Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

N ico

My goddaughter had lifted her middle finger to me. How dare she? She’d acted as if my behavior had been childish. What the fuck? And she’d been flirting with Romeo. I should have given her another hard spanking.

Didn’t she know she belonged to me? Me. Not anyone else.

I threw back almost an entire glass of whiskey, slamming the glass down on the credenza with enough force the glasses on the shelf rattled. Only then did I realize I had an audience.

Hissing, I glanced over my shoulder. Both my brother Domino and my attorney and friend Francesco had arrived at the same time. They were standing just inside the small conference room door with sheer amusement on both their faces.

“What?” I barked and returned to my glass.

Domino walked further into the room. “Well, it’s after four anyway, but the way you’re pumping back liquor means something has infuriated you. Would it be the guest you’ve yet to tell me about? Make me one of those, will ya?”

As usual, my younger brother looked like he’d stepped out of some goddamn fashion magazine. Meanwhile, I looked like the creature of death or Zorro. Goddamn, the woman had gotten under my skin.

It would seem no one could keep information to themselves. “Bastards.”

“What? For mentioning a guest from America, a girl your family has never met yet you’ve raised from the shadows?”

“Do not go there!”

Francesco had remained quiet, but the look of amusement remained on his face. I barely glanced at him before making three drinks. What the hell. I was an adult. I could do anything I goddamn well pleased.

I almost overpoured and the two men dared to chuckle behind me.

“And where the hell is Isabella?” My sister should be here.

“Contrary to popular belief, you’re not God and she’s not at your beck and call. She had an appointment with a distributor she couldn’t get out of.”

My brother also knew how to get under my skin and I’d whipped around, even pulling my arm back for a hard punch before I knew what I was doing.

“Whoa. What is going on? You’re not going to start a fight. Not here. Not now.” Francesco had jumped between the two of us.

I took a deep breath, grabbing my drink and walking away. As I stood in front of the window, all I could envision was her face. Her voluptuous body. And the way my trainer had responded to her.

“You’re off today more than I’ve seen you before. Is this about the American Greek mafia?” Francesco asked the question, which meant the full scale of what I was dealing with had become gossip fodder. I only hoped it had stayed in the upper echelon.

“You know,” I snarled.

“Goddamn it, Nico. We’re your partners. We’re your friends. And Domino is your brother. Now, what is going on?”

I turned around, leaning against the window. “Alexandra is a handful and entirely different than I thought. But she’s in serious and significant danger.”

“Is there a difference?” Domino threw out.

It was all I could do not to rage at him. My brother knew how to dig at a festering wound better than anyone I’d ever known. “Yes, there is. Not only did I see firsthand the efforts Adonis Dimitriou will go to in order to exterminate a witness, but my gut tells me eventually he’ll figure out where she is and come after her here. It would seem people talk.”

Both men caught the double entendre.

“You really think they’d cross the ocean to try and find her knowing she’s protected by one of the most powerful crime syndicates in all of Europe?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“But why?” Francesco asked.

“Have you heard of a huge gas line project that goes through Philly and other states?”

Francesco rubbed his jaw. “I’ve heard of it. A bone of contention.”

“Evidently to Adonis as well. If it goes through, he’ll lose a huge real estate development. My guess is he’s already spent millions on it. The senator who was killed was on the approval committee as well as challenging organized crime in his hometown.”

Both Domino and Francesco whistled.

“That’s incentive not to have any witnesses, but even a man like Adonis would need to be careful.”

“Adonis is the kind of son of a bitch who will stop at nothing to get what he wants,” I told him.

Domino sighed. “He’s right. After Luca told me what was going on, I did some digging of my own. I do have a few contacts that can furrow deeper into the crime worlds of the United States. I just heard the entire building where Alexandra lived burned to the ground. Now, the fire department has yet to conclude their investigation, but I’m going to bet the Greeks did it.”

Nothing shocked or bothered me much any longer, but this was disturbing as fuck. Shit. The man was getting desperate already, which usually meant he had more to lose. “What else?” I knew Domino well enough to know he liked to be the big showman.

“And an unknown intruder tried to get into her aunt’s place.”

“Fuck. Since you’re in direct communication with the States and with my Capo, have the aunt taken to a safehouse. Add more guards if necessary. I don’t care about the cost at this point. And what about the roommate?”

“So far nothing there. She might not be of importance.”

Francesco whistled. “What did Alexandra get herself into?” He grabbed his drink, swirling it as he slipped into thoughtfulness. The man was a voice of reason where I could fly off the handle. As evidenced by my act of jealousy. When the hell had that happened in the last ten, fifteen years?

“A nightmare. To that end, I need to make certain we have some extra safety guards in place.”

“With our businesses?” Domino asked.

