It’s the only way I can protect them all.
Lele kisses both my cheeks, squeezes my hand, and then climbs into the passenger side of Lucia’s car. Lucia tilts her head, smiling as she walks up to me.
“Hello, Evan.”
“Hi.”
“We haven’t had a chance to talk since…since the funeral.”
“No, we haven’t.” I lick my lips and glance up at Lele in the car. “We should though. I want to make sure you understand.”
“I know what Daddy had in mind,” she tells me. “I’m good with it. We can live in the house in Wilmette. Most of my things are still there anyway.”
I’m a little surprised, but I don’t show it. I find it interesting she seems so amenable to the idea. Still, the muscles in her forearms are tight, and I know she isn’t completely happy about the whole thing. I’m sure she expected some of her father’s estate to end up in her name. At least for now, she thinks she’s going to get it through me.
There’s no reason to have her believe otherwise—not yet.
“We can discuss it later,” I say as I check my watch.
“Right—you called a meeting.”
“Everyone better be there.”
“They will. Paulie is making sure of it.”
“Good. I’ll see you there.”
Lucia stands up on her toes to kiss me, and I turn my head slightly at the last second so she only gets my cheek. She gives me an odd look but then heads for her car as I pull out my phone and dial a number I never expected to use again.
“LT?” Eddie-boy sounds shocked.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“I never thought I’d hear from you again.”
“I know, but things have changed a bit.”
“You’re not dead anymore?”
“Not at all.”
“So what are you doing now?” he asks with a chuckle. “Taking over the world?”
“Not too far off,” I reply. “Rinaldo Moretti is dead. I’m running the business in Chicago.”
“Damn, LT. That’s pretty serious. What can I do for you?”
“Eddie-boy,” I say simply, “I want you to come to work for me.”
I hold my breath and wait for his response. It doesn’t take long.
“LT,” Eddie-boy says, “I thought you’d never ask.”
*****
The meeting doesn’t start for another hour, but Nick walks in at the time I told him to meet me in Rinaldo’s office.
My office.
“You don’t have to explain,” Nick says before I can utter a word. “I already heard about the will, and I don’t really care. I wasn’t expecting anything. I’m the bastard, remember? I never thought he’d actually acknowledge me, not even now. I was surprised to even be included in the funeral.”
I shake my head.
“Shut up for a minute and listen to me,” I say. “Rinaldo gave me some instructions, and I intend to see them carried out.”
“Instructions?”
“Here.” I hand him the key to a safe-deposit box. He takes it, staring at the little object in his hand with confusion. “That opens a safe-deposit box at the Mercantile Bank off Broadway and Thirty-sixth in Quincy. Everything you need is in there. Pack up, get Milena, and get out of Chicago.”
“Leave?”
“There’s a price on your head,” I inform him. It’s a complete lie, but it’s also only a matter of time. “Don’t wait. Don’t stop off and buy a bag of weed for the road. Just get the fuck out. Got it?”
“That’s it? Just leave?”
“Today.”
“What if she won’t go?”
“Convince her.”
“Who?” He looks at me and narrows his eyes. “Who wants me dead?”
“You’re intimately tied to the Russians through Milena, Nick. Did you really think that wasn’t going to be an issue? You were safe as a member of Rinaldo’s family, but I can’t protect you here in the middle of a power transition. You have to leave. Rinaldo knew it. I know it. You need to accept it, and do what I’m telling you.”
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“It’s all in there.” I reach down and wrap his fingers around the key. “Don’t contact anyone here again. If I need you, I will know how to reach you.”
“This is what it comes down to?” Nick suddenly laughs. “Exile?”
“Permanent vacation,” I say, correcting him. “It’s either that or a hole in the ground for both of you. You really think there’s a choice here?”
“I didn’t tell anyone,” he says as he narrows his eyes. “No one knows about Felisa, not even Milena. I’m not going to rat you out, Evan. Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Stupid, no,” I say, “but you obviously aren’t seeing the big picture. I’m not asking you to leave, and it has nothing to do with what you think you know. If I thought you would dare accuse me of anything, you would already be dead.”
“You’re serious,” he says quietly. “You are kicking me out of town.”
“Shit’s about to go down, Nicolas. Get your ass out of Chicago. Now.”
He stares at me for a moment and nods once. Without another word, he turns and walks out of the office.
I’ll probably never see him again.
Jonathan arrives before anyone else.
“Are we all set?” I ask.
“I am,” Jonathan says. “Got some clean up arranged, anyway.”
“Still no sign of Joshua Taylor?”
“Nothing.”
“Fuck. I would have preferred to bring him in for this.”
“Can’t have everything, boss.”
“You going to keep calling me that?”
“Does it annoy ya, boss?” He grins at me.
“Yes, it does.”
“Then, yeah, I’ll probably keep it up.”
I shake my head.
