Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
NATHANIEL
M y hand clenched into a fist. I raised it, prepared to slam it on the desk, but one glance at Cutter playing in the corner of my office, and I lowered it down.
“What do you mean he is not taking my calls,” I growled low, picturing ripping the head off the guy on the other end of the line.
“Just what I said. Cesare says he is not taking your calls at this time. He said to leave a message, and when he’s free, he will call you back.”
Standing up, I marched to the furthest corner away from Cutter and turned my back to him.
“You tell Cesare that he either calls me back or I’ll make sure that he not only loses his seat on the council, but I will come for everyone he loves next. He has until tomorrow at noon, or I will release everything I have on him and his dealings behind the other council member’s backs. I doubt he’d like every family turning on him. Twenty-four hours, not a minute more.”
I hit End and wished that I had a landline that I could smash. This man was either the idiot of all idiots, or he had more ego than my father, and that was saying a lot because I didn’t think anyone could be more of a prick than that man.
The knock had me turning around, but I smirked as Cutter got up and ran to the door.
“Who is it,” he called through the wood.
“Ivan.”
Cutter looked at me, and I nodded before he grabbed the handle and turned the knob. Every day, he changed so much. It was astounding to watch. As soon as the door opened, Ivan stepped in and grabbed Cutter before he could take off. Cutter squealed as Ivan threw him in the air and then burst into a fit of laughter as he pretended he was a rocket ship launching.
“Were you coming in here for a reason or just to play with my son,” I asked, but I wasn’t really upset. All my guards had taken to Cutter like he was theirs. The more protective they were, the more invested they’d be in keeping him safe.
Ivan set Cutter down, and he ran at me with his arms open. I couldn’t describe the feeling of seeing my son, and I sometimes caught myself staring at him in wonder and astonishment that he was actually mine.
Bending down, I opened my arms and braced for the leap. I’d gotten good at pretending to be tackled, but this time, I just grabbed Cutter and swung him up into my arms.
“I have to tell you, Boss, it’s weird looking at the two of you. He’s like a mini you, just with no pickle shoved where the sun doesn’t shine.”
I glared at Ivan. He smiled back. The guards were getting way too bold and speaking their minds ever since Savannah ripped me a new one in front of them. I had a feeling that if forced to choose, they would take her side over mine.
“You’re funny,” I said
“Why would you put a pickle where there is no sun?” Cutter tapped his chin. “Do they grow like mushrooms?”
Ivan burst out laughing. I was seriously going to hit him.
“Now look what you’ve done,” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ll explain it to you when you’re older, buddy,” Ivan said, holding out his knuckles for Cutter to hit.
“Did you have a real reason for coming in here?”
“Yeah, we have a situation at the front door?”
I immediately went on high alert, my back stiffening. Savannah was out with my mom, Kaylani, and a slew of guards to do some wedding shopping, but that didn’t make me feel better if there was trouble.
“Then why do you seem so calm?”
“Because this is one situation I think you’ll enjoy handling.”
My curiosity was officially piqued. With Cutter in one arm, I followed Ivan to the front door. It was standing open, but two guards were blocking my view. They wouldn’t leave the door open if they thought whoever was here was a real threat. I relaxed and took a deep breath. Cesare and his fucking games had made me extra paranoid. Of course, my father was no help and didn’t want to get involved because Savannah was not his choice, and as he put it, “ Could’ve set out to take down the council behind my back .”
He'd never given me credit for anything, so why I hoped he’d take my side when it came to my personal life was beyond my scope of understanding. The only thing I could chop it up to was a son hoping at some point to connect with his father.
Robert, who I’d graduated to the house detail for a few months, looked over his shoulder as we arrived and then stood off to the side so I could step out and see who was there. At the bottom of the steps was a man I didn’t recognize. He was slowly pacing the walkway and running his hand through his hair. I pegged him for either a tennis or golf player, someone who loved the life of the country clubs. He had the right physique and pretty boy looks that would go a long way in a place like that. The question was, who the hell was he, and why was he here?
“I understand you’re looking for me,” I said, and his head snapped up and looked my way. He had one of those faces I wanted to mess up, just because arrogant prick was the vibe he gave off like a stale, after-market cologne.
His eyebrows drew together, and he looked around. “No, I’m here to speak to Savannah,” he said. I looked him up and down again. His voice was mildly familiar, but there was no way. That prick she was engaged to wouldn’t be that stupid…would he?
“What business do you have with Savannah?”
“I need to speak to her,” he said.
