully I have more than one son-in-law,” he said. “Have you met Gabriel? He works with Alexandro Ramirez.”
That definitely got Papa and Roberto’s attention. Whoever Alexandro was, he was a top-level player in their game.
“Really?” Papa almost purred. “I’ve heard that Colombia is lovely this time of year.”
“My home is lovely all year around,” Gabriel replied. “It why I spend most of my time there. Willow and I only leave to visit family.”
“How lovely, especially since we are family through marriage,” Papa agreed, and I could almost see the cogs in his head turning.
The master of ceremonies arrived a few moments later, saving us all from the embarrassing spectacle of Papa making an ass of himself with Gabriel.
“Good evening, everyone, and thank you for attending. Tonight, there is a vote on the agenda, so can I ask that all non-voting parties to move to the room next door for a few moments, and we’ll take care of business before we enjoy the rest of the evening.
” He smiled, holding his hand out to show everyone where he was referring to.
I hadn’t intended to leave Maximus’ side tonight, but we were being herded away. Reluctantly, I clutched the security of my bag tighter, and moved in the direction of the other women. Gabriel didn’t have a vote, but he remained beside Giovanni, demonstrating that only the women were being removed.
“Poppy,” I found a place beside her when the doors closed. From a distance, she had looked normal, now as I stood beside her, I could see the bruises her make-up didn’t fully conceal. Her long sleeves didn’t completely cover the ones at her wrists.
“How hurt are you?” I asked in a low voice so no -one else would hear us.
She pursed her lips together and glanced away, shaking her head. “I can’t talk about it.”
I had seen similar marks on Annabella, but my sister had always refused to speak about it. My heart contracted because Poppy had always been a strong and beautiful force of nature. I touched her arm to offer support, and saw her wince.
“I need to use the bathroom,” I said in a voice loud enough for those close to us to hear. “Come on.”
I linked my arm through hers, and walked towards the door we hadn’t entered through. We didn’t have much time, as I had attended meetings like this before. I closed the door, pushing a bin over to prevent anyone from opening it.
“Show me.” I touched her wrist.
“He loses his temper when he drinks. I should have gone to bed, and out of his way.” Poppy wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes closing.
I pushed her sleeves up, deep purple bruising told the story of her being restrained against her will.
“Are there more?” I asked.
She slowly pulled her top up, revealing bruising on her stomach. When she lowered her flared trousers, I saw why she hadn’t worn a dress or skirt.
I had to help her. If Lucio didn’t stop, he would end up killing her. “Do you have any means to escape?”
She shook her head, looking toward the door. “Mum was staying with us, but Lucio lost his temper, and moved me out of the house away from her. I don’t have a phone or money.”
“We don’t have much time,” I replied, rummaging in my bag to find the blocker because if I wore a tracker, then so did Poppy. “Pop this down your bra.” I pressed the button to activate it before handing it to her.
“A blocker to hide your tracker.” Her eyes widened at my words but she did what I said. “Here is my card, I want you to use it to get somewhere safe tonight. We will get to you when it’s safe.”
“How will I contact you?” Poppy looked young and vulnerable.
“They can trace cell phones, but I imagine Giovanni has secure lines at his home.” She would know her family landline number. “Collect my cloak at reception and instead of going out and using the elevator, go up a few floors and then use a staff elevator.”
She grabbed my hand. “How do you know all of this?”
“Mama insisted I know how to defend myself, and she made me train with Caine, who taught me how to run and hide if I needed to.” I smiled sadly at the memory since he had made me act it out several times until it became muscle memory.
“Put your hair up and take your make-up off. He told me to stay where no one would look for me.”
I didn’t want to say too much in case this place was bugged, and we were about to return to the room with the other women. I gave her the taser that she hid in the pocket of her flared trousers along with the mace without comment as I showed her what they were in silence.
We returned to the group, a practiced smile on our faces, and when the door opened for us to rejoin the men, I squeezed Poppy’s fingers, and nodded once. The next phase she would have to do by herself, and that would be terrifying.
Maximus’ gaze snapped to me as I re-entered the room, his eyes briefly following Poppy before they returned to me.
“Everything okay?” he asked when I reached his side.
“Of course.” I smiled and lifted a glass from the tray, refusing to look at Poppy or engage.
Conversation flowed, and I was acutely aware of the situation, the hairs on my arm raising when I noticed Poppy excusing herself to go to the toilet.
She didn’t even have a bag with her as Lucio controlled her life completely.
I mentally counted from the moment Poppy left the room, imagining her going to recover my cape to cover her clothing. Maximus would be able to track the black card he gave me which was why I gave it to Poppy.
“You need to relax,” Maximus said against my ear. “You’re so tense that you’ll snap if you move too quickly.”
I nodded, smiling up at him in pretence of normality.
“You need to give her some time,” I said in a whisper. His gaze locked with mine but he showed no other reaction.
He returned to conversation with Giovanni for a few moments, sipping his whiskey. I felt trepidation trickle down my spine when I saw Lucio check his watch from the corner of my eye. He was going to start looking for Poppy, because men like him needed to control their prey.
Maximus turned to those assembled, his body partially covering mine. “I heard a rumour the other day,” he said, his voice rising until there was silence in the room. “That someone in this room has a death wish.”
He paused, examined his glass, and took a sip.
“Apparently, someone has issued a hit on my beautiful wife.” I felt all eyes turning to me. “Personally, I’m insulted by the amount they put on Olivia’s head. She is, after all, the wife of the head of the Rossi family.”
The hum of muttering rippled around the room, and even Lucio joined in, distracted from his task of stalking Poppy.
“Twenty million,” Maximus said casually as if he was discussing the weather. “Twenty million to anyone who hands over the head of whoever is responsible for this nonsense. The thought that anyone could get close enough to even lay a finger on Olivia is beyond ridiculous.”
He had Lucio’s undivided attention since he was up to his eyes in debt, and twenty million was a lot of money. Every second we could give Poppy meant she could get further away to safety.
I moved forward a step, putting myself directly into the limelight, sliding my arm through his.
All attention snapped to me now that there were two figures on my head.
There was no way Maximus would pay someone to hand over the traitor, because that would mean they knew about the plot, and made them a traitor too.
“He’s trying to divert our attention from the issues discussed earlier,” Rocco said, waving his hand. The glassy look in his eyes said he had drank too much. His father Tobias stood beside him, nudging him to try and get him to stop talking.
Maximus’ harsh laugh sent a shudder down my spine. “I don’t need to spend twenty million to divert your attention, Rocco. That can be done with a glass of cheap liquor.”