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I think about the fallout, focusing on how many lives I’ll be saving just by these two brutal organizations being prevented from joining forces. Both the Severinos and the Cortez Cartel are brutal and murderous on their own. Together? The death toll surrounding them would skyrocket.
What I’m not is delusional. It can’t happen, therefore I have to wait, and it’s the longest wait of my life. I know I’ll probably die tonight, but I also know that it will be worth it. One final sacrifice in Ellie’s honor. It’s what she deserves.
Chapter 4
Madelene
It takes every part of me not to cover my ears with my hands. The music is so loud, I have no idea how Alessio and the guy he’s sitting with can hear the other speak.
I bounce my shoulders to the music, reminding myself over and over to keep a smile on my face. A punishment would come if I didn’t. It’s my job to make people think I’m happy, that I’m dedicated to the family I’m going to marry into, that I’m proud to be by Alessio’s side. It’s my job to act possessive in public when women want to flirt with my fiancé, but to shut up when those same women are brought back to the hotel room. I want them to walk away, but only because I know what their fate may be, not because of real jealousy.
“What about her?” Marcello asks, pointing to a girl that is getting elbowed by her friend, a clear sign that she’s being pressured into approaching our group.
“She doesn’t look like she’d know what to do,” I say, attempting to sound bored with it all.
“I like teaching,” he says, his mouth nearly touching my ear so I can hear him.
I hate his closeness. I hate that he’s so close the gun under his suit jacket is digging into my side. The second one, the one hanging from his left shoulder, is the one he uses most often. I’ve considered more than once that he wears two as a warning to me when Alessio passes me off to him to take care of business.
Guns aren’t a new thing for me. They aren’t even a Severino-family thing. My father has always been armed, and after Elio passed his loyalty test for the Severino family, it wasn’t uncommon to see twin pistols strapped to my brother as well.
I log where the guards are spread out around the club—both ours and the ones keeping an eye on the cartel. The man at the bar seems rather interested in us, but I can’t tell if he’s being nosy or if he’s meant to go unnoticed but ready to jump in if trouble should come to the cartel.
I keep scrolling, never letting my eyes land on the conversation Alessio is having with his prospective business partner. The man he’s meeting with was introduced as Fernando Cortez. I knew instantly there would be repercussions because the expectation was a meeting with Raul Cortez, the leader of one of Mexico’s most dangerous cartels. I know from experience that Alessio doesn’t like being considered not worthy of meeting with the head of a family, despite him not being the head of the Severino family himself. He thinks he deserves more respect than he gives. Although I don’t know much about their business, I know that’s a dangerous mindset to have.
I try not to think about what his irritation could mean for me or one of the women watching, who doesn’t have a clue what she may be getting herself into.
I’m sure the temperature of the club contributes to the sheen of sweat that forms on my skin, but I know it’s mainly due to fear of what’s going to happen.
I know Alessio isn’t happy. No one watching from the outside would know. They see the man smiling and laughing, letting his eyes dart around the room in a flirty way as he watches the women. They have no clue that he’s seething inside, that there’s a real chance he may pull his gun out and kill Fernando for the disrespect he is no doubt feeling right now.
I imagine that happening. I imagine being the sole survivor of a gunfight between two criminal enterprises. I imagine being able to go back to Chicago, walking up the stairs of my father’s home and packing the things I wasn’t allowed to take when I was forced to move in with Alessio and Marcello three years ago after my father was caught stealing from the family. A smile makes my lip twitch as I imagine telling my father that I’m out, that I have no interest in his money, my inheritance, or the family business.
“If he catches you looking at him like that, he’ll make you watch while he kills him.”
I snap back to reality, noticing the guy grinning at me from across the club.
