“Great.” She sat on the couch, phone in hand. “When are Sofia and everyone getting here?”
I shrugged. Probably soon, but that wasn’t something I wanted Dante to know about. “They didn’t give an exact time.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she pressed a series of numbers she knew by heart and waited for someone to answer. Then she surprised me and held the phone out in her hand, the speaker button activated.
I recognized Dante’s gruff voice when he answered. A relieved smile flittered across Mia’s face, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight.
“Hey, Dante. It’s Mia.”
“Where are you? Are you okay?” His voice whipped through the speaker. “I’ll come get you.”
“I’m fine. Promise.”
“I went in after you missed our meeting.” Worry laced his words, making them sound even rougher.
Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I am. But Ricco ambushed me when I was on my way out. I got away, but I was on the run, and it slipped my mind to let you know I was safe. It’s my fault.”
I grunted my displeasure at her taking the blame for doing what was necessary to stay alive. Her gaze whipped to me.
“Who the fuck is there, Mia?”
“My husband, Nico La Rosa.”
I grinned because while Joey Tucci pretended not to know who had more power, Dante wouldn’t make the same mistake. The night had gotten infinitely more interesting.
* * *
Mia
Our hotel room had grown crowded. I stood near Sofia, Emiliana, and El, acting as the buffer between the Verretti brothers and Nico and Marco. The rest of the Chicago guys didn’t seem to have an issue. But mistrust shone in my husband’s eyes, reflecting the same in the boss of the La Rosa family’s.
I studied the Verretti men from Nico’s viewpoint, not my familiarity. Dante was a beast of a man, all tats and muscles in a powerful body that radiated violence. His eyes saw too much, something about which I knew Nico was more than aware. And while Cal paid Nico little heed, Dante and Adriano made it known that they were aware of both his and Marco’s mistrust by the way they unflinchingly stared back.
But I trusted them with my life. They’d attempted to intervene often against my father. The only time they’d let me down was with the arranged marriage. I was glad they’d declined to help, though, because I’d ended up with the man of my dreams.
A small smile curved my lips. I must have made a noise because Nico’s focus shifted to me. I felt myself soften just from one look before he tugged me to him. Dante stiffened in the corner of my eye, but I laughed at the rush of rightness that filled me from the simple touch of Nico’s hand in mine.
“What the hell, man?” Enzo shifted in front of us. “You’re going to leave my wife next to the eye candy?” He tsked before pulling a giggling Sofia into his arms.
“Aw, Enz, you know you’re the only eye candy I want.”
Trey made a gagging sound and shielded his eyes as his sister draped herself over her husband. “Seriously, Sof?”
Adriano chuckled, dropping his head and attempting to mask the smile that made women drop their panties on sight. I knew the power behind it, but he’d never had any effect on me.
With the tension broken, we got down to business. Dante and I shared every bit of intel we had on the building, Dante brought out blueprints he’d managed to get ahold of, and we finalized the plan.
Anticipation buzzed along my skin at what we were about to do. We were at the beginning of the end of my family’s long reign of terror.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MIA
Tensions were high, and I felt the abundance of power as heavy static weighed down the cold air. Under a full moon, Nico, the others from the Chicago Mafia, and the Verretti family surrounded the back of Torrid, the club where my former family—I refused to think of the Tucci line as mine—kept the women two floors below where I’d been held.
The front entrance had a line of people waiting to get in, as the club closed in the early hours of the morning. Scantily clad women in four-inch heels and dresses that barely covered their asses shivered as a bouncer swept the line now and then, choosing the lucky few, and mostly women, who were allowed into the already at-maximum-capacity club. Loud techno music thumped and bled from the door opening and closing at the front of the building, mixing with people talking and laughing. The commotion aided our arrival and positioning. This was also the time where the hidden floors were busiest. It was the perfect opportunity to strike for optimal damage.
Since Tony wasn’t viewed as a threat by my father or Ricco, he stood the best chance of not raising the alarm. The guards would think they could handle him and not immediately inform Joey or Ricco, which could lead to repercussions if it was an easily fixable problem. I knew them well.