12. Elio

12

ELIO

I 'm not sure what to do about Piper, but I do know that I'm not going to stand around and let her be abused. I'm going to find out who that bastard is and give him a taste of his own medicine.

When I arrive at my office, I do a public records search on the house Piper lives in and discover it's owned by a Gabriel Collins. Sounds pompous. It takes a bit more research to learn he's from a rich family in New York but attended advanced studies in economics in England. See… pompous. He works for an international financial firm and was recently relocated to Chicago.

A knock on my door interrupts my research.

"Boss?" Matteo's voice calls out.

"Yeah. Come in."

"We got a problem," he says as he enters my office followed by several of my highest ranking men. That gets my attention. This problem isn't some little hassle.

"What's happened?" I push my focus on Piper and her asshole husband aside as Matteo and my men provide reports of retaliation from Vincenzo over my ending the engagement to his daughter.

I rise from my desk and pace the length of my office as I listen to the reports from my trusted lieutenants. The tension between the D'Amato and Rinella families has reached a boiling point, and it feels like the very territory we've fought so hard to control is now up in flames. The tentative agreements we'd already had with the Rinellas are now broken.

I don't make any decisions yet. My first step is to talk to Vincenzo. Once I dismiss my men, I call him.

"If I didn't know any better, Vincenzo, I'd think you were glad I broke off the engagement so you had an excuse to come after me."

"You brought this on yourself, boy."

My teeth grind as his use of the word boy . He thinks my younger age and fewer years of experience make me weak. I'll show him differently. However, because I don't want to fuck with our business or have issues with Don Caruso, I'll use diplomacy first.

"I told you I'd find a way to make things right. Did you forget, old man?" There. I swipe at his old age.

"What I want is for my daughter to be married to a D'Amato."

Fucking hell. "That's not going to happen. But I can arrange?—"

"No. Your father and I put this agreement together eight years ago. He'd be rolling in his grave if he knew you'd do me dirty like this."

"He'd also think you're an idiot for attacking me on my turf. It works both ways, you know."

"All I did was tell my boys to cut you off from the waterfront. If you had any other issues… well, that wasn't me."

"My father always said you were a liar. A bad one at that." I'm talking a big talk, but I'm off my game some at this turn of events. I rake my fingers through my hair. For a moment, I reconsider my situation. Piper doesn't want me. Am I about to start a war with another family for no reason? I can't be sure Caruso will be on my side if things fall apart between me and Rinella. He likes me more, I'm sure. I'm innovative and smart. But I did break an agreement.

When I think of a life with Ava, I feel dead inside. It has nothing to do with her. She's lovely. But Piper… she's the one I want. Since the day I met her, she's been mine. I won't let anything stop me from having what's mine. I don't know how I'll convince her to give us another chance, but I'll keep trying until I take my last breath. Which might be sooner than later if things with Vincenzo escalate too much.

"Fuck you, D'Amato." The line goes dead.

I let out a breath and call Matteo to have him come back to my office. He's not really a strategist, but I need to bounce ideas off him. I might have talked to Lana about this, but she'll bust my balls about breaking the engagement.

He walks in with his usual easygoing swagger. "Rinella concede?"

"No."

He laughs. "The guy has a hard on for you to marry his daughter."

I nod. "Do you think he plans to use her to worm his way into my business?"

"Wouldn't put it past him. She gives you a male heir, you have an untimely death, and all of a sudden, he's looking after the D'Amato business."

"Fuck."

"Works both ways. In fact, you're at a better advantage. She's your in to take over his business."

"He has a son."

Matteo laughs. "That moron?" He has a point. Vinny Junior is about as dumb as they come. He spends all his time drinking and gambling away his father's profits. "Be glad he's not proposing that Lana marry him."

I let out a bark of a laugh at the idea of that. "Lana would eat him alive."

"I bet he'd enjoy every moment of it until she slit his throat."

"I need to figure this out." I sit behind my desk and will my brain to find the answer.

"You could marry Ava."

I glare at him.

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Okay, so not that. I hope this woman is worth all this. It's not just you who's affected, you know?"

"You're not being asked to marry a woman you don't love."

