“What do you mean safely?”
“We can’t relax until we know for sure it’s over.”
“What’s over?”
“The trade with the head of the goddamn Albanian mafia, Toska” I whisper in her ear.
“Oh, the black book?”
“Yes.”
Looking around, I know everyone here except a man at the bar wearing an old suit and a fedora. I squint to get a better look as we approach. Then I see that stupid cigar in his mouth. It’s Toska! How did he get in here?
And who do I see standing right next to him? The man I recognize right away, Luciano De Luca, head of the Costa Nostra in Sicily. What would the head of the Albanians and the Sicilians have in common that gives them a reason to be in bed together, and what are they planning? This can’t be good for us.
Gabriella walks into my line of sight, sipping a glass of champagne. Something is very wrong here. I check the doors and our guards are still there.
I look for Dante and see him circling the room with Juliet, smiling and enjoying the day. Our consigliere Nicolo is beside Dante, but I doubt he’s armed.
“What?” Prende pulls on the sleeve of my suit to get my attention.
“That’s Luciano De Luca, the head of the Costa Nostra in Sicily, and he’s talking like he’s besties with the head of the Albanian mafia, Fitore Toska.” I nod in their direction so she can see what I’m seeing.
“I don’t know why he’s even here. We’re not in business with the Sicilians and there is no need for the Albanians to be here. They weren’t even at our wedding and you’re Albanian. Maybe Dante invited him out of respect.”
“That could be what happened. What should we do?”
“I don’t know. That’s just it, this is something that has never happened before.”
“Talk about the event of the year.”
“Really?”
“That’s what Gabriella called it when we were planning the event. I met her here with Juliet when we picked the food and setups.”
“Setup.” My words come out as if in slow motion. A setup might be going down but I have no clue what, who or why. I’m trying to put together a puzzle when I’m missing half the pieces.
Juliet walks into the room dressed in an elegant dress by a designer but she makes a beeline pass to reach Dante.
“You didn’t return my text, I came to find you,” Juliet explains. “I left Ava upstairs.”
“We need to get you and Juliet out of here.”
“Really? Is that necessary?” Dante asks.
“Yes, we can’t take chances,” I reply.
“I agree,” Sal reiterates.
I pull Prende behind me and push closer to others as I move towards Dante. The crowd is thick as there are over fifty of the one hundred people that were invited to this private event before the wedding. And, I’ve lost sight of Gabriella again.
Just as we reach Dante to tell him who’s here and ask him questions, I hear a scream, followed by a shout for help and people moving away from the bar.
Fuck!
“Dante, you need to get out of here. Sicilian and Albanian bosses are here, together, canoodling at the bar like lovers.”
Dante speaks into his hidden microphone and his guards come running and surround all of us to an exit where we are stopped by the polizia.