7. I’ll Take Care of Him

SEVEN

I'll Take Care of Him

JULIAN

A lessio's not happy with the news I give him and insists I go over to meet with him as soon as possible, which is easily done since I'm already close. Josephine meets me at the door with a very concerned expression on her face, Nico by her side, holding on tightly to her leg.

"I'm not sure what you said to him on the phone, but he's been a bear ever since. He's on the phone now with Marco Moretti and Nero," she says, shaking her head.

"Sorry, Josie. I wish I didn't have to make the call."

"Val and I were going to go over later to help Milana with the wedding plans, but Alessio has axed that for today," she huffs. "Nico and I were looking forward to snuggles from Zia Milly." He has the sweetest smile, grinning from ear to ear, looking up at his mom. Milana would be a good mom. She aspires to be everything her parents weren't, and that in itself is a good sign.

"He can snuggle with Milana tomorrow. I'll make arrangements for everyone to come here," Alessio barks from the hallway.

"It's not necessary. I'll have Mom take care of it," I suggest. Josie's correct in her analysis of the situation: he's far from happy.

"If my wife wants to help, she'll help. But on my terms," Alessio states, then turns to his wife. "Get on the phone and work out with Milana what still needs to be done and who you need to meet with and get a list together. I'll take care of the rest." He veers back in my direction. "My office. Niccolo will be here any minute."

I follow him straight in.

"Why didn't you tell me you called Luciano?" he asks gruffly. Shit! I should have run it by Alessio first.

"It was a gut feeling. After you mentioned that Milana might be in danger, it occurred to me that they might go to her apartment. It was a long shot and solely precautionary. I had no clue they'd find Barry in the state he was in. It's going to kill Milana to know Barry was beaten up. She considers him her only family."

"Your instinct was dead-on," he growls. "This Barry guy won't talk to anyone but Milana. All he does is try to run and call her name."

"They took care of one another." I run a hand through my hair. "I can try to get him on the phone and have her calm him down."

"This doesn't affect only Il Destino. Marco says that two of his whorehouses were hit. We're checking with Reno and Raffaele, and we'll decide then how to proceed." Alessio walks over to me and stares me right in the eyes. "I get that you did what you thought was right, but you fucked up. You will never call out to another family for help without informing me first. Is that understood?" His voice is low and eerie, so you cannot misinterpret his message. Mainly, do not screw up again, or I'll end you .

"Never again," I solemnly vow. You can feel the tension in the room. I'm glad when Niccolo shows up. With Niccolo present, we connect with the other capos as well as their consiglieri.

Sebastian and Dante are Reno's brothers, but they each hold a very important role in Nostra Casa. Reno considers them both his consiglieri, but there's a third man they consider a brother, although not blood. Leo has been Reno's best friend since childhood. He is as devoted to Reno as I am to Alessio.

Raffaele keeps his inner circle very tight. Ivo is the only man he truly trusts. After being betrayed by his own brother, Raffaele keeps his family hidden from sight most of the time. His wife, Evangeline, is rarely out without him being there to protect her.

"I checked with my men. Matteo and Ivo tell me that things have been unusually quiet," Raffaele tells us. "Not that I don't like the lull, but it's normally followed by an explosion."

"Same here," Reno says. "Nothing out of the ordinary, but we know that could turn in an instant."

"I'm ready to help however you need me," Dante offers. The man's a computer geek and dark web genius. Very few have his skills, and those that do happen to be his friends.

"We've got nothing to offer up," Alessio says. "Barry won't speak to anyone but ‘his Linny,'" he says snidely. "And I'm not sure what they found in her apartment."

"The place was trashed. The furniture was busted up, and the mattress was sliced. I couldn't make head or tail of it," Luciano adds.

"Did anyone check for fingerprints?" Dante asks.

"No. The minute we saw Barry, our first thought was to get him out, get him help, and hopefully, he could tell us more," Luciano responds.

"Could he make the flight out to us? I'm thinking Milana might be able to get him to talk," Alessio suggests.

"I want Nero with him," Marco says.

"Absolutely," Alessio agrees.

"I'll send my plane for him. Leo will join," Reno says.

"I'll go too. I can go with Luciano to the apartment. I know what Dante's looking for. Maybe I'll get lucky," Sebastian offers.

"Does that work for you, Marco?" Reno asks.

"Yeah, but I want to make this clear: I want first blood," Marco says. "This happened in my territory, and I want to make sure it's understood that they won't bring a fight to our doorstep without paying the price."

"You can have first blood in New York. I get first blood here. I have four men whose wives are mourning their husbands. It's my job to let them know they didn't die in vain," Alessio counters.

"Let's find out who's responsible first. Then we can work out how to make them pay," Raffaele suggests.

Marco and Alessio concede his point, and we put our plan in motion.

