I’d have to dive a bit deeper.
I picked up the phone and dialed her father’s cell phone number.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Richard Esposito,” I drawled.
“Who is this? How did you get this number?”
“My name is Jaxon Blackwood.” The long moment of silence said everything. He’d heard of me and that pleased me. “I’m calling about your daughter.”
“Why the fuck would you be calling me about that little bitch?” Immediately, I disliked how he talked about her. I sat back and crossed my legs, thinking about my next steps.
“She showed up at my door asking for my help. It seems you have arranged for her to be married to a certain Anthony Battista without her consent and when she refused, she told me that you threatened to kill her,” I ventured.
“Fucking cunt,” he spat.
“Did you threaten her, Esposito?” I pressed.
“For fuck’s sake, of course I did. It’s the only way the little whore will listen to reason. She’s with you? Tell me where you are, and I’ll come get her and teach her a lesson she won’t soon forget. She’ll be lucky if she can even walk down the aisle tomorrow,” he sneered.
“No,” I answered simply.
“Excuse me?” he replied with a clear sense of disbelief. He wasn’t used to another man standing up to him. I didn’t care.
“No. I’m not going to tell you where she is,” I countered.
“Yes, you will. If you don’t, I’ll find you and kill you myself,” he snarled.
I laughed.
No one threatened me without paying a very steep price. Not ever and Richard Esposito certainly wouldn’t be the first.
“Good luck,” I replied, and I hung up the phone. I’d called from a blocked number and he’d be unable to get back through to me. I glanced at my security monitors. My compound was silent, and I keyed in a few additional measures that would ensure that no one could get in. His threats didn’t concern me. Keri would be safe here until I dealt with her father. He would be handled regardless of whether I decided to help her or not. I didn’t answer to men like him.
There was one other piece of her story I needed to verify, however. If the Battistas threatened her, that would require ananswer too. There were two parts of this equation I needed to fully understand. I didn’t do things halfway.
I tracked down Anthony Battista’s number and I called him next. By his background information, he was only twenty-one and pretty quiet on the criminal front. He’d been implicated in a few drug trafficking rings that his father had likely engineered for him, but nothing stuck. Overall, he did decently in school and stayed mostly clear of the activities of the Battista family from what I could tell.
“This is Tony,” he answered.
“My name is Jaxon Blackwood,” I began.
“Blackwood… Blackwood… I know that name,” he mused. “Oh! I know who you are, but why would you be calling me? I’ll connect you with my dad. You’re probably looking for him.”
“No, Tony. I want to talk to you.”
“Why me?” he asked, his voice shaking with just the slightest twinge of fear.
“I want to talk to you about Keri Esposito,” I began. I decided to tread carefully at first. Tony seemed in no way as crass as her father, so I was beginning to doubt this side of her story. I wanted to know more and if I went at this from a different angle, Tony would tell me everything I needed to know without him even realizing it.
“My bride-to-be?”
“Yes. I want to know more about the arrangement. How did it come to be?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I wasn’t really involved when my dad brought in the lawyers. The whole thing was mainly put together behind closed doors with the heads of the Esposito family and mine. I didn’t really have anything to do with it. The only thing that I really have to do is show up to the ceremony tomorrow and go through with it,” he answered.
“Are you happy with the arrangement? Do you and Keri get along?” I pressed.
