And Adrian knew that. He was drawing this out as long as he could. He knew I was powerless, and he was going to slowly grind me down into the dust.
“Don.”
Looking up, I saw Emil in the doorway and waved him in. He’d just returned from his round of inspecting our defenses. “You better have some good news,” I growled.
Emil didn’t sit, which had me on edge immediately.
“Nothing moving in town. We have eyes on the highway, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Not yet.”
Some of the tension eased from my shoulders. “That’s good news.”
He nodded. “We found the yacht too. The bodies were gone, including Rocco’s.”
I gritted my teeth. “Thanks for looking.” I wanted to send Rocco’s body home, but it seemed I wouldn’t even get that chance. She would get a payout, as all my men’s families did, but money wasn’t going to bring back her son. Nor was it going to bring back someone I had called a friend.
“Are the caltrops up?”
Emil nodded again. “They are. I put them at the end of the drive, and posted a temporary watch station there. If someone tries to attack, we’ll know. Cameras are working the perimeter of the grounds too. If a squirrel so much as shits on the ground, we’ll know too.”
I grinned, unable to hold it back. “Is that a promise?”
He returned my grin. “I can even show you where it shat if you want.”
It was a moment of lightness that I needed. But it didn’t take off the weight on my shoulders. The tension never seemed to ease, no matter what I did. That had only been compounded by Leda and her thoughts of bringing her brother in on my shit.
“Good. Go check with your contacts in the city.”
He nodded and left me alone once more, thinking about what Leda had said this morning. I had to admit, it wasn’t a terrible idea, and her concerns were valid. I was now the weak Don, the one that others could easily move against and fight over.
Before all this shit, I had thrown my weight around without any concern for retaliation, but that was a different time. It wouldn’t take much to overwhelm me. The rest were waiting to see how Adrian could handle me before making any moves of their own.
But at the same time, I knew that the moment I put the Cavazzo Mafia in bed with Nico, I would be asking for trouble. As much as people may be ambivalent about Adrian, they were downright hateful of the Feds.
My ranks were already thin enough without me fucking with it.
Looking down at the book before me, I tried to draw out a new plan. Cosimo had always told me when I was his enforcer that there was more than one way to skin a rabbit. But I couldn’t find that right now.
Leda had brought up some valid points about this fight with Adrian, and just because I fixed that issue didn’t mean I would be in the clear.
But what else could I do other than try to fix this issue before moving onto the next?
My reputation was teetering on the brink of disaster, and I had no real plan for bringing it back. I had worked so fucking hard to make this Mafia into something uniquely mine. I got better deals, made more money, but it wasn’t enough.
I wasn’tfamilyto Cosimo. I was just a lucky enforcer who somehow won his favor.
I deserved to be right up there with the other Dons, and now Adrian threatened to tear down my fucking house.
I needed to retaliate in a big way.
A knock interrupted my thoughts. “Come in,” I growled, not looking up from the book that wasn’t giving me any help. “What do you have?”
“Don Valentino.” Leda’s voice filled the air, and I looked up in surprise.
She wore the short black robe from the closet I had in her room. Her hips sashaying with every step she took towards me. Fuck me, she was a sight to behold. There was a hungry look in her eyes, and I knew that she demanded my undivided attention.
“I don’t have many men left, Leda. I don’t need them to have heart attacks thanks to your wardrobe choices.”
She gave me a defiant smirk as she entered my study and shut the door, taking in my domain. “Then we don’t have to let them see, my Don.”