Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

N ico

“What the fuck?” Domino huffed by way of entrance.

I eyed my brother carefully, taking another sip of my whiskey as Luca and Enzo made room. I’d asked my brother to the estate as well, also bringing his two men with him. While I wouldn’t consider the sighting of Mattia a crisis, being required to pay particular attention to Alexandra left me with concern.

And rage.

Mattia had also been a playboy, a very long time ago running around with my brother. However, rules had been laid down by both families. They could be acquaintances, but not buddy-buddy. That had come from my father. I hadn’t wanted the rules to continue to apply, but maybe it was a requirement.

Mattia was shrewd and calculating, the son of a very violent Don from ages ago. Once he’d taken over, he’d seemed similar in that he’d wanted a fresh start, to create something other than bloodshed in the southern part of Italy. In my mind, they were the most likely to ignore the rules as put into place by our fathers. Including his.

Of course his dad had been forced to enter into the treaty, which hadn’t pleased him, but the man had honored his commitment. If he hadn’t, he would have been exterminated. It was that simple.

“I understand your frustration,” I told him, pointing toward the bar. It was well after four at this point. This had been the first time I’d been able to meet given the security. Now there were two reasons for the upgrade in security. What the hell did Mattia think he was doing other than angering me?

I wasn’t a happy man at all.

There were too many variables and coincidences, which didn’t set well in my mind. I didn’t believe in coincidences, something taught to me by my father.

Domino stormed to the bar, his two Capos closing the door and joining my guys. All four were the most trustworthy of our organization, but they weren’t used to war, only peace.

“What the fuck did the asshole want?” Domino insisted.

“At the time it would appear Alexandra.”

He was shocked by my statement. “You let her out of the house?”

“Isabella insisted on taking her to brunch.”

Snorting, he grabbed a glass and the same bottle I’d poured from. “Did Isabella confront him?”

“With both barrels as usual.”

“Did she learn anything?” His tone was far too accusatory for my liking and he could sense I’d bristled. “She’s good at that. Better than we are.”

I could feel my Capos thinking ‘nice save’ and it was.

Getting riled at my own brother wasn’t going to solve anything. “Unfortunately, he was busy flirting with my guest. But we both know he was fishing.”

“About Alexandra?” Luca asked.

“He came right up to her when Isabella took a call.” I didn’t like that at all. But I still couldn’t lock Alexandra away, much as I wanted to.

“Fuck. This is bad,” Domino stated more in passing.

“We need to figure out what Mattia was really doing here and if there’s any connection to the Greeks.” Yes, I was stretching it and I knew that, but I couldn’t leave any stone unturned at this point. Doing so could mean getting someone killed. I had no intention of allowing that to happen.

“What did Alexandra say about the conversation?” Enzo piped in.

“That she started suspecting he was fishing for information about who she was staying with and why. And now, she’s much smarter than to tell anyone anything.” I powered back the rest of my drink and immediately went for more. It had been a long day and was likely to be a longer night.

Although I’d prefer to spend it with her.

Fuck.

How many times had I thought that over the last few hours? Too many.

“So what do you want to do, boss?” Luca asked as my brother continued to fume.

“I need the four of you to check with every contact, every informant, and anyone who might know the reason for Mattia’s arrival and what business he was doing here.”

“And if no one wants to talk?” one of Domino’s men asked.

“Then we handle business the old-fashioned way.” I wondered if the men had waited to hear me suggest that. Brutality and blood. I wasn’t certain I was thrilled about it either.

“Been a long time, boss,” Enzo said more to me than to anyone else. Perhaps as a reminder. He’d been there along with Luca when I’d pledged to do things differently not long after my father had taken his last breath.

The truth was that I believed either he’d been injected with a poison, or had been terrified and angry enough it had pushed him into a heart attack. Of course, that would have taken someone knowing he had a heart condition that he’d kept from his entire family. It was something I’d mentioned once in front of my brother and sister and they’d about killed me.

The last thing my mother had needed was to hear my crazy ideas given her fragile state of mine. But just like with Gregory, my out-of-the-box thinking remained. Not that I could put any pieces of the strange puzzle together and at certain points, I hadn’t wanted to.

Now?

I gave him a look that told him in no uncertain terms to let it go. I wasn’t here to debate. I wasn’t here to discuss and come to a consensus. What I said as Don of the Marciano family was all that mattered.

