Chapter Nineteen
Marcello
Surprisingly, Salvatore Marchetti has graced me with a visit.
He’s now sitting in my study with a glass of whiskey he hasn’t touched, looking like a man who has some bad news to share.
“I debated whether to come to you with this,” he says. “I take no joy in this visit. For two days I struggled with whether I should come and see you. I wasn’t sure it was my place to bring it up to you.”
“Well, you’re here, so I assume you decided to tell me whatever it is that’s bothering you?”
“Yes. I think for your safety and the safety of the Foschini family you need to hear the truth.” His eyes are brown and serious. Unlike at the wedding, there’s no warmth in them today. “I had a conversation with Elio a few days ago. We ran into each other near the waterfront.”
“I’m aware,” I say quietly.
He lifts his brows. “Did Elio tell you?”
“No, Dante did.” While Dante’s main job is to protect Elio, he also reports to me what Elio has been up to. I don’t keep tabs on Elio to control him. I do that to protect him. I doubt Elio would see it that way, but that’s only because he doesn’t understand this world.
He nods. “Of course. Dante would be sure to report back to you. I didn’t think Elio would have told you about our meeting. He was very insistent that you not find out. He swore me to secrecy.”
I frown. “Elio did that?”
“He did.” Salvatore grimaces. “He worries you don’t approve of me. That you wouldn’t want us to get close.”
“I never told him he couldn’t befriend you.” That’s technically true. Although I did make a point of telling Elio not to trust Salvatore and the other older alphas.
There’s a skeptical gleam in his eye. “Oh, come now, Marcello. I’m well aware you don’t want Elio to associate with us older alphas. Elio is aware too, which is why it would have surprised me if he’d volunteered that we had coffee together.”
I let a few moments pass. “I don’t think you came all this way just to tell me about having coffee with my husband.”
“No.” He shifts in the chair, tugs at the crease in his trousers. “That isn’t why I’m here. I’m here more to warn you, than anything.”
I narrow my eyes. “Warn me of what?”
He meets my gaze. “You won’t like what I’m about to say. But I think Elio meant well. He simply doesn’t understand our world.”
I sip my whiskey, trying to control the uneasiness shifting through me. Once I’ve swallowed, I say, “How about you tell me what it is you’re trying to say, Salvatore? I’m a busy man. I don’t have time to pull it out of you.”
“Of course.” His tanned cheek twitches. “Well, to be blunt, Elio told me the reason you took the ports from the Lucchese syndicate.” He lets that sink in, then adds, “He told me how Valentina tried to have him murdered.”
I stiffen and the room goes quiet. The clock on the mantel ticks and the fire shifts and settles. “He told you that.”
“He did.” Salvatore’s voice is careful.
“I see.” Chest tight, I go to the window and look out at the grounds.
My reflection is faint in the glass, but not so faint I can’t see the anger glittering in my eyes.
I made it very clear to Elio that no one could find out about what Valentina tried.
Yet he told Salvatore about the attempted hit?
Why the fuck would he do that? I specifically told him not to trust Salvatore.
“If it’s any consolation,” Salvatore says. “I don’t think he intended to tell me. It came out in the course of our conversation.”
“What sort of conversation could you have been having where that would come up?”
“At first we simply discussed things like his brother and people at the club. But I’m not a fool. I could see he was worried about something.” He shrugs. “All I had to do was ask. He was eager to tell me what has been on his mind.”
“Oh, really?” I grate. “He just spilled his guts to you because you asked?”
“Yes.” He sighs. “I think he was dying to tell someone. He’s frightened for you, Marcello, and frightened people say more than they mean to.”
I’m seething, but trying not to show it. I can’t believe Elio handed over an incredibly sensitive piece of intelligence to a man I don’t trust. A man I told him not to trust.
“I understand why you’re upset,” Salvatore says.
“I’m not upset,” I lie.
He sighs. “I would be in your position.”
I turn to face him. “What’s the real reason for your visit?”
“You’re so suspicious of me, Marcello. I came to you because I’m concerned for you.” He frowns. “If Elio is sharing this information with me, when he barely knows me, who else is he sharing it with? Today it’s an old man with no ambitions. Tomorrow it could be someone less harmless.”
“Elio wouldn’t try to hurt me,” I say. “He’s not from this world. He doesn’t understand how it all works.”
