Page 69 of Little Dove

Dante and I climb in the front of one of the SUVs, with Dante behind the wheel, while Alessio and Nico climb in the back. The guards file into the other behind us. When we pull out of the garage, I take in the tree-covered drive barely lit by the moonlight overhead. We’re at the back of the property, which explains how we’re getting out without being spotted.

The drive to the library is tense but uneventful, which is probably why Alessio can’t help himself. We’re almost to our destination when he asks, “So, how are you going to refer to me, Boo Bear? Lover? Best Friend? Confidant? Love of your life?”

I turn in time to see Nico’s fist slam right into Alessio’s gut. “That answer your question?” he replies calmly. Dante chuckles,and I’m torn between amusement and exasperation. Can the man not take a joke?

“Love of your life it is,” Alessio wheezes, rubbing at his stomach, just as Dante pulls down a narrow alley, shutting the headlights off and carefully rounding the corner at the end of the building. I scan around, looking for anything that might be off. Nothing stands out, but I’m not taking any chances. In the back, Alessio and Nico have gone silent, though I can feel the anger radiating off the latter easily.

The moment Dante parks the car, I’m out, gun ready and head on a swivel. I don’t trust this not to be an ambush. I don’t trust these Irish fuckers, especially not one from within Seamus’s inner circle. It’s the perfect way for them to get to us, and Nico’s an idiot for trusting the man as much as he is.

It takes another full minute before I feel confident enough to let Alessio leave the car, but I’m careful to keep myself between him and anything that might come flying. Alessio gives me an eye roll, but then he’s back in Underboss mode, face hard set with the air of a man you don’t cross.

The other soldiers head into the library ahead of us, with only Davide waiting back for the rest of us. That displeases me immensely, but I keep my mouth shut. I make a mental note to have Urso and Zeno look into him. One of them will find something, I’m sure, because there’s something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on.

When we finally make our way into the empty library, my senses are once again on high alert, especially when we make our way to a small, windowless room in the back corner. Inside sits a large man looking far too relaxed for a traitor of his own leader. “Up,” I bark sharply, stepping inside before any of the others.

Eion eyes me for a moment, assessing, but then he stands without much of a fuss as I search him. He’s almost as broad as me, but I still tower over him by a couple of inches. His hair is adark red, eyes a sharp green, and there’s a hard edge to him that tells me he’s been at this shit a long time. I’m quick, efficient, and not gentle, but he doesn’t make a sound. He knows the drill. When I step back and say, “He’s clean,” in brisk Italian, he turns and takes a seat.

I step back, allowing Nico, Dante, and Alessio into the room. Dante shoots me an annoyed look, clearly unhappy that I’ve taken charge, but I ignore it. Out of the two of us, there’s no fucking way I’m going to let anything slip past. Nico takes a seat across from Eion and orders simply, “Talk.”

Eion doesn’t look at the rest of us as he leans forward in his seat, eyes hard and mouth set in a grim line. “Shit’s about to hit the fan,” he rumbles in his thick Irish accent. “A few hours ago, a call came in to that shit-for-brains Marco De Luca about finding a missing girl he’s been looking for here in the city. Told him that he could find one of them at some little no-name stripper club up in the far corner of De Luca territory. Borders right on where ours and yours split off, and also the same direction as Esposito’s place. Something about she’s been working there under the name Lainey, but her real name is Lucina Prescott. She’ll be off work by three in the morning, and if they’re looking to take her, she walks home. Marco jumped on it, and he already sent men to scope her out. Once he confirmed that she was there, and that she looks like his other sister, the one married to you now, he went in to talk to Seamus. Feels this is the perfect time to grab her and start making some moves to cripple Leonardo.”

“Not Giovanni?” Nico asks.

“Said he’s not worried about his uncle because he’s too stupid to know what to do with real power,” Eion replies with a shrug. “I heard one of his men reminded him that Giovanni met with Ivan Morozov, but Marco brushed it off. Said something about Ivan and Giovanni having too much bad blood to ever truly worktogether. Something about Giovanni trying to sleep with Ivan’s wife, and they’ve hated each other ever since.”