Even if it meant shedding my nice guy clothes.

“We need to look at this differently,” Luca suggested.

I nodded, the glass in my hand too full. I took a sip.

“Okay. What are you suggesting?” Lucian, one of Domino’s men asked. They’d had a rivalry for years, as if they needed to get into a boxing ring. I wasn’t going to tolerate their sandbox antics. We didn’t have the luxury or time to waste.

“What about Gio? The visit you had the night Alexandra called?” Luca ignored him. Good for him.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the man. Often, he had damn good ideas that were right in front of me when I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

“What is he talking about?” Domino asked.

Chuckling, I lifted my glass toward Luca as a slight sign of respect. “I had a visit from Gio Strombali the other night before all this shit started. Literally, fifteen minutes before I received the call from Alexandra. He was balking at being the middleman with the crates of olive oil and other goodies heading to America. He was also insinuating the terms of the contract would need to be altered.” I was formulating my own thoughts about whether I’d been wrong about him.

Including all the hefty security checks that had been done prior to doing business with him years before.

Domino walked closer. “He came to the house?”

“He did and late at night. I got caught up in the moment of his ignorance in obeying the rules. He was acting like a weasel, which also surprised me. He was trying to pull out, telling me his client had gotten nervous.”

“And you didn’t take that so well,” Domino said.

“Hell, no. Not the visit at ten at night. Not his attitude. And certainly not what I heard.” I rubbed my finger across my bottom lip as I moved toward the massive window on the other side of the room.

I could feel the men calculating ideas in their heads from where I stood.

“You’re thinking it was nothing more than a setup, perhaps a test to see if Alexandra had called you yet.”

Domino was a little ahead of schedule. “I don’t think the timing was right at that point, nor did anyone plan on having a witness appear out of the blue. What I do think is that the shipment was never in demand, the clients nonexistent.”

“Plans on hijacking the cargo shipment,” Domino said in passing.

“Possibly. Either the interested enemy would sell the party favors and make millions or the police would be tipped off.”

“And you think Gio Strombali is an associate of Mattia Russo?” Luca laughed after putting the limited pieces together.

“I worked with Gio before you did,” Domino mused. “Yes, he was a weasel, but not a turncoat. I didn’t think he had it in him.”

“Maybe for a price or to fend off a threat.”

Enzo had a good point, but I wasn’t buying anything yet. “Mattia isn’t normally like that. He fashions himself to be a mirror image of my world. In fact, he’d touted it in the press. Look what the great crime syndicates can do with the right leaders. I always thought the man should run for public office.” And I was serious about that.

“Do you need a deep dive into Gio?” Domino asked, already grinning. He knew when my wheels were spinning, I was pulling shit together.

And God knew I hadn’t had my shit together over the last forty-eight hours.

Alexandra.

The name rolled off my tongue even if I hadn’t said it out loud.

“Yes, I do. Have him followed, but be extremely discreet. I don’t want him tipped off that I could be onto him. I just might set up a meeting with him to go over his bullshit contract.” I remembered he’d handed me a new one. Why hadn’t I thought about it before? I’d been so furious I’d shoved it into my desk and forgotten all about it with the crap going on. I returned to my desk quickly, aware the men were studying me. I found the six stapled pages easily, which was light for a contract of the requirements for the cargo.

Since it was going to another country, that meant standards were entirely different. Between being checked at both ports, going through a heavy round of customs and worrying about the rough waters, everything had to be spelled out. I was a businessman after all. Most of what was being shipped was completely legitimate and some of the best products in the world. I took pride in the production of our olive oil as did my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Plus, the clients I’d worked with for years in the United States owned a number of four-star restaurants with significant pull with their customers. It had seemed like a win.

But had I vetted them out well enough? Anyone could create a false identity.

“We should find out more about what Mattia is doing as well,” Luca suggested.

That was another truth. “As I said, that’s your goal, but do it quietly. The last thing we need is for Mattia to get wind we’re onto him.”

Luca nodded. “I have a couple ideas of how to do it.”

At least I had people I could count on.

“What about Alexandra?” Domino asked.

“What about her?” I heard the immediate bristle in my tone. I had a bad feeling that others had caught it as well.

“Is there any thought she was working with the Greeks? I mean maybe they are behind attempting to capture the cargo shipment.”

It was all I could do not to overreact, but it wasn’t something anyone was used to seeing.