“I agree. I’m not suggesting he would do or say anything deliberately to cause problems for you. He’s not stupid and he’s not disloyal. But he’s young, and he’s scared for you.”
I don’t speak, still struggling with why Elio would have told something so sensitive to a man like Salvatore. Does he truly not see how manipulative the man is?
Salvatore sighs. “Elio was merely seeking reassurance. He doesn’t understand how dangerous the consequences could be if he spoke to the wrong person.
Naturally, we both know that if it became common knowledge that someone tried to murder him, and they almost succeeded, that could be a huge problem for you. ”
I narrow my eyes. “What is it you hope to gain by coming here and telling me any of this?”
“I’m not trying to gain anything.” He sounds insulted. “I’m suggesting that you need to manage this before it spirals out of control. Your omega is frightened and he’s reaching outside the family for comfort. That tells me he doesn’t feel heard inside the family. He doesn’t feel heard by you.”
“I’ve told him not to worry. I’ve told him I have it under control.”
“That obviously wasn’t enough. He must not trust you have it under control. Why else would he come to me?” Salvatore spreads his hands. “I’m not his enemy, Marcello. I care about that boy.”
“Good, then keep this to yourself,” I rumble.
“Of course. That goes without saying. But as I mentioned earlier, if he’s telling me your secrets, it’s very likely he’s telling others.
” He wrinkles his brow. “He spends a lot of time at the club when you’re on trips.
He might have already told Giulia Greco what he told me. And if he told her, then Renato knows.”
I clench my jaw in frustration because he’s probably not wrong.
“While Elio means no harm, what matters is the perception. People will say Marcello can’t control his own house. And that perception, on top of the Lucchese port situation that no one understands, is tricky for you.”
I let out a harsh breath. “I appreciate your concern, Salvatore. I’ll think about coming up with an explanation for the port situation. Something that doesn’t make me look weak.” I hold his gaze and say pointedly, “Because I’m not weak.”
He holds up his hands. “Oh, I know. You don’t have to tell me that, Marcello. And I think it’s a very good idea that you come out with an explanation for why you took over the ports. You need to quiet the rumblings before it goes too far.”
I shrug. “I’ll consider doing that.”
“Wonderful. I truly believe that’s the smart thing to do.” He clears his throat. “Before I go, there’s something else I need to tell you. It’s… er… of a sensitive nature.”
I frown. “What is it?”
Salvatore grimaces, and his voice drops half a register. “I wasn’t going to mention it because it may be nothing.”
“Just say it.”
“While we were having coffee, Elio got a text from some alpha.” Salvatore meets my gaze uneasily. “He looked very excited to see the text. His… his entire face lit up. Apparently it was someone he used to know before coming here.”
My gut churns as I demand, “What did the text say?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he says contritely. “I asked who the text was from but it was obvious Elio didn’t want to give me a name.
He said it was just someone from his past, but he seemed nervous about the text.
In fact, he made a point of hiding his phone screen from me.
” He watches me, his expression apologetic.
“From that point on, he seemed… distracted. Like his mind had gone somewhere else. Soon after that, he made an excuse to leave.”
Was the text from Pete? Has Pete been texting Elio regularly?
I’d just assumed they weren’t talking anymore.
Was that naive of me? A chill runs through me at the thought of them still having a thing for each other.
Elio said he wanted to be with me. That he loved me.
What would he have to talk about with Pete?
“It may be nothing,” Salvatore continues, “I only mention it because this is a tricky time for you, Marcello. Now more than ever you must appear to have complete control of things.”
I narrow my eyes. “What makes you think I’m not in control of things?”
“Oh, I don’t think that for a minute,” he says quickly. “I’m simply saying how it might look to others. I mean, if Elio is speaking carelessly to people about the Lucchese situation, and texting with other alphas, that could undermine you.”
I don’t respond. I merely hold his gaze, listening and trying not to give into my anxiety.
He sighs. “You know how people are. If they begin to question your ability to lead, it could snowball. They might start saying if you can’t keep control of your own omega, how can you be trusted to control your syndicate? That sort of speculation could be dangerous for you, Marcello.”
I curl my lip. “So you rushed over here out of concern for me?”
He looks wounded. “Of course. Marcello, I don’t know why you seem to think we’re enemies. My family has always been there for yours. My own son stepped up to protect Adriano when he was called upon to do so by your father. Have you forgotten that?”
I wince inwardly at the mention of his late son Cristiano. “No, I haven’t forgotten.”