He looks down. "She seems nice."

"Then you marry her." I have a sense of déjà vu. Didn't we have this same exchange the other night? "Let's get back to the issue at hand."

"We need to respond swiftly. Show them we won't be pushed around," Matteo says.

I nod, my mind racing as I consider my options. "I'd rather appease him with a new arrangement than retaliate for encroaching on my territory and blocking us from the waterfront."

He stares at me. "That's not what your old man would do. You know as well as I do that you'll look weak."

He's right. I can't afford that. "Okay. So we retaliate. But where does it end? I need something he'll want as much as a marriage between our families."

"I can't imagine what that is unless you walk away and let him have it all."

"That's not happening." I sit back in my chair. "What about Kiplinger?"

"Vice?"

I nod. "We could hand over some information." I have what Rinella doesn't have, friends in high places, including law enforcement and local government. They keep me from being arrested and I keep them financially secure.

"I've heard a few rumors."

"Anything definitive? Catch him in the act?"

"Maybe. Let me check with Robbie. He's the one closest to Rinella's area."

"Good. Keep me posted." I suck in a breath. "We need to keep an eye on all our businesses… legit and otherwise. I think I'll go to the restaurant tonight."

"You think he'll try to hit you there?"

"I think he knows that hurting the name I've worked to build as a legitimate businessman will bother me more than fucking with our other business. I have a good reputation even if there are whispers of the old family business."

"I'll have guys at the clubs. What about the construction sites?"

"Maybe put a few more men."

"You know, Elio," Matteo muses, "Lazaro would have known exactly how to handle this situation with the Rinellas. He was like a rabid dog. He could have married Ava or scared Rinella enough to make him back down."

"True." My brother Lazaro had always been on the edge of crazy. It made him unpredictable, which made our enemies and our associates nervous. The memory of him is bittersweet. I miss him. God, I'd lost so much in the span of a few years. First, Piper. Then Lazaro. Next, my parents.

I scrub a hand over my face, trying to push back the tide of grief and regret. Lazaro's absence left a void emotionally, but also professionally, that no one else can fill. Many times, I've wondered how things would be different if he were here. No doubt, Rinella would be second-guessing ever crossing us. I'm left with him thinking I'm weak, and it doesn't sit well.

"I miss him too, you know," Matteo says, his gaze filled with empathy. "He was a crazy motherfucker, but God, was he good for a laugh."

I smile. "He was." I can't get Lazaro back. I don't know what happened to him, but I have no doubt he's dead. In the past, he'd have been gunned down and we'd have a body to bury. Today's Mafia isn't so in-the-face with its killings. I imagine Lazaro is at the bottom of Lake Michigan or under a crop of corn somewhere in a rural part of the state.

I can't get my parents back, either. I suppose it's a comfort to know they died in a car accident together instead of a hit. They could be brutal SOBs, but they were my parents.

Piper, however… She's alive and well. I've lost a lot, but she's one person I can get back. At the very least, I need to make sure she's safe.

I write down Gabriel's name on a piece of paper and hand it to Matteo. "I want you to see what you can find out about this man."

Matteo takes the paper, reads it, and frowns. "Is he new in Rinella's business?"

I roll my shoulders knowing Matteo isn't going to like this assignment with Rinella trying to burn my business down. "No. He's Piper's husband."

Matteo's eyes widened. "She's married?"

I nod.

"Fucking hell, Elio. You blew this deal over a married woman."

"He abuses her." I state it like it should answer all Matteo's questions and concerns.

"So… what? You're going to kill him and then take her for your own?"

My jaw is tight. "She's mine. That's all you need to know."

He blows out a breath. "Lana is going to?—"

"I'm the boss here!" Have I been too lenient? Weak? Is that why Rinella and now Matteo and Lana think they can disrespect me? Well, that's going to change.

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Do you want eyes on him?"

"I want you to find out everything you can about him." If I'm lucky, I'll find the skeletons in his closet and will use them to make him leave of his own accord.

"Sure thing." He tilts his head to the side. "Can't she just leave him and go with you?"

"It's complicated." But it won't be for long. Piper and her child will be mine. I just need to figure out how.