Chapter 12 – Enzo
ENZO
A loud fist pounding frantically on my door wakes us both. I kiss Althea’s shoulder, and whisper, “Go back to sleep. I’ll handle it.” Althea moans as I rise from the bed. She doesn’t move from her spot under the covers.
“Enzo! Enzo, get up! Nazario needs you. Now . It’s important!” My cousin Leo is shouting at my door. At the same time, my phone is going off. Not wasting any time, I throw on my cargo pants as I rush to let him in and answer the phone simultaneously.
“Yeah,” I answer the phone while staring at a pale, panicked Leo in my doorway.
“You need to get Leo and bring his ass to the hospital. Santo’s been shot,” Mauro says into the phone. “Don’t fuck around. We don’t know who’s still out there. You protect Leo, Enzo. The family may be under attack.”
“Who?” It’s the only question I have, because the answer will give me my orders. Whoever is responsible is now my next assignment.
“We’ll talk when you get here.” The line goes dead.
“Someone shot Santo. We need to get to the hospital now . Mauro told me to grab you and get down there.” I hear Althea moving around behind me, and step outside the door into the hall to keep her from overhearing. This is a family matter.
“What do we know?” I ask quietly, holding the door shut.
“Mauro only told me Santo was shot. When I called to check on Naz, he said it doesn’t look good. I-I can’t say more than that. Not here. I was told to get you and meet Naz. So, let’s go.” Leo pulls my arm, but I don’t move.
Instead, I pull out my phone and shoot off a text to Stavros.
Me: Who was on Naz and Santo’s detail tonight? I want names.
Stavros: Theo, Tomas, Joseph, and Carlos were their close detail.
Ephraim was on sniper duty.
Me: Where are they now?
Stavros: Theo, Tomas, and Joseph were all hit. Tomas is in critical condition, in surgery now. Joseph and Theo didn’t make it. Carlos is with Nazario at the hospital standing guard with Mauro.
Me: And Ephraim?
Stavros: Unknown.
Fuck.
Me: I want all video surveillance in the area surrounding the restaurant and everything within a five-mile radius. Find Ephraim.
Stavros: Already on it, boss.
Me: You’re to watch after Miss Drakos. I’ll take over for Naz and Santo.
Stavros: Understood.
Turning back to Leo, who is getting more impatient by the second, I tell him, “Give me a minute to get dressed and strap up. Mauro says it might not be over. Call Nazario and tell him we are on our way.” Before he can utter another word, I slip back into my room and find Althea already dressed in her devilish dress and heels.
My eyes skim her body from head to toe. Neither of us speaks to one another. Instead, I dial Stavros’s number. He picks up on the first ring.
“Boss?”
“I’m going to need you and Eddie to meet me in the garage. You’re going to handle your assignment, and Eddie will follow me and Leo. I want full coverage. Make it happen. I’ll be down in five minutes.”
“Understood.” The call ends. I don’t have to explain what I want. Stavros understands. He’s one of my best soldiers. He doesn’t question his orders, just does as he’s told.
I tuck my phone into my pocket and sit on the edge of the bed, watching Althea move about my room. There’s something almost natural about seeing her in my space. It’s like she belongs here.
Because she does.
“Sounds like you have something you need to tend to, so I think it’s best if I get on my way.
” She’s not making eye contact as she picks up the pieces of shredded leather off the floor and then drops them again, appearing frustrated at the mess I’ve made of her things.
When she turns to face me, there’s something in her eyes.
Is she sad? Disappointed? Afraid?
I want to ask, but I don’t have the time to get into feelings right now.
With a long sigh, she finally makes eye contact and says, “Last night was fun. I’ll let myself out and let you get on your way. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.”
She’s dismissing me.
Not fucking likely.
Althea moves to slide past me, attempting to brush me off, but I’m not letting her off that easily. I grab her around the waist, spinning her until her back is to my front, leaning my chin on her shoulder, brushing away her hair with my nose.
“I told you this wasn’t a onetime thing.
I have a family emergency to tend to, and then I’ll be back.
