Page 39 of Little Dove

Alonzo’s face darkens at that, giving away his thoughts. Yeah, I have a feeling that won’t be happening. Instead of agreeing, Alonzo barks, “Where are we on the search for the twin and the information on Giovanni?”

The tone of the room instantly changes and we’re all business.

“I caught Lazaro up on what’s happened while he’s been gone,” Papa explains.

“I received more information from my informant inside the Morozov’s. They said that the meeting with Giovanni was onlybetween him, Orlando, Ivan, and his son Alexei. No guards were allowed in,” Dante finishes with a grim look.

“Not a single one?” I ask, surprised. That’s not done. Ever. There’s normally at least one guard from each side allowed in those meetings to ensure that no one tries to assassinate their leader.

Dante nods. “Ivan ordered them all out. They stationed themselves outside the door, but the room is soundproofed, even the doors, to make sure no one can hear anything inside.”

“Ivan is either fucking stupid, or he’s got something on Giovanni big enough that he doesn’t kill him or his heir,” Nico muses darkly.

“Or Giovanni has something on him,” Zeno says absently, and I watch a narrow-eyed look take over his face. It’s the look he gets when his brain is working overtime to try and connect some elusive dots in that weird head of his. “Who called the meet, do you know?”

Dante shakes his head. “My informant didn’t have that info. He was told that Giovanni was arriving with one of his sons and ordered to let him through. Neither of them had weapons when they were searched. They met for two hours, then Giovanni and Orlando left, not a single word said between them.”

“And anything out of Ivan or Alexei?” Pietro asks.

“Nothing was said other than an order to have the men ready. Alexei left, but my informant isn’t on his security team, so they don’t know if he met with anyone. And Alexei’s men are apparently fucking loyal to him and don’t say a word about him or his activities to anyone.”

“Fuck,” Nico hisses.

“My men have been searching, and from what it looks like, there is no communication between Giovanni and Ivan on anything electronic,” Papa adds grimly.

“So, what, they’re using carrier pigeons and sending letters?” Massimo asks, a scowl on his face.

“More likely, they have someone who knows how to erase a digital footprint and make sure that nothing they say slips through for us to find,” Papa corrects. “But I have a couple of guys that can find anything, and they’re close to getting through their firewalls. Whoever Giovanni has on his side now doing that shit is fucking good.”

“That could explain how they’re finding the girls so quickly too,” I point out. “A hacker who can build firewalls strong enough to keep even our guys out for this long, is a fucking good hacker. They’d be able to dig up information on the girls.”

“Orlando is a crazy fucker,” Dante remarks. “I was always surprised that he took orders from Lorenzo, or hell, even Leonardo before all this shit went down. He’s a wild card, and he was Giovanni’s favorite person to send to handle the dirty work, like interrogations or straight up murder. And he likes to take his time when torturing people.”

“So he’s a hacker and an enforcer?” I ask. It’s not common for someone to do both, but these American families like to do things fucking different.

“As of late he’s mostly been in the enforcer role, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been doing the hacker shit in the background too,” Dante answers. “Out of all the brothers and cousins, you see him the least.”

“Leonardo wouldn’t let him put his fingers in everything,” Nico argues, frowning thoughtfully. “He’s too much of a control freak for that.”

“Giovanni might be using him to keep an eye on Leonardo and Marco’s movements,” Alonzo suggests. “And probably trying to do the same with us.”

“My men are always dealing with people trying to get into our shit, so if he’s trying, he hasn’t succeeded yet,” Papa points out.“And we’ll make sure he stays out.” He looks at Zeno and Urso pointedly.

“What do we do about Giovanni working with the Russians?” Pietro asks pointedly. “At the moment, there isn’t a single member of a major crime family that’s not involved in this fucking mess.”

“Leonardo is probably working with my uncle, who runs his own territory on the state border with Massachusetts,” Nico adds. “But you’re right, this whole fucking city is now involved, and if it becomes an all-out war, we’re going to have a fucking bloodbath on our hands.”

“At this point that’s exactly where we’re heading,” Pietro agrees grimly. “But until we know what Giovanni was meeting with Ivan about, we’re in the dark.”

“We need more intel on what Marco is up to with Gallo,” Dante reminds us. “Other than sending men after you to get to Amara, there hasn’t been much movement from his end, or from Seamus, for that matter.”

“You think they’re plotting and planning?” Pietro asks him.

“Seamus Gallo is never idle, so if he’s gone quiet, it’s a cause for concern. And like us, he can probably tell that Ivan and Giovanni look to be in league together, so he’s not going to want to sit too long with no movement.”

“Tell Eion we want another meet up, immediately,” Nico orders him. “We want all the information he has.” Dante nods and pulls out his phone.

“What’s the deal with Ivan and his son?” Alessio asks Nico. “How likely is it that they’re going to keep working with Giovanni?”

---