Chapter 19
STEFANO
My blood and my bones vibrated with rage.
If Saul Moscatelli and his son wanted a motherfucking war, I would bring it. If he thought the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre had been Chicago’s bloodiest, and Capone’s war the greatest, he had no idea what the fuck was coming his way.
I stepped back into the ballroom and searched for Val. She stood in a corner, guarded by her thug of a brother. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be in distress.
My heart dropped into my gut.
I had to leave her alone.
If I dared to approach her—to hold her and comfort her—I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from ultimately just taking her. Her brother would have to act, no matter what he and Marco wanted for her. And it would get very ugly in a public setting.
Val would get hurt.
As difficult as it was, I did the only thing I could to keep her safe a little longer. I walked out of the Palmer House alone and headed straight to the private airstrip where the plane waited.
Just before takeoff, I called Benedetta.
She’d asked to stay to catch up with her mother’s family. She would be safe with the Maltas during those twenty-four hours, so I didn’t see the harm in it.
I wouldn’t have been good company anyway.
“Get me the fucking names, numbers, and addresses, Benedetta. Do it right now. Include all Capaldo lieutenants. Send everything directly to Tony.”
Once she agreed, I didn’t bother with saying goodbye. I tossed my phone onto the seat beside me, then gulped down the old-fashioned set before me by the flight attendant.
The woman swooped in for my glass with a nod to let me know she’d be back with another.
I raked my hair back.
Moscatelli refused to return my girl to me, and it didn’t matter what the fuck I offered him. A vindictive asshole for the sheer pleasure of it. And he was scared.
It had shown in his eyes. The next generation frightened him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept a wary eye on Marco.
Others had reported how Moscatelli excelled at maintaining control of his emotions, which might have been true, but even veiled emotions dictated actions.
If he were truly indifferent, he would have taken my offer.
My terms were better than anything the Russians could give him, and the son of a bitch knew it.
I picked up my phone and texted Tony.
On flight back
Get V and C men to the estate at noon
BC has C info
…
Consider it done boss
Calling BC now
That gave me enough time to wash off the failure, maybe take a power nap, and down a lot of coffee while coming up with a proper plan. At that moment, I knew only two things. I was going back for Valentina, and it would get very messy.
Find blueprint of M estate and set up private flight to C
As many seats as possible
Unless driving is faster
Tony would understand immediately and get everything moving. He knew how to maneuver without creating links back to me for the FBI could gather too easily.
When I got Val back, and I would, I wanted time to marry her and enjoy my wife before a judge sentenced me to prison. My wife. Mine.
…
I got you boss
Everything done right away
Good man. Tony had always had my back since we were boys. And now he had to cover my son’s back as well. Tony would never lead the Vignali empire, but his job—keeping me and my heir safe and moving forward—proved to be just as important.
TWO HOURS LATER
Back in New York, I dragged my exhausted ass through the front door of my house.
Enzo waited in the foyer, his foot tapping on the marble.
Rocco’s team had repaired most of the damage already and cleaned the place up, but unfortunately, the large vase that sat on the mahogany entry table for as long as I could remember couldn’t be replaced.
The absence of my mother’s favorite vase made everything seem off, like my home would never be quite the same. In a way, I supposed that was right.
“You’re back,” Enzo said.
His tone, his stare, made it feel like an accusation.
“I am, but not for long. What are you doing up so early?”
Clearly, the boy had eavesdropped enough to know when I would return and that his mother wouldn’t be coming through the door with me. Seemed he’d been doing it most of his life, listening and knowing more than Val thought possible.
“Where is she?” he snapped.
I didn’t want to lie to him. He deserved to know I’d failed him and his mother.
“She’s in Chicago, at her father’s house.”
His cheeks grew pink, and his eyes darkened.
“Why didn’t you bring her back?”
“I tried, but her father refused my deal. I’m not giving up. I’m going back to take her tonight.”
“You should just give up,” Enzo snapped. “When are you gonna start actually protecting her like you’re supposed to?”
“Watch yourself, boy.”
“No! You promised us and you broke your promise again!”
I didn’t have the energy or patience to deal with an angry child, but I wouldn’t walk away from my son.
“I brought her home to you the first time, and I’ll bring her back this time, too.”
Clenching his little fists, Enzo held his position in front of me, his cherubic face now bright crimson.
