“Yes. He has. I am sorry. What can I do for you?”
“You could give me your blessing to marry Lily.” I pause to give her a second to say something. When nothing comes from her, I continue. “I asked for your blessing, but you should know, without it, nothing changes. She is mine now. Mine to worry about. Mine to take care of. Mine to spoil. Mine to love. I have already asked her, and she said yes. This is simply a courtesy.” I might really be making an enemy of an ally, but I might as well tell the truth and shame the devil. Even when the devil is yourself.
“Is this a fucking joke?” Her voice is menacing even to a big dude like me.
“Not in the slightest.”
“So let me get this straight. I sent my little sister to your boss for protection while I gain my hold in New York. I sent her there so she wouldn’t be a target and what you are telling me is that somehow she ended up being…what…fucked by you, and now you think you own her?!” Her summation of our situation hits a bit closer to home, but the way she shrinks it down to something basic and void of love pisses me off.
“No. What I am telling you is that from the moment the car dropped her off, I was in love. I fought it for three months, even though I followed her around like a eunuch. She was literally the sun in my life from the moment I saw her, and I finally gave in. I would do anything to make her happy for the rest of her life. Telling you was part of that. But again, I say, your disapproval changes nothing. She might already be bred with my son, and both of them belong to me.”
“What the hell is with guys trying to knock my damn sisters up.” She grumbles the last part, but it piques my interest. So, Chiara is potentially pregnant as well? Interesting. “So what do you want? You want part of my organization? A place in the line of DeSantis’?”
“No.”
“No?” She sounds incredulous, like she doesn’t believe me.
“No. I have my place here, as will she, as my Queen. I want nothing from you but for you to be happy for her when she calls you and to not try to talk her into leaving me because then I will take her from here, and you will never see her again.” She needs to know the lengths I would go to in order to keep her.
“I see. I tell you what, when I speak to her, if she sounds happy and like this is something she wants, I will not interfere. However, if at any point she gives me the slightest hint this is something she is unsure of, I will come and get her and kill anyone who gets in my way. Do we understand one another?”
“We do.” Glad that was cleared up, I think sarcastically. The phone disconnects, and I shake my head. Night and day, my angel and her sister. Feeling better that I have done as I promised, I stick the thumb drive into the computer and start listening.
So far, all the conversations are about business. For a couple of hours now, I have been listening to the pig talk about the women who have let him stuff his pork in their casing and about his hatred for my boss. Nothing new. There is also some mention of Dario and his hold on Maggiano’s assets. Fat fuck. I am primed to call the tape a dud when something said catches my attention.
“Did you hear the right hand has an asset now?” My ears perk up, and goosebumps cover my skin. Every inch of me is on high alert at this moment.
“Yes. She has been seen around town lately. She is being kept closely guarded as of now.”
“I agree. But did you know she is a mirror image of the sought-after one in Chicago?” What the fuck. I knew they were talking about my woman, but this confirms it.
“No shit. Interesting.”
“Yes. Seems she is out and about today at The View, looking for dresses.” Shit. I don’t hear the rest of the conversation. I am up out of my chair, dialing Dario.
“Click, is everything alright.”
“No. They know about Lily. They know where she is right now. How the fuck do they know? They had a tail on her, Dario. How the fuck did I not see it?” I can hear the panic and feel it spreading through my lungs. The suffocation is real and threatening to take me under, but knowing I need to make it to Lily is what is keeping me moving.
“I don’t know, brother, but someone is going to fucking pay for this. If they know where she is, they know where all of them are. Call Scar, Lola, and Hydro. I am on my way.”