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Lorenzo moves the hair hanging on my shoulder. “Be very careful, Isabella. You are walking a very thin line. I want our new relationship to work, but my family allegiance comes first, always. Capiche?” he asks.
I nod because no words come, only a coursing desire that should send me running far, far away, instead of making me sell my soul to the darkest of devils.
He sends the article to himself, closes my laptop, and startles me as he pulls the cord from the wall. “If I find copies were saved somewhere else or sent to anyone but me, our deal is off. Do not disappoint me further. Wednesday, we start anew.”
“What do I tell Larry?” I ask, looking up at him as he reaches the door to my office with my laptop underneath his arm.
He turns. “Send him a letter ending your contract. Tell him that you were offered a new position as the chief media officer and publicist for The Larussio Resorts and Casinos.”
My mouth gapes, but he’s already walking down the hallway. As soon as I hear the front door close, I try to get my nerves to calm. There really is no real choice here. I know how the underworld works far too well for him to have to spell it all out for me. I lay my hands flat on the desk, breathing in deeply, letting my pulse calm and my pent-up fear slowly subside.
Wednesday, when I begin working for the dark-eyed devil, will come far too soon for me…
Chapter7
Lorenzo
I glance at my watch,wishing I had the foresight to schedule this meeting later in the day, when my mind wouldn’t be on the annoying but fascinating reporter who I’ve been waiting since Sunday to see again. I walk into Salvatore’s office, ready for him and Dominic to have tempers blazing after what we’ve learned about the De Rosas’ operations and what he’s trying to pull now. “Sal, Dom,” I greet them, closing the door behind me.
“Did you get everything sorted with the attorneys?” Dominic asks Sal and me.
It’s not even eight a.m. and Dominic and Salvatore were on the floor of the casino mingling with the guests ’til early this morning.
Salvatore nods. “I’m just relieved that we can finally get back to the De Rosa business after dealing with lawyers, board members, and politicians for the last two days who all want to support the expansion of the casinos in this state and others.”
Sometimes it feels as though we deal with more sharks on the legitimate side of the business than when dealing with the men who sell arms to the highest bidder in the dirtiest of alleys. Perhaps it’s because we expect differently of them, but they are just as dirty if not dirtier than the rest of us.
Dom looks at me and then at Salvatore. “You want to tell him, or should I?” he asks Salvatore. The new don of our family has been working side by side with Great-Uncle for more years than I can remember. It was always going to be him or our cousin Giovanni who took the reins next. Salvatore is far better suited to make the tough calls than his slightly younger cousin. Giovanni would be the first to admit it, and did, stepping aside to hand the reins over to Salvatore because it was what was best for him and our family.
Salvatore will need all the heart of a seasoned mafia leader now, and he has that. Staking our claim to a rival family’s territory was never going to be easy, but every one of us who mentored under Great-Uncle knew the risks and blowback putting up this casino would have, whether Uncle Carlos realized it or not. He may have just wanted to leave all of us with a legitimate legacy, but it’s turned into a bloody war as we drive a stake in the ground in the middle of the hotbed that is Las Vegas.
“Tell me what?” I ask, prepared to dig into the plans for the De Rosa funeral where we will avenge our dead on every family member who steps into that graveyard, and anxious to do just that. I glance at Dom who seems more tense than normal.
Salvatore leans back and pushes a button on the wall that brings the blinds down over the floor-to-ceiling window behind him, the mountain range in the background slowly disappearing as it covers the massive window. “Dom and I have been talking about the De Rosa funerals. It’s a touchy situation. Emelia plans to attend to show her respect to her mother and brother. No matter what her mother did, she still raised her. She feels like she would never forgive herself if she didn’t go, and she thought the world of her brother.”
Dom turns his dark eyes at me, and although I try to hide it, he probably sees the disapproval written all over my face. “Don’t tell me that she can’t go or that I can’t accompany her because that’s not on the table. I’m not letting her walk into that fuck fest with her father and brothers by herself, and I can’t ask her not to attend.”
I look from one to the other and pour myself a cup of black coffee from the carafe on the table. The Vegas sun is already warming us even through the blinds. I may disapprove, but after a little thought, this thing can be played to our advantage if we’re smart about it. “What better way to say fuck you than to have De Rosa’s prized little princess walk into the funeral of his wife and youngest son in front of all of his family and friends as they convene to pay their final respects to their dead?”
Both sets of dark eyes turn to me. So similar to mine, the genes of our ancestors running deep in the blood of not only our heritage but in everything about us. Another generation who has been passed the responsibility to carry on the family legacy and ensure the visions of our forefathers live on in our children and their children after.
Dominic is the first to speak. “You think we should just walk in as though invited. And the plan is what, to have them fill me so full of holes that we need another funeral, Lorenzo?”
I smile at my fierce and brash cousin. He makes a perfect underboss, spending years as one of the best capos our family has had and earning the respect of not only the other capos, associates, and soldiers alike, but the heads of the family for his keen ability to diffuse a situation before it even becomes a problem.
Emelia has managed to get into his mind and wrap her essence around him tightly. How powerful men allow this to happen is beyond me, but I have to grudgingly admit that both Salvatore and Dominic have matched well even if it means Dominic’s relationship will cause more complexities with the De Rosas. Treading lightly with Dominic where Emelia is concerned will be key to beating our rivals. I have no doubt he will do whatever we ask of him. It’s in his blood, as in mine and Salvatore’s.
Emelia has proven herself fearless and brave. She is clearly, completely devoted to my cousin, having almost single-handedly rescued Alena from the hands of our rivals. For that, we will make concessions and show her the respect she is due in laying her loved ones to rest. “You know for a fact that Emelia is up to going to the funeral of her mother and brother on your arm? Even if it means a bloodbath, more of our cousins dead and hers as well?”
His dark eyes look at me in challenge. Dominic doesn’t answer right away, continuing to pour cream into his coffee as he contemplates what I’ve asked.
I try to put his mind at ease. “Just a question, but one we should know the answer to with certainty before proceeding down that path. One Great-Uncle will surely ask.” He may not be holding the reins, but he’s still a greatly respected voice in our decisions, and all of us can agree on that point.
Dominic looks up at me as Salvatore and I wait for his thoughts on the matter. “I’m attending the funeral with Emelia. We should plan accordingly.”
I nod, having expected this response but prepared for whatever route they chose. “Then it’s easy,” I tell them. “We use the media to drive a frenzy around the already much talked about affair, glamorize the deaths of Emelia’s mother and youngest brother for her sake, and flaunt the hell out of Emelia on your arm. Everyone in the criminal world will believe that she’s been taken and forced to be by your side, adding further shame to the De Rosa name.”
Salvatore shifts in his seat. “He didn’t seem to care two fucks about his daughter. When it came to a decision between his only daughter and his business, it was only his business that he cared about.”