“With more bullet holes in her? Is she even going to be alive this time?”
Fuck. I knew where things were headed.
“Look, I understand you’re upset, but taking it out on me won’t get her back any faster. I’m not the enemy.”
“Maybe you are,” he screamed. “You promised!”
Tears welled in his eyes, and he wiped furiously at them.
“And you broke that promise. To me?—”
The truth in his words gutted me, and I lashed out.
“I’ve broken nothing, goddamn it,” I shouted. “I’ll get her back. I just need some time.”
With his shoulders heaving, Enzo reached into his back pocket and pulled out the knife I’d given him.
“Son,” I warned, “if you’re going to pull a weapon, you better be ready to use it.”
The boy charged me, willing to strike a man two feet taller than himself—and his father at that.
I grabbed his wrist, gripping tightly but being careful not to hurt him. He kicked at me, screaming, slapping with his free hand, trying to yank his arm away.
“Stop it. Enzo, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“No!” He wouldn’t stop fighting.
He left me no choice but to squeeze the delicate bones in his wrist until his fingers opened and the knife clattered to the floor. Then I kicked it, sending it spinning away from us both with a swirling scrape of steel across the marble floor.
“You promised, Mr. Vignali. You promised!”
Tears poured from him in an endless stream, his whole body shaking with sobs. And still, he flailed against my grasp, though he’d already weakened himself substantially.
I wanted to toss him aside and escape to my bedroom suite.
Instead, I wrapped my arms around the boy, pinning his arms to his sides and holding his trembling body against my chest. My heart twisted violently as he still tried to fight me. A strange crackling sound rose in my throat, a mix of torment and yet another apology.
His heartbreak would be the death of me.
I understood what went on inside him, and I couldn’t bear to witness his pain. So much like my own.
“Take a deep breath, Enzo,” I whispered. “I made a vow to you, and I will keep it.”
I shouldn’t have yelled at him. Guilt tore at my insides, but I didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t know how to be a father to the nine-year-old son I hadn’t raised. I needed Val. Only she could teach me how to be the parent Enzo needed.
Seeing him like this, holding my son while he screamed and cried, reminded me I wasn’t the only one who needed her back. Anything less than storming that motherfucker’s house and taking her by force wouldn’t cut it.
“Enzo,” I said when his crying calmed, and his body relaxed against mine.
He sniffed. “What?”
“I’m leaving tonight to go back to Chicago. I’m taking her by force. I had to try the diplomatic way first. I tried running the back channels. I tried everything I could to get your mother back peacefully. Those avenues have run their course.”
He pulled away and blinked up at me, tears still shimmering in his wide eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that now I’m going in a second time, and I won’t hold back. It means I will kill anyone who tries to get between me and bringing your mother home.” I thumbed a few tears from his velvety cheeks. “Do you understand?”
“I want to go with you.”
“Absolutely not. This won’t be anything like last time.”
“I’ll listen to you better this time,” he said.
I dipped my head to look him straight in the eye.
“I don’t believe that for a second, Enzo. I won’t be up against only one dangerous person like last time. It’s not just one man’s basement. I’m going into a mansion, maybe bigger than ours, filled with men who shoot at anyone. They wouldn’t think twice about shooting you.”
“I don’t care. I want to get her back as much as you do.”
“I know you do, son, but I can’t bring you with me. I need you to trust me on this. It’s different this time.”
“How? How am I supposed to trust you? I don’t even know you. You think buying me an Xbox and not making me go back to school is all it takes?”
So fucking smart, this kid.
“I know it’s not enough. But neither of us has a choice in this situation. We just have to trust each other.”
Enzo backed away from me, pulling out of my grasp, and this time, I let him go.
“I hate you,” he said coldly.
I hated myself right then, too, enough for the both of us.
“If you need to hate me, that’s okay. It won’t change anything. You’re still going to stay here until I walk back into this house with your mother.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Enzo turned on his heel and stomped up to his room.
Christ. If I didn’t get her back, this kid might actually try to kill me in my sleep. What was the appropriate punishment for attempted patricide anyway? For how long did I ground him? How many chores did I pile onto a list at once?
I needed Val for this. For everything. For him, and for me.
Tony crossed the foyer and picked up Enzo’s knife, folded the blade, and handed it to me.
“Everything okay, Stef?”