We disconnect, and Alessio looks at me. "You better tell Milana what's happened. She needs to get all she can out of this Barry guy."

"She will," I assure him.

"We're done for now," Alessio says, ending the meeting. I turn to walk away, but hear him call my name; then he says, "Congratulations on your house. Have Milana over at our place early tomorrow. They can finish with their wedding shit, and then we can go see Barry." His voice has softened and isn't as terse.

"Thanks," I say humbly. Two fucking stern lessons in a week from Alessio Cassini. There won't be a third.

* * *

Milana

I knew the minute he walked through the door that something was amiss. After finding our own place and chatting with Josie about the wedding, I was having the best day ever, and I mean ever! I can't remember ever being this happy, and this is in spite of almost becoming a whore for Raffaele, being tattooed, and having a very intense blood oath ceremony.

It all started with a morning kiss and got better and better from that point on, except now, I see the frown on Julian's face from across the room, and even though dinner is on the table and we're ready to eat, he motions for me to come to him.

"Milana." His tone is heavy and somber I'm not going to like what he has to say, I just know it. I set down the platter of veal parmigiana and go over to him.

"Julian—" Lilliana calls to her son, but Joe quickly grabs her hand and shakes his head, warning her to keep out of it. Valentina and Niccolo have joined us for dinner and Niccolo seizes Valentina's hand when she tries to get up. Julian walks me to the living room and drops onto the sofa, putting his head back and looking at the ceiling.

"I haven't done anything wrong. I swear. I haven't left your mother's side all afternoon," I start, but he cuts me off by pulling me down onto his lap as he sits up.

"Quiet, babe," he starts. I snap my mouth shut. "I gotta tell you something, and I need you to stay calm, okay?"

"Okay," I reply quickly, wanting to get this over with.

"I got a weird feeling yesterday, so I sent Luciano from La Famiglia to do a check on your place. My suspicions were correct. Your place was trashed."

I gasp. "Barry?—"

He gently rubs my back in a soothing circular motion. "He was caught in it, but the good news is that Luciano found him and has been looking after him. Nero is bringing him down to us. Barry won't speak to anyone but you."

"I'll take care of him. He won't be any trouble. I promise."

"That's not all. I did this without Alessio's knowledge. He's not too happy with me right now. Although, the front seemed to thaw slightly before I left him. That's twice now that I've given him reason for concern. There won't and can't be a third," Julian says.

I nod. "Don't get in trouble. Please."

"Here's the plan. Tomorrow, I'll drive you and Ma to Josie's, and Valentina will be there, I'm sure of it. Finish the shit for the wedding. We don't have time to screw around because business has to come first. So get it done," he says.

"Josie says she's making all the calls, and the flowers, bridal boutique, and bakery owners are coming to her place. Your mom and I have the rest covered," I say, hoping this eases his mind.

"Good, miele mia." He pats my knee. "Later in the afternoon, Barry will be arriving, and he's going to be sedated for his own good. He's been trying to escape to get to you. We're hoping that when he sees you, you can talk him through what happened."

"I will."

"He's been beat up bad. I want you to prepare yourself. Alessio wants us to find out all we can and why they went to your place. We need to know how close they think they are to finding you, if it's you they're after. Most of all, we want to find out who would drop your name and why."

"I'll do whatever you need me to do. But what happens to Barry then?"

"We're going to convince him to stay here where we can look after him. We'll make him the caretaker of our new place. There's a small garage we'll turn into an apartment. You gotta work on him, babe," he stresses.

"He won't be able to see his wife and daughter every day," I say.

"They're dead."

"He goes to the cemetery every day. It's what he does. That's why he never left," I explain.

"We can have them moved if that's what it takes." Julian lets out a breath. "Alessio's pissed because our shipments are being attacked. Barry may be our only lead, and you're the key to getting us into his mind. He trusts you. He'll talk to you. Do you understand?"

"I get it. I'll make sure he understands that Carol and Jessica are better off in a peaceful resting place here, and we'll get them to a place close by where I can take him to them every day. He wants them to be safe."

"Babe—"

"He knows they're not physically here, but they're in here." I point to my heart. "His mind still lives in the world where Carol watches him come home and kisses him on the cheek and his little daughter sits on his knee. His whole world changed, and he hasn't been able to adjust."

"You've babied him. Maybe he needs another perspective. Once you're done, I'll talk to him," Julian says. "I gotta have a word with Dad after dinner and fill him in. Let's go eat." He pushes on my hip to move me away, but I circle my arms around his neck instead.

"I won't let you down. I'll get Barry to talk to us." Then I do what I never imagined and brush my lips over his before I slip off his lap. The crease in his brow relents, and he comes to his feet so we can join the others for dinner.

After dinner, Joe and Julian go to his father's study and firmly shut the door. Lilliana questions me, but I tell her that this is for Julian to share.