You can stay here and sleep until I return.
Then we’re going to go out to eat and discuss exactly what this is between us.
” I keep my voice soft, tamping down the frustration at her obvious attempt to play off what just happened here between us.
Try as she may, Althea can’t deny that what we shared tonight affected her.
Her shoulders relax slightly when I drop a kiss on her neck just behind her ear. A spot I discovered makes her melt. Every time I kiss her there, she sighs.
Her body’s response to me is intoxicating. The moment is broken, however, when Leo pounds on the door shouting for me to get a move on.
“I should go. I still need to get my things out of the locker room, and my car is still in valet.” Althea breaks out of my hold, and this time I let her go.
As she passes through the door, Leo pushes past her like she’s no one of importance, barging his way into my room.
I grab him by the throat, lifting him up onto his toes and glare at him.
“What the fuck, Enzo? We have to go!” he yells frantically. I know he’s right, but he needs to know not to touch what’s mine.
“Never touch her again. Understood?”
“Who? The girl? She’s just …” I squeeze a little tighter. Leo blinks several times, glancing between the empty doorway and my eyes. Whatever he sees staring back at him has made my point clear. He nods as much as my hold will allow and after another moment, I gather my control and release him.
I’m pulling on a black shirt and my boots, watching as Leo paces the floor with his phone in his hand.
Leo’s the youngest male in the Venatti family.
He’s barely begun to make his mark in the family business and is rarely shaken by much, which is why I’m giving him some leeway.
He’s young and still likes to joke around and make light of most situations.
He knows better than to barge into my space and disrespect me in front of others.
The only reason I haven’t beaten his ass is because he’s worried about his brothers.
Any other time and I’d have taught him a lesson he’d never forget.
The same lesson we’ve all learned at some point growing up.
I grab my knife, gun, and keys from the drawer and tip my chin for him to move, then follow him out, locking the door behind me. Althea is already long gone when we reach the elevators, but her scent still lingers.
“What do you know?” I ask.
“Santo and Naz had a meeting with Devante Mesias, the head of the Mesias Cartel. They were mending fences after the incident with that asshole you killed and The Bishop,” Leo starts.
“Naz wanted to put out feelers to see if the cartel had any leads on who The Bishop might be or where we could find him. No one has been able to track him down.”
“And what about the cartel? Did they take any damage, or was it just Naz and Santo?” I don’t think the cartel would put out a hit on my cousins, but I don’t trust anyone after my uncle was murdered right under our noses.
“Not that I know of. Their security did their fucking job!” Leo shouts. “How did this happen, Enzo? How could anyone get so close to my brothers and still be breathing?”
“I don’t know, Leo. But I intend to find out.” I vow.
“What do you mean you don’t know? Security is your fucking department! These are your men. Trained by you to protect us,” Leo snaps.
“ Careful ,” I warn.
“I’m not in charge of the men on everyone’s protective detail. Nazario chooses the men who protect you all. Most of them were selected by your father a long time ago. My job is to teach them how to protect you.”
“Well, someone fucked up!” Leo’s hands go out at his sides. He’s starting to spiral.
In some respects, he has a point. I’ve trained most of our soldiers. Especially those who work in close detail with the family. Their jobs are the most important and often most difficult.
Leo scrubs his hand down his face and lets out a long sigh. “Sorry, Zo. I’m just … how does something like this happen? First my dad, now this.”
Gripping his shoulder, I tell him the truth. “I don’t know how it happened, but when I find the answer and the motherfucker responsible, I will make them pay. You have my word.”
We reach the garage and head for my SUV. I scan the area and find Eddie in his SUV and two other guards in another waiting for us to get into mine. Althea’s car is gone, and the spot where Stavros was parked is now empty.
Once we’re inside my SUV, Leo continues to explain.
“I don’t know all the details, Zo.” I back out of my spot and head out of the garage, glancing at him, waiting for Leo to continue.
He sighs in frustration, his hands moving wildly as he speaks.
