Chapter 10Ari
Chapter Ten
ARI
Jason and I needed to talk about a couple of things. First, I needed to convince him to meet with Lucas and Gabriele Moretti.
Lucas had called me and told me he was following Claire. She’d snuck out that morning without telling Lucas where she was going. Then he’d gone radio silent for hours. It was unlike him, and by the time he called me, I was preparing for a war.
He’d handed down the law about his new bride. He wouldn’t tolerate any more disrespect towards her. I understood why when he said she’d given him proof that Franklin was responsible for Gianna’s and Dad’s deaths. I’d made up my mind right then. I’d step in front of Claire and take a bullet for her. Then he’d dropped C4 on me. She’d met with a lawyer and found out that the trust was already hers. She’d signed the trust over to him. The entire thing.
Before I arrived at Jason’s office, he’d informed me that Franklin was working with Marco and that they’d been working together for years, and they’d figured out we were the ones hitting his sex-trafficking ring. They were gunning for us. They’d made a big play, pretending like Marco was trying to take Claire. It was all part of the plan. By the time the meeting took place, I’d have all the information about Franklin neat and tidy.
Lucas had expressly told me not to tell Jason any of the information until the meeting. My hands were tied in that regard. Jason would learn everything at the same time Gabriele did.
When he’d ended the conversation asking me about Anna, I’d lied. Admitting anything more than that my marriage was simply fulfilling a duty to my family wasn’t something I wanted to divulge yet. Whatever it was, it was new, it was mine, and I wasn’t in the mood to share yet.
Next on the agenda was Jason and Anna’s father. After finding out that Lorenzo was hanging around, I’d had a guard hovering nearby when she went out. He’d told me about Anna’s father, and I wanted to know why he was making unannounced visits to his daughter, especially when he hadn’t been in the country since Jason took power. My gut said some details needed to be filled in and it wasn’t a leap to connect her tears to it.
Hand in my pockets, I waited while his secretary stepped inside his office. Since I was the soon-to-be brother-in-law, I thought he might let it slide if I didn’t make an appointment.
She reappeared, leaving the door to his office behind her open with a view of Jason in front of the city beyond. “Mr. Georgiou said he has time to speak with you.”
“Thank you,” I said and nodded as I moved past her inside.
Jason sat back in his chair, his arms across his chest. “Ari, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
The door clicked shut before I replied, “Two things.” I took a seat opposite of him and set my left ankle over my right knee .
“Lucas would appreciate it if you could attend a meeting tomorrow with him and Gabriele Moretti.”
“Gabriele Moretti?”
I nodded. “I’ve secured a location that is neutral with an underground parking garage to give us cover. Security will be tight. You have my guarantee that you and anyone you bring will be protected while you are there.”
He studied me. “Do I have to answer right this second?”
“No, I would never expect that.”
“Okay. What’s the second thing?”
It was my turn to study him. I needed to see every movement. If he lied, he wouldn’t have to worry about the meeting. “I thought since we were going to be family, maybe you and I needed a chat.”
“Is Anna not being cooperative?”
At the mention of her name, the events of the previous night filled my mind. I’d held her the night before. That curvaceous, vibrant woman had flattened her body against mine and stayed like that until she fell asleep. I couldn’t put into words what it felt like to have her melt in my arms. What she didn’t understand is that I drew as much comfort from it as she did. Having someone to hold at the end of a long, stressful day was something I’d wanted for a long time. She’d given me a gift.
As far as her softening to the idea of marrying me… “We’re working on it.” I smiled. “No, this is more about your father’s retirement.”
Tension filled the air instantly. His eyes dilated and he swallowed hard. “There’s nothing to discuss.”
“Are you sure? Why did he move to Greece, seemingly overnight? You lost a lot of your men around that time too, right?”
He worked his jaw. “It was a family matter that’s been taken care of.”
That was the point of marrying Anna, right? To join our families. “Okay, bro, what happened.”
“It’s none of your concern.”
I took my phone from the pocket inside my suit, tapped the screen, and showed it to him. “Did you know he was in town?”
The guy’s face blanched. “What?” He stood, took the phone, and stared at it. “That’s Anna’s apartment building.”
“Yeah, and he was there yesterday.”
Grumbling under his breath, he shoved the phone back into my hand, picked up his phone, hit the screen, and put it to his ear. “Michael is back… Yes. He was at Anna’s. She goes nowhere without security. No, it’ll break her heart.” He ended the call and retook his seat.
“Jason, Anna is mine. If your father is putting her in danger then I need to know.”
His eyes turned dark. “There’s nothing to know. It’s been taken care of.”
I understood the need to keep things under wraps that could potentially make the family look weak. That was part of my job, but Michael was able to hide his return to the States from Jason. The time for trying to hide weakness was gone. “Look, I get it. You don’t want your dirty laundry aired, but this involves Anna, which means it involves me. I need to know.”
Jason held my gaze for a moment and licked his lips. Finally, it seemed the debate was settled when he sighed. “He was moving toward sex trade. Girls like Anna. I found out from Thomas one night about four years ago. Thomas was a childhood friend and now my second. He was and is loyal to me. He didn’t like it any more than I did. I spent the next seven months begging my father not to do it while I prepared to take action if he did. I gave him every opportunity I could to stop. I didn’t want our family associated with that. Strip clubs… I wasn’t fond of them, but the women weren’t slaves, so to speak. Not in the same way as these women being shipped in.”
A coup?
“I had to play a part for months to keep my father from figuring out I was making a move against him. I wasn’t going to allow him to do it. I pushed Anna away. We were close, and I knew my actions would bleed onto her. Michael would figure out what I was doing and use her against me.”
“You think Anna would have helped him?”
“No, she was my weakness. I love her, and Michael knew it. He would have had me by the back of the neck.”
A much clearer picture formed in my head. Michael, Benny, Marco. They were working together to build an empire. Three families: Greek, French, and Italian. They would have had the city locked. Money would have not only boosted their coffers, but it would also have increased their number of soldiers. They would have had an army, and anyone going against them would have been cut down at the knees .
I understood why Jason had buried the truth. A perception of weakness would have left them vulnerable. With what I knew about Marco, Jason and his entire family would be dead.
“Why didn’t you tell Anna once it was all over? Michael was gone.” That seemed an obvious question to me, and it made no sense to keep her distanced and uninformed if their father was gone.
Shaking his head, Jason sighed. “By the time everything went down, I’d pushed her so far away, I didn’t think it would matter. She needed to stay away from me. I’m still unsure who I can trust. I have dissenters. Otherwise, Michael wouldn’t be in the country without my knowledge.”
I tapped my fingers on my knee. “Lorenzo Moretti is hanging around her. He’s made direct contact twice.”
He worked his jaw. “I’ll kill him.”
“Get in line.” I looked him in the eyes. “You need to attend the meeting. It’s a big ask, but trust me, you want to be there.”
Nodding, he exhaled, “All right. I will.”
“I’m not sure why Moretti is hanging around Anna.” He cursed under his breath. “What I do know is that Michael thought I was too weak to take him down, and he was wrong. He will use anyone and anything to get back at me, including Anna. I’m not surprised he contacted her. I suspect he’s told her lies about me, and based on what happened with us, there’s a chance she’ll believe him.”
Leaning forward, I set my elbow on my knee as I soaked everything in. “She needs to stay with me. I’ve got a tenth-floor penthouse.” I smiled. “It would be easier to get into Fort Knox than my home. She’ll be safe there.” That’s if I could convince her to go, which knowing her, wouldn’t be easy. It was more likely she’d test my patience and I’d have to be the bad guy.
I would be testing how far I could get with please .