Page 9 of Bianchi

“She’s where? Are you stupid, Romeo?” Indignation fills his voice, quickly followed by panic. “You can’t bring a dead woman back to my home.”

I stand, leaning my hands on the desk and holding his wide-eyed stare with mine. “Watch how you talk to me, Massimo. I’m still the head of this family and if I want to bring a fucking cemetery back to your house, I will. If I want to crucify a guy on your front lawn for your neighbors to see or paint your walls with the blood of our enemies, then I. Will. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

He glares at me before reaching for his chair and collapsing back into it. He drags a hand over his face, his exhaustion clear.

I smooth a hand down my chest before taking a seat. Crossing a leg over my knee, I reply, “I know this is difficult for you, Massimo, but questioning me is only going to end one way. Besides, I didn’t say she was dead.”

We stare at each other for a moment. I know he wants to question why I didn’t go through with the plan, why I brought her here, and what’s next. The muscle in his jaw ticks before he visibly forces his body to relax and asks, “So, what’s the plan with her now?”

My tone conveys authority when I reply, “She doesn’t know where he is, but I do know he has eyes on her. If he’s as smart as we’re giving him credit for being, I’m certain he will show up soon enough. And when he does, we’ll take care of them both. For now, she will stay in the basement.”

Massimo eyes me skeptically, but he’s taken the reminder of our hierarchy and I know he won’t argue with me, no matter how frustrated he is. “And how will we draw him out?”

Scrubbing my hand over my jaw, my gaze bounces around the office. Dark furniture fills the space, with a couch along one wall and two chairs against the opposite one. It suits Massimo. He’s never been a sunshine and light kind of guy. Even as a kid, he was always about the darkness. It’s what makes him so good as a don.

“By now, he should be aware that we have her. There was a live feed camera set up in the apartment across the road. Daniele and Leonardo went through the place, but it didn’t look like there was any sign of anyone having been there recently.”

Massimo nods distractedly. He tilts his head, asking, “If there didn’t look to be anyone there recently, how do we know he’s been watching her and it’s not some other creep?”

“The simple answer is, we don’t. At least not yet. Leonardo took the equipment and is on his way over to Callum’s for him to put a trace on it. See who it belongs to.”

Leonardo is Massimo’s underboss, and aside from Daniele, the only one who can handle Callum and his… unpredictable ways.

“Irish Callum?”

I nod. “He’s out of it.”

“You and I both know there is no out of the mafia, Rome. Whether that be the Irish, the Italian, or even the fucking Russian.”

Shrugging, I reply, “He’s as out of it as he can be. He knows how important this is, so we should have some answers in a few hours.”

A knock on the door halts our conversation. Massimo calls out for them to enter, and Daniele steps into the room, closing the door behind him.

“Romeo, Massimo.” He nods as he comes to a stop in front of the desk. “She’s in the basement. If you don’t need me, I’ll go get showered and pick up with Aldo on what he’s got.”

“Get some rest before you do. We need everyone to be on their A-game.” A plan forms in my mind, and as Daniele turns back toward the door, I call out to him. My eyes are on Massimo when I say, “I’ll be out for dinner this evening and I’ll need you with me.”

“Yes, boss.”

At least someone isn’t constantly needing a reminder of his position in this family. Massimo is staring back at me, his chin resting on his thumb and his fingers on his top lip. He cocks a brow.

“What?”

Sitting back in his chair, he moves a file from one side of his laptop to the other, replying, “Nothing.”

“Come on, Massimo. You didn’t have a problem questioning me a moment ago. What is it?”

He shakes his head, moving another file across, his focus on the task rather than me. “It’s not my place to question you, Rome. You’ve made that damn clear today.”

“And yet you’re going to. Say whatever it is you’ve got to say.”

Rolling his eyes, he finally brings his attention back to me, his fingers drumming lightly on the desk. “Fine. Do you really think now is the time to be going out for dinner with your US flavor of the month?”

Chuckling, I pull on my cuffs. My demeanor shifts, and I sit forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I’m taking my hostage out for dinner. We might not know for certain that it’s her father watching her, but we need to be seen if my plan is going to work.”

Massimo shakes his head in what I’m assuming is disbelief, huffing out a breath. “And showing her off for the world to see is how you’re going to achieve that? I guess that’s one way to get it done.”

“Exactly. And when we dispose of her, it will look like a rival has tried to exact revenge on me by killing ‘my woman’. It’s a win-win, really.”

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