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His stupidity seemed to have no limits. Who in their right mind threatened the head of a mafia family? I'd had enough. Reaching into a desk drawer, I pulled out my gun and, before Valerio could blink, put a bullet straight between his eyes. His head exploded, painting Danila's black suit with blood and brain matter.
"Get rid of him and clean up in here," I snarled.
I clicked my fingers at Gaetano. "Come with me, I have a meeting with Elijah Ashe. I said we'd be there at ten, and it's after nine-thirty."
“Are you sure about this? Do you really want to claim his only daughter,” Gaetano asked as he walked by my side.
I sighed as we continued to the three-car garage attached to my two-story Neutral Bay home. "I've told you over and over—the bitch was bred to be mine."
Gaetano knew it was a deal brokered between our fathers when Elijah was unable to pay the gambling debts he owed. For some ridiculous reason, my father said the debts would be wiped if Ashe pledged his firstborn daughter to his son. I had grown up knowing marrying her was my fate. The agreement was like something out of the fucking dark ages, but my father's honour was at stake.
"I can't understand why you have never met the woman. I mean, she's lived two streets from here all her life. You could have been getting to know her so when the time came it was a little easier."
"Father said we would meet when it was time. I never questioned him because I was sure the stupidity would eventually be forgotten. I didn't think he and Ashe would keep their fucking word. She's obviously been as successful at saying no to her father as I have been to mine."
"I wonder what her father threatened to take away from her? I mean, it's not like she's the boss of a famiglia like you, who could be stripped of your position."
"No idea, and to be honest, I don't fucking care. My intention is to marry Nikita Ashe as is demanded and then stick her with Amber at the strip club."
“Elijah won’t like that if word gets back to him.”
"I don't give a fuck what he likes. Ashe fucked up when he couldn't pay my father what he owed, so he doesn't get a say in things now."
Gaetano slipped behind the wheel of my Audi A7. I climbed into the passenger seat and pushed a button on the remote. The garage door slid up, and after he backed the car out, I hit the remote again to close the door.
“I thank fuck I’m not in your shoes.” Gaetano reached over and entered the code for the gates. When they swung open, he drove through.
"It pisses me off. I'm the boss of the most powerful mafia famiglia in Sydney. I mean, we fucking own the city, and I don't have any fucking say in the bitch I marry."
“I don’t know who I pity most, you or her.”
"Pity me, especially if the bitch is ugly as sin and not suitable for the strip club. Fuck knows what I'll do with her then."
Gaetano laughed as he turned the car into the street where the Ashe family lived. We could have walked to the place, but what kind of impression would that have given?
***
We pulled up to elaborate steel gates securing the Ashe property. Gaetano slid the car window down, reached out, and pressed a button on an intercom attached to a nearby post.
“Ashe residence,” a male voice sounded.
“Benvolio Abruzzenesa to see Elijah Ashe,” Gaetano answered.
There was no further communication, but the gates separated and swung open. Gaetano made his way along a paved driveway flanked by magnificent gardens and rounded a huge fountain before coming to a stop in front of the house entry doors.
He switched off the motor, and we stepped from the car. While I buttoned my suit jacket, I observed the heritage mansion. Architecture was one of my passions, and I particularly admired structures built in the 19th century.
A large brass plaque to the left of the double wooden doors that were intricately carved read, 'Phoenix House.' I wondered if the name referenced Elijah Ashe's rise from the dungeon. When the deal over his debt had been struck with Father, Ashe had been on the bones of his arse and struggling to put a roof over his head. He was unable to afford even the most modest of properties in Sydney's far western suburbs, where prices were set for the working classes, and had been forced to stay with a relative.
Father had monitored Ashe’s movements closely over the years since he had a vested interest in him honouring their deal.
Fortunes changed dramatically when Ashe met, dated, and eventually married Elouise, the only daughter of the extremely wealthy Clifton Jassifer. He was in shipping and was also the owner of the largest casino in Sydney, where we laundered substantial amounts of money acquired from our various clubs and gambling ventures. When he'd died, a short time after his wife, Ashe and his wife had inherited his empire.
I focused back on the home. The name plaque indicated it had been built in 1896, and the two-storey structure was typical of mansions of the era—built from red brick with posts and window frames accented in white. The building was impressive, and the gardens were exquisite.
The door swung open before we knocked, and Elijah Ashe stood before us with a frown on his face.
"It's time," I stated, and he nodded in acceptance.
