AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The room is quiet as Salvatore gathers his weapons and storms out. Tyson is still tense as he stands behind me, his arms crossed. The door slams behind Salvatore and I look at my other brothers. Matteo is glaring down at the table, his mouth in a thin line. Though he isn’t leaving, he doesn’t look like he wants to stay either.
“We have this one chance to take down Dad. He’s too worried about finding me and getting away that he would never think I would come to you,” I say, glancing at Damien. “We need to know what his next move is.”
“Look, all I know is that he’s been hiding out in another warehouse at the marina.” Damien looks at Gio who shrugs. “Not sure which one. He has a couple, but if I had to bet, I would think that it’s the one he’s using to import clothing into.”
I roll my eyes, knowing that the clothing importation is a front. It’s a clever one. Drugs are sewn into the pockets of high-end clothing. Dad has his people retrieve the drugs before sending the clothes to shops across the country. The clothes are sold and there’s no trace of what he’s done.
“He’s going to South America from there,” Gio says. He shakes his head. “This is risky, Aria. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I have no clue what I’m doing, but he is dangerous. He’s going to end up getting innocent people killed. Hell, the entire family might end up dead with the way he’s going.”
“He’s been meeting with other Italians, talking about joining together and trying to take territory from the Russians. He thinks that there’s enough of a foothold to do it with several of the capos that he’s sent to them as spies.” Matteo looks up at me. “I want to avoid a war.”
“South America.” I cross my arms and lean back in my chair. Tyson runs his hand over my hair, his fingers combing through the tendrils in a soothing manner. “Is that his house in Argentina?”
“Brazil.” Gio shakes his head. “It’s not only the Russians that he’s trying to start problems with.”
“Great. “ I roll my eyes and look at my brothers. “I’m going to tell the FBI as much as I can while leaving you guys out of it. They are paying attention to you, but they think that the Russo family will fall apart without Dad at the helm.”
“Is that true?” Damien asks, glancing at Tyson.
Tyson clears his throat, his hand stilling in my hair. “Yes. From what my boss has said about the case, they suspect that your father is the only one holding the mafia together. They think that without your father, the rest of you will disband and move onto something else. Likely with other mafia members.”
Damien nods, a thoughtful look on his face. “Tell the FBI as much as you can without bringing our names into it. I’ll be the one taking over once Dad is locked away. The family is in desperate need of a restructuring. I may have other names for you to feed the FBI several weeks after the takeover.”
My oldest brother smiles, and I know that he has just given me the information I need to keep the FBI from locking me away. I have a better bargaining chip for my freedom.
“We’re family,” Matteo says. “Whatever happens, we’ll still be family.”
“Tell that to Salvatore.” I sigh and slump down in my chair. Tyson runs his fingers through my hair again and a sense of calm starts to work its way through me.
Gio shrugs. “Salvatore will change his mind one day. Right now, Dad has told him that he’ll be the one taking over when he’s finally ready to step down. I don’t know what other lines Dad has been feeding him, but Salvatore doesn’t want to see the truth.”
I nod and look around the room. This will likely be the last time that I see my brothers for a long time. After turning my father in – and arranging a new deal with the FBI – I’ll likely have to go underground. I can’t risk any of the men who are loyal to my father coming after me or my baby.
“I’m going to have to disappear for a while,” I say, tears gathering in my eyes. “I just wanted to tell you guys that you’re going to be uncles. It doesn’t seem right to me not to tell you. You can’t tell Dad, though.”
“This conversation never happened,” Matteo says as he gets up from his seat. He hugs me. “Congratulations.”
Damien and Gio echo him before all three leave. Tyson and I are alone, staring at an empty room.
A thousand different emotions flood through me as I look at the chairs across from me. Everything is about to change forever. The Russo family as it has been known for years is about to end and a new era will be brought around.
I can only hope that Damien is a better leader than our father.
“Are you ready to make the call?” Tyson asks, putting his phone on the table as he takes a seat beside me.
“Not yet. If we’re being tracked when you call them, I want to be as far away from Gio’s cabin as possible. As far as your boss knows right now, we are at a friend’s house.”
Tyson nods and takes my hands. His thumbs drift over my knuckles as he looks at me. Though his gaze is on me, I know that his mind is a million miles away. This is the break that he’s been waiting for.
“We can’t risk your father escaping,” Tyson says, his voice hollow. “I have to head to the marina now. I need to be close before I make the call, that way there isn’t time for anybody to warn him about what’s going to happen.”
Fear grips me as I shake my head and pull my hands away from him. “Not happening. You’re going to stay far away from that shit.”
“Aria, I can’t. I don’t know who’s feeding your father information. The best way to make sure that you’re safe is to make sure that we arrest him. What if someone in the FBI tips him off?”
I cross my arms as I glare at him. “Not fucking happening. You’re not going to charge in there on your own. You won’t be charging in there with backup either. My father’s going to kill whoever he has to while trying to escape. I don’t want that person to be you.”