“You’re not speaking to anyone if you don’t tell me your name and why you need to speak to Savannah. I’ll have the guards escort you off the property right now.”
He looked around again, and this time up at the mansion. “My name is Shawn, and I’m here to speak to Savannah about our son.” If I wasn’t holding Cutter, I would’ve drawn my gun and shot him where he stood. “She is engaged to be my wife.”
“Is that so,” I drawled. Christmas had come in July. Goran had filled me in on what happened while Savannah was away. He had ranted about what a bitch her mother was and how her ex was a raving asshole.
“That’s interesting. I was told that your engagement was called off years ago.”
Shawn lifted his chin in defiance. I was going to wipe that arrogant look right off his face a moment before I ended his life.
“We had a misunderstanding. But I never agreed to the engagement being called off. Savannah stole my son from me. I deserve to have a future with him, or she can pay me to stay out of his life. She can certainly afford it.”
“Shawn, do you know who I am?”
“Your face doesn’t seem familiar to me.”
“Do you remember after Savannah dumped you and threw your cheating ass out into the snow? You tried to call her one night, and a man answered the phone.” I watched for the light to turn on, and the moment it did, I walked down the steps and held out my hand. “Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Nathaniel Mikhailov, and this is Cutter. My son.”
Shawn’s eyes lingered on Cutter before looking at me and back again. Other than Cutter’s blue eyes, there was no mistaking whose genetics created him. Shawn swallowed hard, and I held up my hand, summoning Ivan.
“Dad, who is this?”
I kept my eyes locked on Shawn’s. He was too stupid to be as terrified as he should be.
“He is no one of consequence.”
“Con-s-qence?”
“You were close. You can look up the word with Ivan. He will spell it out for you,” I said, casually handing him to Ivan. I waved at him before they disappeared inside the house, the smile firmly planted on my face until they were no longer in sight.
A snarl left my lips, and Shawn took a step back as I advanced on him. “You have quite the balls to come here. But that arrogance makes you stupid, Shawn.”
He took another step back, but I grabbed the front of his perfectly pressed polo shirt and shoved him until he slammed up against his rental car.
“What the fuck, man? Get off me,” Shawn said, holding his hands up like that would stop me. I didn’t live in the world of using your fucking words.
I turned my back to the window, just in case Cutter could see, and pulled my gun, pressing it into the middle of Shawn’s forehead.
“Holy fuck, are you crazy?” His voice shook, and I was positive he was going to piss himself. He looked cross-eyed as he stared at the metal, pinning him to the car.
“If my son wasn’t a few feet away inside that house, I’d put a bullet between your eyes for stepping foot on my property and trying to lay claim to not only my wife but my son. I’m a man of very little patience as it is, but even more so when someone threatens my family.”
“I swear I didn’t know…she led me on…the bitch told me that he was mine.”
Crack. The bone in the fucker’s nose broke as I brought the butt of my gun down. Blood dripped down his face as his eyes filled with tears.
“Oww, fuck. You broke my nose.”
“Don’t you dare insult Savannah,” I growled, my finger close to releasing the safety and ending his miserable life. Fuck the consequences. “I’m not an idiot, and I know my wife. You’re only here because you thought you could squeeze some money out of her.” His eyes flicked away from mine. The guilt was written all over his face. “I don’t know how you found out where she was living, but my guess is that you looked it up and saw that she had made it rich. Figured you’d come here and stir up trouble, maybe threaten a legal battle for Cutter. Am I close?”
He licked his lips. “Answer me,” I shook with the fury that was fueling me.
“Yes, yes, okay. She left her address with her mother, and I looked it up. It pissed me off that I wanted to get back together, and she’d moved on, so….”
“So, you thought you’d be a fucking piece of shit and try to ruin her new life. I should kill you. I’m so fucking tempted, but instead, this is what you’re going to do if you want to live. Listen closely and shut the fuck up. You will do exactly as I say, or you’re going to end up floating in the ocean for the sharks to find.” Shawn nodded as enthusiastically as he could but didn’t open his mouth. “Good, you have some sense. You’re going to go home, and you’re never going to call, text, visit, or do anything else with Savannah ever again. You do that, and I’ll let you live because you helped take care of Savannah’s mother when she was out of the country. But…if you so much as look in her direction for any reason, you’re a dead man.”
As I leaned in closer, my fist pressed harder into his chest. I could feel the thumping of his heart as it beat out of control. “I can promise you that before you die, I’ll make sure you beg for death. Don’t fuck with me, Shawn, and don’t make the mistake of thinking the cops would be on your side. I own this city, and I can make you disappear without ever lifting a finger.” Removing the gun, I kept a firm grip on the worm that thought he was a man. “Do we understand one another?”
