“That won’t be happening,” I muttered as I sipped my drink and held the bottle up to him, but he shook his head. I took that opportunity to wash my hands clean in the bar sink.
“Yeah, well, they’ve had her pinned here for over an hour and haven’t once listened to her protest about being busy with work. Even your mother came to her rescue, but…” He shook his head, exhausted. “Not to mention that he dragged her all over town while he did errands because he said he wanted to spend time with her. She might actually kill the guy, Elio.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” I smirked. I stood and casually began to walk toward them with a hand in my pocket. It wasn’t the first time I’d been in a room with a bunch of snakes, and it surely wouldn’t be the last.
“Good evening, Elio,” Bria greeted me in the fake way she always did. We never spoke much. Not since I peeled her from my bed, years back, after she came into my room looking to cheat on her husband. I thought she was a gold-digging tramp, and she thought I was too much like my father, loyal.
“Bria.” I nodded then glanced at Mariano, who now had his hand wrapped around Sienna’s wrist as he tugged her up from the chair.
“Sienna, a package arrived from your boss. Mama has it in the kitchen for you.” I offered the escape.
“Thank you.” She started to pull away from Mariano, but he moved with her.
“Mariano,” I called after him, “a word.”
He cut his eyes at me with a heavy sigh, and I barely contained my patience. It was wearing dangerously thin with his disrespect toward me. Not to mention he wanted what was mine.
Once Bria disappeared out back and I knew my mother had Sienna elsewhere, I relaxed.
“I want you to spend the next few days at the docks.” He started to speak, but I lifted my hand in a warning and made a further effort to throw him off. “I need a person I know I can trust to watch over our men.”
“Why can’t Vinni or Niccola do it?”
I leaned into him and lowered my voice. “I got word that Stefano’s been spending a lot of time downtown, so I sent them there. We need to watch to see what he’s up to.” I caught his eyebrows crease for a quick moment before he subconsciously snapped the rubber band on his wrist. My teeth ground together as murderous thoughts clouded my judgement. I still couldn’t believe this man I once thought was my best friend was involved with Stefano and trafficking girls through my dockyard. “It’s only a few nights until I can figure out what happened to the cameras, why they keep flickering on and off.” My hands in my pocket fisted tightly, and the urge to slam him into the wall and watch the blood trickle from his nose from the impact was consuming.
“All right.” He dropped his hand heavily and disappeared out back, no doubt to complain to his mother.
Something caught my eye. It was my father in the doorway. He nodded for me to follow him. We entered his office where we would be out of the DeSimones’ hearing range. Francesco was there ahead of us. Papa sat and waved at me to join them. Then he turned to Francesco.
“I’ve known you since we were in college, and up until today I’ve always thought we knew everything about one another, but it seems I was wrong about that. I understand that we’re grown men and are entitled to our own lives, but when it directly affects my family, I have the right to know what’s happening.”
“Of course, you’re right.” Francesco nodded and settled back in the chair, his eyes closed as if collecting his thoughts.
“I’ve known Elenora since I was nineteen.” He stopped speaking.
“Is that it?” I hated all the vague answers we seemed to be getting. “You’ve known her for years. So, she and her, what,mini syndicate,” I tossed my hands in the air, “are heading this way tomorrow morning, crossing into our homeland, to this very house, and we know nothing about her. What if they are working with the DeSimones?” I had no idea why she surrounded herself with a group of men. She wasn’t part of any syndicate, nor was she some famous person. Maybe she came from money or imagined herself in danger, but still her little entourage was eye-roll worthy.
“She’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I do.”
“Oh, well, there you go,” I shook my head at my father, “she’s been vetted.”
“I get this is unexpected and confusing.” Francesco tried to reason. “Trust me, I had no clue this was coming now, but it is, so let’s navigate this correctly.”
“How do we navigate? We are blind here. Unlike you, we know nothing,” I threw back at him.
“But I know enough, so please, you have always trusted me, as I have you. We are family. If the two of you would take my word that they are fine to come here, it would be better for all of us. This must stay within our protection.”
“How is Sienna doing?” my father asked me. I knew he trusted Francesco with his life, as did I, so the argument was over, and we needed to let things play out.
“I don’t know.” I sank onto the couch, hating the timing of this new catastrophe. “Confused and hurt, I guess. Mariano sure isn’t making things easy. I’m sending him to the dockyard, so we can keep him in a contained area. I don’t want him here when they arrive tomorrow.”
“Smart.” My father nodded as he thought, then glanced at Francesco. “Elio, could you please give us a few minutes?”
“Yeah,” I huffed, feeling all mixed up inside. As I closed the door, I heard my father’s chair creak as it did when he leaned, then Francesco’s voice.