A short time later, people begin to file in and take their seats. Paulie comes in with his four hired hands to make sure things don’t get further out of control than I’ve already planned. They each take a corner of the room and try to look threatening. Paulie has no idea why I really want them here, but he’ll find out soon enough. I think he knows I still don’t trust him, and I’ll have to keep a close eye on him. I’ve spoken privately with every one of the people he hired, and they know what’s about to go down. They all expect to profit from it.
I also doubled Paulie’s salary. It’s the best way to keep him off guard.
With everyone in attendance, I sit down at the head of the table and start the meeting.
“By now you have all heard,” I say, “that Rinaldo has left his businesses to me. We talked about it extensively once we knew how much time he had left. There is no disputing this. Your loyalty now belongs to me.”
Beni glares down at his hands on the table. I know he is going to be my biggest concern, and I keep a close watch on him as I continue.
“Here’s the thing,” I say as I stand. “I was gone for a short while—you all know that—and when I returned, there were a lot of new faces.”
I place my palms on the table right next to Becca and lean forward to look at her face.
“Right, Becca?”
“There’s always turnover,” she replies.
“There is.” I stand up and walk partway around the table to stand behind Paulie. “After Mario’s mishap, there was a need for new security, for instance.” I watch Paulie grip the edge of his chair with his left hand. His right is on his lap, poised for easy access to the gun under his jacket. I grin and point over at Beni. “New members of the family, fresh from the homeland.”
Beni’s eyes narrow, but he says nothing and doesn’t move at all.
“There was even a club shrink when I first arrived, but she didn’t last long.” I shake my head slowly as I place my hands on Lucia’s shoulders. I feel her tense under my palms, but she relaxes quickly. “There are also the old standbys. You never really know how long they will last though, even when t
hey are family.”
I release her and walk back to the head of the table. She turns her head to watch me walk away, but I don’t look back at her.
“And now, there’s new leadership.”
I scan the table, taking in the immediate reaction of each person. Beni is just to my left, and he keeps his eyes on the table. I can see the tightening of his jaw as he clenches his teeth. Paulie is on the other side of him. He’s looking right at me and trying to remain passive, but his forearm is tight. He’s preparing to draw his weapon. Becca licks her lips nervously.
Jonathan is on my immediate right. He continues to tap his cigarette against the table as he looks at me and nods slightly.
I control my slow, steady breaths as I make them all wait. Some of them are beginning to fidget. Only Jonathan, Lucia, and Becca remain in eye contact with me.
I pull out my Beretta and aim it at Beni’s head.
“Hey, Beni,” I say slowly, “did you know someone’s been skimming? There’s a Cayman account being fed from the meth money being laundered through the car lots. Close to five million.”
I stare straight at him, but my peripheral vision holds fast to Paulie, where he sits next to Beni. He looks at me, then at Beni, and his hand moves away from his piece. I change my aim and fire. Paulie plunges backward in his seat as his head explodes and fragments of skull and brain cover Beni and Cody.
Cody has no chance to react before I put a bullet in his skull, too.
“Jesus Christ.” Beni only whispers the words as I move the gun to Becca.
“You’re very detailed.” I use the gun to point down at the ever-present spreadsheets in front of her. “How exactly did you miss that?”
Becca shifts her eyes from the barrel pointed at her face to the papers on the table, then looks back at me.
“I didn’t,” she says quietly. “I brought it up to Rinaldo several months ago. He said he was going to have someone look into it. That was right about the time you came back.”
She isn’t saying anything I don’t already know. There’s sweat forming on her forehead, but she does have a gun pointed at her, so a little nervousness is to be expected. I’m not going to kill her, but I want to make sure I have everyone’s attention.
I think I do.
I shift my gaze to Rinaldo’s daughter as I lower the gun. I walk around the table and stop behind Lucia again. Leaning down a bit, I pull her hair back off her neck and place a kiss on her temple.
“You never did like Paulie, did you?”
Her hands are shaking, and she doesn’t answer.
“Did you know that Beni plans on marrying you?”
She tilts her head to look at me, then looks across the table at her almost-cousin.
“That’s not going to happen though, is it?”
“No,” she says softly, “it’s not.”
Beni glares. He probably thinks I don’t notice his hand moving under the table.
Sometimes I wonder why people make such obviously stupid decisions. They never think tactically. Just because you have a gun does not mean you are safe. In fact, it just paints a giant target on your back.
I nod toward one of the hired security guys, and he steps up behind Beni. Beni freezes as he feels the business end of a gun at the back of his neck, widening his eyes as he looks up at me.
“You’ve taken a lot of money from Rinaldo’s businesses, Beni,” I say. “My businesses. You’ve been working with Joshua Taylor, trying to undermine this organization for months. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
I lean my elbows on the table, placing myself between Becca and Lucia and directly across from Beni. My Beretta is still in my hands, and I toss it back and forth as I look him in the face.
“I’m giving you one chance, and one chance only, to save your own miserable life. You tell me where I can find Joshua Taylor, and I’ll have you shipped back to Italy in a first-class seat instead of a pine box.”
