“Yeah, probably for the best.” I nod. “It’s obvious he wants to go, so I won’t hold him back. It’s fine with me. I probably won’t see him before you all leave. I’ve got a meeting in the city, but tell him he’s always got a place here if he chooses to return.”
“I will, and thanks, Michael, for everything.”
“Safe travels, my friend. I’ll be in touch.”
He nods, turns back toward the door, and leaves.
After Ice leaves, I really want to go see Zaira, but I know I can’t. I’ve got a fucking meeting at Bella Celeste that I can’t miss. I guess my Zaira time is gonna have to wait until I get back. I have to remember I can’t always stop everything to spend time with Zaira, no matter how much I want to, but it sure is sweet knowing she will be here when I return.
Leaving my office, I proceed down the hallway, Ricco following behind. “Is the car ready?”
“Yep, should be waiting out front for us.”
“Good. Let’s get into town, get this meeting over with, and return home.”
“You got it, boss.”
***
When we get to Vitali Tower, Ricco drives into the parking garage and parks the R8. We make our way to the top floor and proceed to my office. When I turn the corner, I am greeted by Laurel.Fuck, I totally forgot about her.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Vitali,” she says eagerly.
“Hey, Laurel,” I say curtly. I know using her to make Zaira jealous was a dick thing to do, but leading her on would be worse. I make it a point to remain very professional with her and hope she will get the hint. As I walk past her, I see a glimmer of disappointment and am relieved my message was clear.
“Elliott should be here shortly,” Ricco says as we step into my office. I sit at my desk and rub my temples. Elliott is our man with immigration, and for some odd reason, he wanted to meet here instead of at the house.
My intercom beeps only a minute later. “Mr. Vitali, Elliott Rivers is here to see you.”
“Thank you, Laurel, send him in please,” I reply.
A few seconds later, Elliott comes into my office. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me here, Michael. I had business in town and wasn’t sure if I would make it out to Long Island.”
I laugh. “No problem. For a minute there, I thought you might have an aversion with meeting at the house. I mean, after all, it was shot to hell just a few days ago.” I make light of the situation, and Elliott laughs.
“Naw, I know there is no safer place than inside that house,” he says.
“So what can I do for you?” I ask as he sits in the chair across from my desk.
“I wanted to talk to you about Romeo Gallardi.” He sighs. “Michael, we had to let him go.”
“What?”
“Well, it appears he’s not who he seems to be.”
“Care to explain?”
“Once we had him in custody, he informed us we were making a mistake. Told us we needed to talk to Hugh Auten, the director of the CIA,” he says. “When we contacted Mr. Auten, we were instructed to let him go.”
“Fuck! Why?”
“He’s working with the feds, Michael. We can’t touch him.”
“So you mean to tell me that he fucking blows my house to bits and kidnaps my wife, and he just gets away with it?” I’m furious, and I want to fucking hit something. I can’t believe this fucking asshole gets to walk.
“Mr. Auten was very vague, but he did say they were using him and his cartel to get a handle and eventually take down drug trafficking in the states. All I can say is it is a good thing you didn’t take that deal with him. They would have busted your ass for doing it.”
“Holy fuck.” I can’t believe what I am hearing. It was a sting. A fucking sting designed to nail my family to the wall. Well thank fuck we have never nor ever will deal with drugs.