At least with regard to personal issues.

“You think someone got to her and converted the girl who’s been the recipient of hundreds of thousands of dollars after her father’s death? Maybe Adonis is her lover, training her to get close to me so he could easily steal crates of olive oil? Is she going to slip me a mickey, a poison at some point? Should I be worried when she hands me a glass of whiskey?” I knew I was raising my voice the more time that went by.

Both Luca and Enzo were chuckling into their hands.

Domino sighed. “A long time ago you once told me something our grandfather had taught you. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Remember?”

The air in the room was tense and I finally turned away. I wasn’t a fool and I certainly couldn’t start being one now. “Fine. Check her out yourself, Domino. I’ve told you enough about her and her aunt for you to get started. If you find any improprieties of any kind, including a single meeting with Adonis prior to her witnessing a brutal beheading, then come to me immediately. Otherwise, I don’t ever want to hear about this again. Am I clear?”

He could tell I was pissed. “I got it. It’s best to rule out every angle. Don’t you think? Brother? She could be angry with you, even blaming you for her father’s death. Did you ever think of that?”

More times than I could count. I’d never felt it from her, but I’d harbored the guilt close to the chest since I’d held him in my arms.

“I agreed. Now, we need to ensure all the security features are correctly installed, the olive trees and vineyards included. Check on Gio and as soon as you find out anything about him one way or another, let me know. I am going to set up another business meeting with him. One he won’t like.” It was the best idea so far in trying to keep control of the situation, not continuing to be part of the issue.

The men nodded and I was almost certain they were going to salute. This was the rougher side of me and it was necessary as my father had warned me of more than once. Too many things could go wrong, the upper hand grabbed when I was paying the least attention.

As they started to leave, I headed to the bar for one more refresh. I needed a clear enough head in case anything happened. The door closed and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You like her.”

Domino’s voice served as an irritation and nothing more.

“She’s my ward.”

“She’s beautiful and I can tell you’re different now that she’s arrived.”

I slammed the bottle of whiskey onto the bar. “What are you getting at? Don’t beat around the bush at all, brother.”

“Fine. If your men refuse to be honest with you, I feel someone needs to.” He walked closer. “Since Gregory was murdered, you’ve held the burden of his death as if you pulled the trigger yourself. Taking his baby daughter was a shock to Mom and Dad and to the rest of your family. You had no business taking care of a child. But we came to understand. You supplied money and made certain Alexandra had a decent life. Cool. But I watched you agonize over birthday and Christmas gifts over the years, acting as if you wanted to play fucking Santa Claus. You always had a great excuse why you couldn’t get to America. Business issues or buried in paperwork, but I could see right through you.”

I got in his face. “Since you’re obviously so smart and know me so well, why don’t you put all this into perspective for me.”

“I will. You believed Gregory’s death was your fault in that the bullet was meant for you. Now she’s here and you’re completely unmoored as to what to do with her because it means talking to her, not ignoring the fact she exists other than providing money. That girl might be innocent and need someone in her life. However, being her protector to the degree you’re doing is making you blind.”

Whether or not he deserved the hard punch to his jaw didn’t matter to me. At all. I did so as a reaction, enraged that… That he could see the truth when I hadn’t been able to do so myself.

“Fuck you!” That was all I could say to him. Childish. Impulsive.

Out of character.

Domino stumbled backward because of the force, almost falling on his face. When he managed to rise to his full height, he was holding his jaw. His stare wasn’t filled with anger or the longing to strike back.

It was filled with sadness.

“I am going to check on her, Nico, if for no other reason that to try and protect this family at a time when you can’t seem to do so. Whatever I find you’ll need to deal with, or I will.”

His threat was riddled with anger, but also truth.

But that didn’t mean I didn’t want to kill him.

There were no other words to be said. He simply walked out, slamming the door behind him.

I was rattled, more so than I’d been my entire fucking life. I hadn’t been prepared to face the reality of my guilt. Not now. Not ever.

Every image of the beautiful day in the church rushed into my mind so clearly it was as if I was there. The words the priest was saying, the joy in Gregory’s eyes as he looked down at his baby girl. And the moment when he took a step forward, handing me the child. He’d moved directly in my path and that of the window where the shot had come from.

My brother was right, but it wasn’t something I hadn’t already determined. That made taking Alexandra into my life doable for now.

However, there was no chance I could take her into my heart.

None.