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All I can do is close my eyes and wonder whether or not that will be a good thing. Whether our child will see this side of him or the side forged by the world, he grew up in.
10
ENZO
As far as I can tell, things with Alicia are going according to plan. She’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to reconnect with Elena. According to Paolo, her new shadow, there hasn’t been much progress in that today. Well, Rome wasn’t built in a single day, either. I can bide my time, so long as I don’t have to bide it forever.
I’m sure she hates being escorted around school by Paolo, but that’s not my problem. There’s no way I would get a single thing done in the course of a day if all I did was wonder if I could trust her and if she was more intent on slipping a message to a professor asking for help than she was on finding Elena and putting the plan in motion. She even had the nerve to act surprised when Paolo was waiting for her in the car this morning, and her surprise made me laugh. It’s as if she forgets who she’s dealing with.
No matter. I have other affairs to put in order this afternoon. The house is full of tight, tense energy, my men—those I still trust—patrolling the grounds while I wait for my two o’clock appointment to arrive.
Out of all the operations I contacted, the Martinez family was the only one to request a face-to-face meeting. While I don’t much love the notion of inviting the head of a rival cartel to my home, concessions must be made at times like this. I can’t afford to stand on ceremony, not with so much hanging in the balance. I’m sure my wife would roll her eyes and think me a sexist prick—which I might very well be—but the fact that the Martinez family is headed by a woman leaves me better inclined to open the door and invite her in. I have no doubt she’ll be guarded, as will I, but I’m not as worried about her coming in with guns blazing.
Still, she’s a woman in a man’s world, and I have no illusions of her being a pushover. When her father died, the family was left in shambles as his brothers and close associates knifed each other in the back, both metaphorically and literally, in hopes of taking over. The only one left standing, Rosa Martinez not only pulled the pieces together but more than doubled their revenue in two years. She’s a savvy, powerful woman and a dangerous enemy. I’d much rather she be an ally in this fight.
She arrives five minutes early, and I wait in my office while my men frisk her men and all the other bits of business that need to be taken care of before she’s escorted to where I sit behind my desk. I stand upon the opening of the door, buttoning my jacket—and the sight of the creature who strides into the room threatens to take my breath away. I’ve seen pictures of Rosa Martinez, but none of them did her justice. Without so much as a glance, she orders the pair of guards she brought with her to wait against the door while she continues into the study.
“Mr. De Luca. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today.” She stops in front of the desk and extends a hand before shaking with a firm grip. “We’re both busy people, so let’s not waste time. No, I would not like a drink,” she adds before I have the opportunity to offer.
Interesting. “Please, have a seat. I must admit, I was somewhat taken aback when you insisted upon meeting in person.”
She folds her trim body, lowering herself into a leather club chair before crossing her slim legs. “I’m busy, but I do like to know who is asking for my involvement in what could potentially turn into a war. Until now, it would be your grandfather I was meeting with.” Her brows knit together for a moment. “My condolences, by the way.”
“Thank you. What would you like to know about me? What could make you more comfortable and more likely to come to an agreement?”
“How much money do you have?” The corners of her mouth twitch in the first sign of humor she’s revealed since her arrival.
“I’m offering something much better and longer lasting than a dollar amount, Ms. Martinez. I’m offering the opportunity to rid ourselves once and for all of the entire Alvarez operation. That is the end goal, to take them down. Then once the job is done, we can discuss financial gains. This is the goose that laid the golden egg. You don’t want to kill it now to take whatever little you can get when there’s the opportunity to make money well into the future.”
“And you honestly believe you have a plan in place that could do the trick?”
“Leave that to me. What I need to know is, are you interested? Would you align with me if it meant wiping them off the map?”
She narrows her shrewd, dark eyes. “Speaking frankly?”
“I would prefer we did.”
“Very well. I hate those bastards and want nothing more than to see them taken down. As painfully as possible.” Her bland expression doesn’t shift an inch as she says this. She might as well be describing today’s weather report.
“I appreciate your candor. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, how does that benefit me?”
“You tell me, Mr. De Luca. What can I do for you?”
Under different circumstances, this meeting would take a left turn, and we might end up discussing issues that have nothing to do with Josef Alvarez and the cartel. But business is business—and I am, after all, a married man. Somehow, the band on my left hand feels heavier than it should.
I don’t know who I’m kidding. The fact is, Rosa could be the most beautiful, sexy, enticing woman in the world, but I would only see Alicia when I looked at her. The way I do now. It doesn’t matter how I try to distance myself from the woman I married. No matter how I fight it, she pulls me in like a current controlling me under the surface of what looks like still water.
I want to hate her. I wish it was possible. Hell, I can’t even stop thinking about her now, in the middle of a critical meeting.
With that in mind, I lift my chin and square my shoulders. Enough letting my mind wander. “What would benefit me most now is distraction. I want them harried. I want them flustered. I want none of them to know a moment’s peace. If they’re too busy putting out small fires set by other rivals, they’ll be less likely to notice the very large inferno I’m setting.”
She nods slowly, those keen, intelligent eyes of hers narrowing. “Wouldn’t it be a shame if one of their shipments was intercepted? Or if one of their trucks was run off the road and hijacked by anonymous men?”
She’s hooked. “Things like that do happen all the time,” I allow with a shrug.
“That, they do,” she murmurs without so much as a twitch of her lips. There’s humor in her voice, certainly, but she’s taking this seriously.
“There’s that warehouse of theirs, too,” she muses, tapping her long, crimson nails on the arm of the chair. “The one where they store all their fenced goods.”
