“Gennaro told me I shouldn’t worry about Matteo,” I say. “I don’t know if he was talking about the fact that he surrounded Matteo with his spies or about something else.”
“Do you think he kept Matteo in that cell?” Chiara arches her eyebrows.
“I don’t know. Anything’s possible. But even if Gennaro was planning to kill him, I don’t think he would’ve done it before he and I signed a deal. And I don’t think he would’ve killed the spies too since those men were probably loyal to him and not to Matteo. And there’s no body.”
“Matteo is still alive then.”
“Maybe. We don’t know who took him. Maybe he had more men working for him and someone found out about Gennaro’s betrayal and came for him. He might be recovering somewhere and plotting his return.”
“Aren’t there any cameras in the area? Any witnesses? Anyone who might know something?”
I shake my head. “The safe house was there for a reason. No cameras or anyone living close by. And Gennaro was good at keeping his secrets. He let his second-in-command know about the spies, but he never let him find out anything else or what they were supposed to do.”
“What are you going to do?” Her eyes are filled with worry, and I hate it.
“I have a plan for your neighborhood.”
She tenses, and I realize I’ve chosen the wrong words.
“We need to return to our normal lives. As normal as possible. Your neighborhood will be easy to protect once I implement some things. No one will even know something’s up. We’ll rebuild your house into the strongest fortress there is. And when Matteo comes, I’ll be ready.”
Her lips part in surprise. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Isn’t it what you want? To return there? Reopen the restaurant?” I look deep into her eyes.
“Yes, it is. But I don’t want to bring any more pain and suffering with me. I don’t want my neighbors in danger.”
“They won’t be in any danger. I can promise you that.” I’ll use the plan for my project and just tweak it a little because I no longer want the whole neighborhood. “I want you to be happy.”
“Then I’d love that. I miss my home. This safe house is nice, but—”
“It’s nothome.”
“No, it isn’t. We don’t even have a room for our babies here.”
“Then it’s agreed. I’m going to get my men to finish the plan and take care of everything. If we move quickly enough, everything should be ready by the time we finally meet our twins.”
“Really?” Her eyes widen, but I can see excitement in them.
“Yeah.”
She wraps her arms around me and kisses me on the cheek. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks!” Then she pulls away and frowns. “But then Matteo will know exactly where to find us.”
“Yes, but he won’t be able to get to us. When Iintended to build the Gaviani Resort, I had a plan for that because everyone would’ve known it was mine, including Matteo and Gennaro. There won’t be a huge resort, but the area will be completely under my control. I already bought enough properties to set everything up. No one will know my men are there, but they will keep an eye on the whole neighborhood. Now that I have Gennaro’s territory too, we’ll have fewer enemies because no one will dare to attack us. Most of the city is ours.”
“Wow.” She blinks at me. “It’s weird to think about it that way.”
“Yes, my mafia queen. We rule the city. You and I.” I grin.
“I don’t know how I feel about that just yet, but if we’re happy and everyone else in the neighborhood is safe too... then I’m all for it.”
“Good.” Not even I have fully realized just how much more powerful I am right now.
But I need to focus on my family. Constantly running around after the next enemy and worrying doesn’t make much sense. Matteo isn’t that big of a threat to us, no matter what he does. At least there’s no evidence of it.
Chiara and I need to prepare for the arrival of our twins. Everything else comes second, andif Matteo is hurt and most of his men are dead, he’ll need a long time to heal and gather new forces. By then, I’ll be unstoppable.
I still like power. I always have, but now I get to use it for something that actually matters to me, and that’s nice.