Weapons? My eyes scanned her outfit. It was so tight, there was no way she’d be able to fit anything beneath it. Even still, Sienna sighed, reaching into the inner pocket of her jacket and withdrawing one of the smallest handguns I’ve ever seen. How many fucking bullets could it hold? One?
The guard turned to me next, though his facial expression was less apologetic. I pulled my own gun from the holster at my side, hidden beneath my own suit jacket. It felt weird handing it over to him. I’d never actually been to any of the Commission’s meetings before now. I was supposed to attend this one with my father, but that was before this tentative marriage alliance. Now, instead of sitting at my father’s side, I’d be at Sienna’s.
Sienna pushed her way through the door, her head held high. Following after her, I saw we were one of the last to arrive. Frank Rossi was seated beside Claudio Guarnieri. They stopped chatting as soon as they noticed Sienna. I couldn’t tell what the nature of their conversation was by the carefully blank faces they adopted, but that alone told me it probably wasn’t good. Leonardo Moretti, Mario Russo, and Vito Costa were huddled at the other end of the enormous table in the center of the room.
Black leather chairs dotted the edges of the bare table, more than was necessary. The room itself was also fairly undecorated, with white painted walls and a few windows across from the door. The floor was a dark gray carpet that gave a little with each step. Looking around, I couldn’t help but notice that my father hadn’t arrived yet.
Maybe that was his plan—to arrive late. It would certainly draw attention to himself, and it would also probably remind his allies to who they owed their allegiance. Whichever ones he had convinced to join his side for this meeting. I still couldn’t pinpoint who exactly that would be, but I was starting to get a feeling that Sienna was up against much more than she’d bargained for.
“Ms. Rosania.” Claudio Guarnieri rose, giving her a slight nod and completely ignoring me. Well, then. “We’re just waiting for Salvatore to grace us with his presence, then we can begin.” His eyes finally flicked towards me.
“Is…” Frank Rossi eyed me, forgetting my name. Or, pretending at least. I didn’t dignify that poor attempt of intimidation with an answer. “Is your husband acting as your underboss?”
“Not at the moment, no,” Sienna replied calmly, a hint of an edge in her words.
“Then perhaps he should wait outside. Since his father will be along shortly, I presume.”
I didn’t turn just yet. Instead, I looked to Sienna, letting her think that it was her decision I was waiting for. She seemed taken aback for a moment, as if she didn’t think I’d refer to her at all. Recovering quickly, her head jerked towards the door. I knew a dismissal when I saw one.
Giving the men around the table one last solid warning look, I slipped back out the door. And ran straight into my father.
“Dante.” He looked surprised to see me outside. “Why aren’t you in the room?”
“I wasn’t invited,” I said pointedly. “None of the other heirs are there.”
Sal’s eyes slid to the guards at the door. “Right. Well, you’ll hear about the result of the vote as soon as we’re out.” Clapping me on the shoulder, he went inside.
I stood there for a moment, trying to hear anything through the wooden door, but it was too thick. One of the guards cleared his throat, a clear message to move along. I stayed just a few more seconds, just to show the asshole that I didn’t take orders from him before wandering down the hall. I wasn’t in the mood to head back to the charity dinner downstairs, where I knew Emilia would be fluttering about trying to please the local police department. As if her donation wouldn’t be enough to buy their loyalty.
The second floor mostly contained other meeting rooms, the walls between the doors decked out with old paintings of landscapes and long-dead people. I pretended to be interested in the art, meandering further and further away from the room where the Commission meeting was taking place. But I didn’t want to go too far. I wanted to be the first to hear the outcome. Either Sienna was leaving this place as Don, or I was leaving as Don with a pissed-off wife who would probably try to murder me the first chance she got. If the latter happened, I would have to do damage control to correct my father’s idiotic mistake.
He couldn’t see the bigger picture, which was why our family had been at the bottom for so long. The Scaranos had dealt in lower-class drugs to sell across shadier neighborhoods, depending on stealing shipments from the Rosania for anything worth its weight in money. But we could be doing so much more. Having control over half the ports meant both of our families could benefit if we just worked together. But there was too much bad blood between us, and my father would never be the bridge that would bring the two sides together.
I’d made it to the end of the hall when I turned to loop back around. The second floor was boring, and there was probably enough time for me to check the perimeters of the building from the inside. Emilia and the other Dons had probably already done that, but it wouldn’t hurt to check again. I didn’t expect the Snake to attack here, not with the other Don’s security guards crawling all over the banquet hall—both inside and out. But we also didn’t think the Snake would attack at the last charity event, either.
Making my way back to the first floor, I headed straight rather than veering right to go back to the event. Between the two winding staircases was a small hall where the kitchens, storage rooms, and back offices were. The front, where the kitchens lay, was busy with workers coming and going, trays full of plates and platters. The smell made my stomach rumble, reminding me I hadn’t eaten yet.
Forcing myself past the kitchens, I headed towards the back. I knew from the schematics of the building I found online that it led out to the back alley. The alley was too small for any car to squeeze into, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Pushing open the door, I stepped out just a bit, keeping the door open so I wouldn’t get locked out. A few bricks were laying around, probably to prop the door open for the workers to have a smoke break. Using one, I let the door swing into it, just a sliver of an opening left.
One side of the alley was blocked off by a brick wall, the other mostly covered by the enormous dumpster left out for the trash trucks. Nothing else was back here but burnt out cigarette butts and a few wind-blown pieces of trash. Sure that there would be no one else sneaking through the back, I turned to go inside.
A flash of black caught my eye in the hall. A man, taller than me, stalked towards the kitchens, looking out of place. He wasn’t wearing a suit, a hat pulled low over his face. And a bulge at his side beneath the heavy black sweater. When he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes locked with mine—dark and endless.
“Hey!”
He took off down the hall, straight towards the foyer. I ran after him, reaching for my gun before cursing. The fucking security guards upstairs still had mine. The man nearly stumbled into a server on her way to deliver dinner, her tray crashing to the floor at her feet. I slipped past her just as the man rounded the corner…heading straight for the charity banquet.
Rounding the corner, I paused. The doors to the banquet remained tightly shut, and there was no man on the stairs leading to the second floor. It was almost as if he’d…vanished. Wildly, I looked around, earning more than a few concerned looks from the other workers. Behind me, I could hear the female server who’d been bowled over complaining about the strange man in black. Who was just somehow gone.
It hit me then, where he was heading.
I didn’t know how he got up the stairs so fast, but by the time I got up there, both guards were laying on the ground. Blood seeped into the red carpet, turning it a darker shade of red. It didn’t look like the door to the meeting had been breached, which was odd. It would have been too easy with all the Dons unarmed and now unguarded. Somehow, this asshole had slipped through all seven teams of our security details, and now the two idiots at the door.
But I couldn’t see him anywhere. Whipping around, I scanned the hall, heart oddly calm in my chest. There was no one else in the hall but me and those dying men. Where the fuck was he?
Something clicked behind me. Before I could turn, I felt something hard hitting the back of my skull. And then I felt nothing at all.
FIVE