“So Marcus is out there attempting to grab a woman off the street that he believes to be his long-lost sister?” Nico asks, steering the conversation back. I pull out my phone and start typing out a message to Urso, to start digging for any truth on this information. He and Papa will have the info for us quickly.

“He met with Seamus an hour ago, with the idea that now is the perfect time to strike. Whoever called him also told him that Leonardo and Giovanni were aware of the girl, but they were letting him know first since whoever this person is wants the next generation to run things, not the old men who let the girls get away in the first place.”

“Playing to his ego,” Alessio remarks.

Eion flicks a glance his way but nods. If he’s wondering who Alessio and I are, he’s not about to ask, though if he’s any head of security worth his salt, he already knows. “Marco’s a hot-headed prick and Seamus knows it, but he’s enjoying the entire situation, seeing the De Luca empire crumble from the inside out. Seamus agreed to send men with him to find the girl, and to get ready for an attack on Leonardo while they’re all out looking for her. He’s not worried about Giovanni, but no one knows where he’s hiding out. He’s no longer residing at the home he was using with that other asshole that was with him before.”

“He’s gone underground so we can’t retaliate against him,” Dante agrees. “We’ll find him soon enough.”

Eion looks back at Nico. “But that’s not the end of it. Seamus may have given Marco men to find the girl, but he doesn’t for a second believe that it’s a good lead. I wasn’t in the room until midway through the call, but about ten minutes after he decided to send men with Marco, he made a call out to another number. I walked in and heard him tell whoever he called that he wouldmeet him at Esposito’s in a couple of hours, to discuss next steps against his son and how to deal with Giovanni.”

“You’re telling us that Leonardo and Seamus are working together,” Nico states, gaze hard and unbending on Eion.

“They are,” he nods. “I only caught the tail end of it, but Seamus made a comment to me that he needed me to have men on Sinead tonight, to make sure she doesn’t get into trouble while he’s out. I put three of our best men on her, because that little witch is crafty.”

“What time is the meet up supposed to be?” I ask. If this meeting is happening any time soon, we need to get people in place quickly, but something isn’t sitting right with me about this whole situation. I just can’t put my finger on it.

“They’re meeting at Gregorio’s summer home in an hour,” Eion answers after checking his watch. “I’ll be heading there with him, along with his eldest son and four of our best men. I don’t trust Esposito one inch, and neither does Seamus, but he feels it’s the better option.”

“Marco and Giovanni would know immediately what’s up at Leonardo’s, but Leonardo has a strong alliance with my uncle,” Nico replies. “If Seamus is meeting with Leonardo, it stands to reason that he has no intention of staying with Marco to assist him with this entire situation.”

Eion shakes his head. “He’s using him as a way to get intel on the inner workings of Leonardo’s operation, and for information on you as well. He plans to ride this out until one or both of you is out of the way, before he takes over.”

Nico gives him a sharp smile. “Seamus always was a stupid fuck.”

Eion nods sharply, which surprises me. The man’s hatred of his boss is deep enough that he doesn’t hold back how he feels. I can respect that, even if I don’t want to. “He’s been obsessed with expansion. Our territory is starting to feel too tight; profitsaren’t growing at the rate he wants. He believes expansion will solve the problem. He wants it all, just like I’m sure you do. But he’s got a good thing going with Marco. Marco won’t stop bragging and saying everything he thinks Seamus wants to hear to trust him more.”

“Seamus knows that Marco is planning to double-cross him, doesn’t he?” I interject, my mind starting to put pieces together. “I’d wager he’s known all along. He’s probably been in talks with Leonardo before now, as well.”

“Seamus and Leonardo have never been friendly,” Dante reasons. “Not to mention, Seamus working with Marco is a betrayal that he’ll never be able to endorse.”

“The possibility of war, with an outcome of more power and profits, can change a lot of things,” Alessio reminds him. “Giovanni working with Ivan and the Russians makes that clear enough.” I can tell he has more to say, but that will be for later. We’ll stick to the common knowledge for now.

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