He blinks twice before speaking.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Arden. I know we’ve had our disagreements, but I’ve always been loyal to—”
Bang!
With a flick of my wrist and a squeeze of the trigger, Beni flies backward, taking the chair with him. Lucia’s scream is as loud as the gun, and she shoves away from the table and backs herself into the corner of the room. She covers her face with her hands, screaming again when she realizes there’s blood and bits of brain on her shirt. Jonathan goes to her, grabbing her arm and silencing her as I look around the table at pale, shocked faces.
“Anyone else unsure about the definition of one chance?”
Pushing my palm against the table, I stand up straight and go back to my seat.
“There are going to be some changes.”
*****
Meeting adjourned.
Jonathan is on the phone, calling the cleaning crew. I’m inclined to have the whole building burned down. I don’t think I like being in Rinaldo’s old office. Too many memories.
“Is there anything you need from me for now?” Becca asks quietly.
“Not now,” I say. “Get the money moved so there’s no more skimming. Jonathan has all the new account numbers. I want to focus on the uniform business and car sales. Most of it’s going there.”
“We’ll have to up the number of imports this quarter to make it balance.”
“Do it.”
“Of course.” She’s still visibly shaken but in much better shape than Lucia.
She’s still in the corner, crying.
“You want me to take care of her?” Jonathan asks. He flicks his head, pointing his chin in Lucia’s direction.
“I got her.”
“Whatever ya like, boss.”
I wave him off to finish his phone calls and walk over to Lucia. Jonathan brought a chair over to her after everyone else left, and she’s currently curled up in it with her arms around her knees. I crouch down beside her.
“Lucia?” She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t even look at me. I’m not surprised—she isn’t used to this side of the business, and killing in front of a group of people isn’t my usual style. I needed to send a message, and I’m pretty sure I succeeded. “I’m sorry you were here to see that.”
I’m not the least bit sorry. In fact, it’s exactly how I wanted her to react.
“You know this can sometimes get a little…messy.”
“Messy?” She turns to look at me. “Is that what that was? Messy?”
I sigh and look down at my hands dangling between my knees. I’m actually quite pleased with her reaction, but I try not to show it.
“He was family,” she says softly.
“It needed to be done.”
“Right next to me? You could have told me to stay away!”
“I know, and I should have. I didn’t even think about it.”
“You didn’t think about it?” She raises her voice. “Really, Evan? You didn’t think about this?”
“I didn’t think about you being here. I didn’t think about how…well, you aren’t used to this.”
“No, I’m not. I don’t know how anyone ever could be!” She sits up straighter and looks directly at me. “My God, I’m supposed to marry you? After that? How I could ever consider…”
She stops speaking and just shakes her head. I look at her for a long moment, sigh, and then nod.
“I’m not going to marry you, Lucia.”
She stares at me, mouth open. She’s still shaken by what she’s seen, but she’s starting to come around. She closes her mouth, and I see her throat bob.
“It’s what Daddy wanted,” she says quietly. “He told me he did.”
“I know.” I reach out and take her hand. “It’s not going to happen. You are going to Italy with your mother. I’ll get the house sold for you and transfer the money.”
“Really?”
“Will that work for you?”
“You don’t think he’d be mad?”
“I think he’
d understand,” I say. “He always knew who I was. That’s never really changed. I want to honor his wishes, too, but we both know that isn’t going to work out.”
I stand and reach for her hand.
“Come on,” I say, “let’s get you cleaned up. I’ll have Jonathan get your flight and everything arranged so you can travel with Lele. I’ll make sure your accounts are taken care of, and you don’t have to worry about any of this anymore.”
I really can’t believe how well this turned out.
Chapter 22—Final Piece
Everything is coming together.
All the travel arrangements have been made for Rinaldo’s family. By the end of next week, they’ll all be out of the Chicago area. I may not have done it exactly how Rinaldo envisioned, but I’ve taken care of all of them. They are out of the business, out of the city, and out of harm’s way.
Eddie-boy will be arriving soon. It will be good to have someone else around I trust. Jonathan has been fantastic, but he can’t handle it all. Becca’s been spending nights working on the books and getting all the accounts changed around to keep them out of Joshua Taylor’s hands. I need someone else to help me find him, and Eddie-boy is perfect for the job.
My phone beeps. It’s a text from Alina, who is downstairs with the last few things from her old place. She’s officially out of her apartment with Loretta and moving in with me. I hit the access button on the wall to let her in the front door and pick up the key I’ve had made for her so I don’t forget to give it to her this time.
I text back to ask if she needs help, but she says she’s good and arrives at the door a minute later, carrying a backpack and a large purple handbag. I take the backpack from her shoulder and place it near the door to her room, and she sets the handbag on the floor carefully.
“I thought you were bringing the dog with you on this trip,” I say.
“I am.” Alina beams at me. “I did bring her.”
I narrow my eyes and check the hallway, but there’s nothing there. Alina laughs and opens a zipper at the top of the handbag and points. Confused, I glance down to the bag on the floor.