I nodded. “I’ve always thought the Greeks and other syndicates in America are dumb as a box of rocks, little more than thugs, but there are far too many methods of hacking into our accounts and those I established for Alexandra.”

Francesco nodded. “I agree it’s good to be cautious. If they’re able to learn she’s under your guard, the leader will likely try and do anything to keep your mind off her safety. I’ll see if I can learn more about this pipeline project.”

“Good. That might give us an idea how deep Adonis is in debt, which will make him even more desperate. That’s why I want you to move her trust fund and the smaller banking account I’ve established for her into a more secure facility.”

“I’ll need your full access.”

“Of course,” I told him. “When the funds were established over twenty years ago, you did set safeguards in place to ensure my name wasn’t attached. Correct?”

Francesco eyed me with some distaste. “Absolutely. I’ll double check there aren’t any breaches, but I doubt it. The layers I used were thick.”

I nodded, trying to keep from flying off the handle more than I had.

At least I was slightly calmer at this point. But not by much. I’d never allowed myself to see blood the way I had with the moment I’d noticed the spark between them. “I snagged her wallet. See if you or our computer expert can get into her two accounts. I have a feeling they’ll start there.”

“You’re playing a risky game. I love it.” Domino was too excited to see me this way. Maybe we had fallen into complacency given our wealth and the lack of any trouble the last few years.

“I think I’m going to need to.”

“I’ll take care of everything,” Francesco said. “And your other personal accounts?”

I nodded. “Yeah, just have additional security installed and work with my computer expert. She’s a fucking whiz and will create a program so she’ll be alerted instantly if anyone is trying to gain unauthorized access.”

“Do you want me to handle the corporate accounts?” There was still an underlying current with my brother. We’d sparred most of our lives, but few times had it been serious. I just didn’t want to take any shit today.

“Absolutely. Have a nice long chat with Isabella as well. She’ll fight the extra protection measures, which could place a burden on her distributors, but this can’t be helped. Besides, we’ve been lax in using every modern application to protect our assets.”

“I’ve been telling you that for years,” Francesco said, his grin suggesting he was trying to lighten the mood in the room.

At least I could laugh. Almost. He was right. “Well, no time like the present. I do not want this to interfere with business. We have so much going on with regard to our operations.”

Domino nodded. “All good too. We are in the best financial shape of our lives.”

“I know and I plan on us keeping it that way.”

“If I may make a short suggestion. Make sure you keep each other in a communication loop and I think you should have additional security installed all throughout the estate. Between the vineyards and olive trees, your mother living there, and that it’s the drop-dead zone where the target is, you can’t put it past them to try and destroy everything your family owns.” Francesco was right again.

“He’s right,” Domino stated. “And I should encourage Isabella to allow her house to be wired more than it is.”

“Just tell her it’s going to happen.” Neither one lived on the estate. They preferred to enjoy their lives their way. Plus, it was better for our mental stability.

He chuckled. “You tell her that. You know how hotheaded she can get.”

“I will if necessary. I’ll make contact with our security experts today. We need to keep an eye on what’s occurring in the District of Columbia. We’ll know if they’ve fled.”

“Maybe,” Francesco said quietly. “Remember, the leader could be cunning enough to have his men continue burning shit down while he brings a group here.”

“Good point. We’ll watch everything very carefully.”

“Tall order,” Domino mused. “But it can be done. Now, when are we going to get to meet this woman who has you so flustered?”

“I’m not flustered.”

“Bullshit,” my brother said while coughing into his hand, but I heard the word.

Instead of wanting to punch him this time, I laughed more heartedly. “She’s just a handful.”

“So you’ve said. Why not have dinner in a couple of nights for the family? It will solve our curiosity.”

Domino had cunning methods of getting exactly what he wanted. “I’ll think about it.”

“You know Isabella is likely to just show up and try and take her shopping.”

“Alexandra is not allowed off the property.”

“Your prisoner?” Francesco piped in.

“Very funny. She had to flee to a shithole motel, fearful for her life. They were searching the streets in the rural area too. I didn’t tell her that, but they’d been spotted near the goddamn motel. Her terror is my terror.” That was the truth.

“That means they have a large army of men. This pipeline project means more than we think.”

Domino’s statement was well noted. “Maybe, although there could be other bad blood politically for Adonis. Not that I give a shit other than how it affects my family. However, it’s something else to keep in mind. I’m headed back. I’m only a phone call away.”

“You have to take care of your ward, wooing her before she realizes what you’re made of.”

Once again, I wanted to wipe the grin off my brother’s face. “She doesn’t know the lay of the land just yet. She’s curious. She’s intelligent and I need to ensure she can take her finals over the internet, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

One man looked at the other and I wanted to shoot them the finger. That reminded me of her defiance. The woman was a tigress I wanted to tame.

And I had to stop thinking this way. Now.