He nodded. I smiled even as my eyes promised death. Just the thought of him touching Savannah, let alone fucking her, was enough to make me want to skin him alive. The possessive rage that burned in my gut where she was concerned was lethal, and he was so fucking lucky Cutter was here. I didn’t want to bring that kind of violence into his life so young. It was inevitable, but not now, and hopefully not for years to come.
“Excellent. I’m glad we understand one another. Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind,” I said, stepping back and letting him go.
My phone dinged with a message, but I ignored it as I watched Shawn scamper around the front of his car. It took the idiot three tries to get the door open before he finally fell inside and took off.
“You want us to follow him and make sure he actually leaves Cali,” Robert asked. I was really starting to like this guy.
“Yeah, take Sal with you. If that fucker stops anywhere, I want to know about it,” I said, pulling out my phone to stare at the notification from an unknown number.
“You got it, Boss,” Robert said as the two men ran for one of the cars and sped away.
I unlocked my phone and stared at the short cryptic message accompanied by a voice recording.
Unknown: I thought you should know.
I skeptically hit play and froze at the unmistakable sound of my father’s voice.
“I thought you would be thrilled with this deal.”
“Would I like the information…yes, of course, I would, but I’m not stupid. This is an extremely volatile situation, Dimitri.”
That was Romeo Mancini. I’d spoken to him a few times and he had a distinctive tone to his voice that I’d know anywhere.
“I know that it’s risky, but what is life without risk?”
“I just don’t know.”
“Romeo, I thought you were not just ambitious but the smart Mancini. What I’m proposing solves both of our issues and keeps our hands clean. No one would blame you for your uncle’s death, and no one would blame Nathaniel for killing him. I’m telling you, Romeo, this is a win for everyone.”
What the fuck was my father talking about? It sounded like Romeo wanted Aldo dead. What the fuck did I have to do with that? I walked inside the house to get away from the breeze that was making the voices harder to hear.
“I may agree with you, but are you really willing to put your grandson’s life in danger? Aldo is insane, and I can’t control what he does or when,” Romeo said, and my heart pounded faster, the pressure building inside my head.
“He’s the bastard son of a federal agent that Nathaniel doesn’t know exists. I don’t care if the girl dies. In fact, it will make my life easier if she does. If Nathaniel makes it in time to save them and kill Aldo, then fine. If he doesn’t, then we will still get what we both want. Nathaniel is hotheaded with a misguided sense of loyalty. He won’t be able to help himself and will kill Aldo either way.”
My hand gripped the phone tighter. There was a long pause, and I looked at the message to see if that was it.
“I don’t know, Dimitri. I don’t like this. It feels like a setup that could backfire six different ways, including starting a war that neither of us want,” Romeo said.
“I’m not setting you up, and you hold the power to get me what I want, which is a place in the overseas action. An in to all the channels I’ve been repeatedly blocked from. I also get free passage through your area whenever I need it. I’ll provide the names of the federal agents in your organization, including the mother of my grandson. I will also make sure that Nathaniel finds out about his son. This is very valuable information that no one else knows, and you can use it to get what you really want. It is a fair trade that you can’t pass up, and you know it.”
“This is a deadly game you’re playing, and if Nathaniel ever finds out what you’ve done….”
“My son will never find out, and as I said, I don’t care if the girl dies. I’d prefer if my grandson lived, but if not, that’s why I have multiple children, isn’t it?” My father laughed, making it clear that none of us were worth more than the next dollar he could make. I almost dropped the phone as the rage and shock collided in my system and froze me in place as I sucked in deep, ragged breaths.
“I guess we have a different view of family, Dimitri, but fine. I agree to your terms, and when you hand the information over, I’ll leak the paternity results to Aldo. I don’t feel right sending Nathaniel in there without protection. So, I’ll have my men on standby to intervene if things get out of control. I don’t need the blood of a kid on my hands.”
“Do what you want, Romeo. As long as you sign the contract, I’ll give you everything you need to know.”
“Send over the paperwork. I’ll read it and get it back to you tomorrow.”
The recording stopped, and all I heard was a ringing in my ears as the thoughts swirled around and all the little dots clicked into place. It was never Cesare, and there was a good chance he never got my messages or even knew what was happening at all. My father leveraged the life of my son on my loyalty and willingness to kill Aldo for going after Cutter and Savannah.
My feet were on the move before I could finish processing what I’d heard. I was going to kill him.