“Okay. All right. My brothers had a meeting with Devante Mesias. The plan was to reassure Mesias that you had taken care of the traitor who jacked his merch and ask for their help in tracking down The Bishop so we could take care of him for all the problems he’s caused all of us.
A few minutes after the meeting had ended, they were on their way out to the car when Santo called Mauro.
Mauro picked up. Santo told him everything went well, and then … ”
“Someone shot him. Do we know from where? What angle? Was it someone close or from a rooftop across the street?” I ask in rapid fire.
My gut tells me Ephraim had a part to play in all of this since his ass is still missing, but I need more intel to know for sure.
If he ran off to save his own ass, he will be punished and stripped of his duties.
But if he has anything to do with what happened tonight, I’ll skin the motherfucker alive.
“No. I don’t know any of that.” Leo looks absolutely pissed the fuck off when he says, “But Zo, someone in our ranks fucked-up.”
Yeah, I know. And when I find him, I’m going to take my sweet time making him pay.
When we arrive at the hospital, Mauro is waiting for us just inside the emergency room doors.
Aunt Connie is in the waiting room, hugging Nazario close.
When he sees us enter the waiting area, he nods to Mauro to take his place.
Aunt Connie nods to Naz. She knows how things work.
Naz is now the Don, which means he’ll decide on how we move forward from here.
“The fuck happened, Naz?”
“Not here. Follow me.” I follow Naz down the hall into an empty conference room and lock the door behind us.
“Santo was shot in the chest, just above his heart. He’s going to make it, but recovery will not be easy.
” He slams his fist on the table. “I always knew one day someone would come for us, but not like this. Not from one of our own.” Nazario’s voice is thick with pain.
“First, my father. Now my brother. What the fuck is going on ?” Nazario shouts, slamming his hand against the wall, then turning to face me with both hands gripping his hair.
“How did someone in our own ranks get a shot off on Santo? How, Zo?”
“I don’t know.” I answer honestly, hating the fact that I don’t have an answer.
“The fucking coward shot Santo and the three other guards before he took off,” Naz says.
Scrubbing his hand down his face. “The Mesias were already in their cars when it happened. Devante’s tires were shot out, causing his car to crash not far from ours.
No injuries, but he’s just as pissed as we are to know one of our men did this.
” He sighs. “If my brother hadn’t been shot, I’m pretty sure Devante and his men would’ve opened fire assuming we were trying to take them out. ”
“Fuck.”
“There were two waitresses inside the restaurant and the hostess. One of them gave a statement to the police. Officer Doblanski should have everything for me soon.”
“As soon as you have what I need …” Nazario’s glare meets mine. His curt nod is all the permission I need to do what I do best.
Hunt.
There’s a knock at the door. I wait for Nazario’s permission, then open it to find our grandfather waiting on the other side.
“Do we know who did it?” Nonno asks. Nazario paces the room. I watch him closely, studying the way his eyes narrow and the wheels of his mind turn. Naz is a deep thinker. Never acts on a whim. Everything he does is thoroughly thought out and meticulously planned.
“Do we think the Mesias were responsible? Could they have set this up, Nazario?” Nonno glances between the two of us. “Could they have paid someone in our organization to make it look like an inside job to take the accusation off them?”
“No,” Nazario states firmly. “I don’t believe it was the Mesias.”
“But you think you know who’s responsible.” The calculating look on Nazario’s face means he’s onto something, but he doesn’t want to share.
“Well, speak up, boy!” Nonno shouts angrily. “If you know who our enemy is, who shot my grandson, we should send retaliation immediately!”
“You’re hurting. So, I’ll let this behavior pass, old man.” Nazario’s voice is low. “Just this once. But it was you who taught us all to show respect and to honor the Don.” Nonno looks taken aback. We would never disrespect the man, but in this instance he’s wrong, and he knows it.
I watch as his shoulders slump, and the pride leaves his face. He looks downcast and remorseful but doesn’t say anything. He simply nods and lowers his hands, a sign of surrender.
“I can’t say for sure. I need more information, but I know exactly who to ask for it.” There’s a lethality in Naz’s words. “For now, we do nothing.”