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“Do you think he reached out or was contacted?”
“Intel suggests that Giovanni De Luca reached out as soon as he heard of the takeover,” Massimo answers. “And seeing as Rafaele isn’t married, it stands to reason he’s the one that Giovanni promised Giulia to.” He scowls. “The fucker is a cruel bastard, and has a taste for whipping and beating the women he’s with. He’s a sadist, and he also tortures his own men that way when they displease him.”
My blood burns angrily at the mention of that. Knowing what Gia has been through, I will ensure this fucker never gets within a mile of her. “And he’s on his way here?”
“So it would seem,” Alessio responds, his face grim. “But last reports show he made a stop in London then is heading this way. Some kind of new deal with some contacts there, but he should arrive in the next day or two. And knowing how he is, he’s not going to stop until Giulia is delivered to him as promised. And he won’t care if he starts a war here to do it.”
“I remember he was a selfish prick as a boy and was spoiled rotten,” Pietro chimes in. “His mother indulged him with everything he wanted since he was the heir. There are two younger brothers and two sisters, but the sisters were married off as soon as they were of age to further grow alliances. The brothers work for the family, but you don’t hear much about them now.”
“There are some rumors that Rafaele killed them to make sure they couldn’t try and take the title from him,” Zeno says darkly.
“And does he know that she’s missing?” I ask curiously.
They glance at each other. “They know she’s missing,” Alessio sighs. “And that’s what makes this even more dangerous. Rafaele is coming to get her back, and that means he’s coming armed for war.”
“Makes me wonder if Leonardo knows or if Giovanni will be the one trying to do damage control,” I say thoughtfully, glancing at Dante. Dante gives a subtle nod and pulls out his phone to send a message. No doubt to one of our many spies.
“Got men on the inside do you?” Alessio says with a smirk.
I smirk back at him. “I’m sure you have your own in the Parisi family.” Alessio doesn’t confirm but the look in his eyes is all the confirmation I need. “If Giovanni is going to try and use the Parisi family to get Leonardo and his sons out of the way, then I can’t imagine he wants them to know about it. So he’ll probably stash them at his house or one that Leonardo doesn’t know about.”
“He has his vacation home close to the border of our territory,” Dante reminds me.
“A perfect spot if he’s hoping to take over your territory as well,” Massimo adds. “And if they want to come and get Giulia back…” He leaves that sentence hanging, though I don’t miss his point.
“At this point, the question is what is the likelihood of them figuring out you have her?” Alessio points out.
“Seems Marco, the eldest son has,” I say gravely. “And considering he sent his youngest brother here to find her and bring her back, they’ll be back as soon as they gather their men.”
“Oh, and we’ll be making our displeasure known for that double cross,” Pietro vows with a sharp smile. And I can see why Pietro is feared, because if I were anyone else, I would not want to be on the receiving end of it. “But until then, we need to make some plans, and quickly.”
“Personally, I’m all for a good fight,” Massimo says with an excited grin. “And I have crossed paths with Rafaele before and I’ve always wanted to take a shot at that prick.” His brothers chuckled.
“You know, perhaps we can save on the violence this time,” Dante chimes in thoughtfully.
Everyone pauses and stares at him. I bite back a smirk. Dante has never been one to be quiet, even in meetings such as this, and I suppose now is as good a time as any to make my guests aware of that. “And what would that be, son?” Pietro asks him curiously. “Sorry, didn’t catch your name.”
“Dante Esposito,” he supplies.
Before he can continue, however, Pietro straightens and demands, “You’re related to Gregorio Esposito?”
Dante doesn’t give away anything, but with how long I’ve known him, I can make out the subtle stiffening of his shoulders. “He’s my father. Not that he claims that title,” he replies calmly.
Pietro narrows his eyes. “Then you’ll have no qualms with me killing him then?” he asks darkly. Dante quirks a brow, but shakes his head. It’s well known he’s never been a fan of his father. Still, I figure Pietro isn’t about to get to the man first. Dante has been planning on killing him for years, and is waiting for the right moment, to make sure that it won’t come back on me or him. “Good. Now, continue, what is your idea.”
“It seems to me that everyone is coming here to take Gia as a bride,” Dante says, his eyes moving to me and staring at me directly. “So why not make sure that when they get here, they have no way of taking her?”
I know exactly what he’s suggesting, and it’s one option I’ve already been considering heavily. The problem is getting Gia to agree. Something tells me that despite our moment last night, she’s not going to be on board with that idea. She’ll see it as denying her freedom.
“Wait, so you’re saying someone should marry her to make sure they can make no claims on her?” Zeno clarifies.
“Not someone. Nico,” Dante replies.
Everyone turns to look at me. I don’t say anything, just hold their stares and keep my expression neutral. Finally Massimo huffs out an annoyed groan. “Damn it, the only reason I came was because I thought I was going to get to fight. Otherwise this is just a pleasure trip and vacation,” he whines.
His brothers scoff and roll their eyes. “You act like you didn’t take those bastards out a few days ago for trying to steal our shipment,” Zeno gripes. “And you didn’t even let the rest of us get a shot either.”
“That was nothing,” Massimo huffs. “Child’s play, and you’d have been bored out of your mind considering they didn’t put up much of a fight. So this was my shot, and it looks like it’ll be a bust too.” He pouts, and I can only stare at him. Seriously? A grown ass mafia underboss that pouts like a child? Now I’ve seen everything.
