Page 92 of Born a Queen

Chapter Forty-Nine

Mateo smiled tightly as Sotza strode toward him. Sotza clapped him on the back. "Good to see you, my boy."

It wasn't often that Sotza became even remotely effusive with his affection, but it had been months since the two men had seen each other. Sotza had recruited Mateo when he was a young teen. Until he went hunting for Garza and then over to Italy, Mateo had never spent more than a few weeks at a time away from the Sotza compound. Over the years, Sotza had become a father figure to him.

Since Sotza's arrival in Miami, he and his wife had been busy hunting the elusive Desi. Mateo had been otherwise occupied with his Miami takeover. The two men decided it was high time they meet.

They agreed on one of the clubs that Mateo was inheriting in his takeover. It was big, flashy, gaudy, everything Mateo despised. He was not a club man, nor would he ever be. Unless Sotza ordered him to hang onto the clubs, they would be the first thing he would sell off. He'd invest the money in a series of restaurants where it would be less of a headache to move illegitimate money.

"This place brings back memories." Sotza glanced around the cub as they made their way to a back booth, both sliding in to take a seat.

"Yeah? Been here before?" Mateo didn't really care, but his boss was one of the few people he was willing to put in lip service for.

Sotza gave him a shrewd look. Sotza knew of Mateo’s antisocial tendencies but appreciated the effort. "This is where I first met my wife. She walked in that door," he pointed at the front entrance, flooded with Miami sunlight. "She had two bodyguards flanking her. She walked right up to me as though she owned the world and looked down her long nose like I was lower than the gum she might scrape off her high heel."

Mateo snorted his amusement. "Like mother, like daughter. Sounds like the look Raina gives me when she's pissed off."

"And have you managed to piss off my stepdaughter?" The question was casual, but Mateo could sense an underlying curiosity. Though Sotza was old school in many ways, he wouldn’t force a merger if he didn’t think the couple was happy.

Mateo appreciated the position that Sotza was in now. He was stepfather and protector to his wife's grown daughter. He also held a genuine affection for the girl. Yet, he had watched Mateo grow up and flourish under his regime. Though they never spoke the words, Mateo was aware that Sotza held great love for him. Mateo felt the same for his boss. He loved and respected Isaac Sotza. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for the man.

"I would guess that she gets mad at me about as often as your wife gets mad at you," Mateo said with some amusement.

Sotza raised an eyebrow. "So it hasn't been a cakewalk then?"

"I wouldn't want her half as much if she acted any other way. That attitude is gold to a man like me. She's a fighter. If she didn't put up a fight once in a while, I'd wonder what was wrong. I'm not an easy man to deal with, and there are times I'm hell on her. She balks at the constant restrictions, but she understands the why of it."

Sotza nodded and waved over a server who hovered nearby. Both men ordered a drink and then lapsed into silence. Sotza was the first one to break it. "Sounds like I don't have anything to worry about. You'll take good care of her."

"Nothing else matters more to me than Raina." Though his words were meant to reassure Sotza, they were also the boiled-down truth. Nothing did matter to him more than Raina. She had become his entire world from the moment she confronted him on the campus when he kidnapped her. She had fought him like a wildcat, until he’d been forced to take her down to the ground and subdue her. The moment had been both illuminating and breathtaking. He had looked down at her face, screwed up in anger, her glasses askew. His lonely heart had found its mate and from that moment onward, beat for two.

"I believe this to be true." Sotza gave his blessing.

Two years ago, after Mateo kidnapped Raina and took her back to Venezuela to live with her parents, Mateo had gone to Sotza. He had asked his mentor to give Raina to him. Sotza had been taken aback by the question. Mateo didn’t speak of his personal life, let alone ever mention wanting a woman. Sotza had even admitted to wondering about Mateo’s sexuality. Mateo hadn’t taken offence, as up to that point he had kept any liaisons both simple and brief. If he met a woman he wanted physically, he fucked her and then he walked away. He rarely went back twice.

But Raina had changed that. It was as though his body and soul had lain dormant until her arrival. The sight of her, her scent, her sass, everything about her had instantly locked him down. Until then, Mateo had scorned the idea of love at first sight. Now, he knew it to be true.

Sotza had agreed to Mateo's request, but on one condition. "You give her time. She's young, still a teenager. She isn't used to our world or used to men like you. She grew up in a loving household with good solid values. Her time here has been a shock. I believe, given more time, she will come around to appreciating our world; appreciating the opportunities the organization can provide. She was born for this. I have no doubt that when her day comes, she will shine."

While the rational part of Mateo agreed with Sotza, his heart screamed at him to take the woman and consequences be damned. It had taken every ounce of strength not to leave that office and hunt Raina down, take her back to his place and stake his claim. Instead, he had calmly asked, "How long?"

"As long as it takes." Sotza's words had been uncompromising and Mateo had made the decision to step back and give Raina the time that her stepfather requested. He reminded himself that he was doing it for her.

His gamble paid off. He now had Raina, they’d each declared their love and were planning their wedding. Even though she was pissed at him about the vasectomy, he had no doubt that once the storm passed, they would find their way back to each other. She was too generous and compassionate not to forgive him. Especially, since he’d done it with her in mind.

The thought of getting a vasectomy had not once crossed Mateo's mind until he had researched Raina's condition. As soon as the realization hit him that giving birth could cause physical damage to his future wife, he made the decision without a second thought. He checked himself into the hospital and voluntarily elected to have a vasectomy. The doctor had frowned at him, asked him if he had children and tried to dissuade him, given Mateo's age at the time. He’d been thirty-four, healthy and virile.

But Mateo didn't give a shit about that. All he cared about was Raina and that she have a long and healthy life. If she had to do that without children, then so be it.

In an effort to divert the course of their conversation, Mateo said, "You met our guest, Giovanni Savino?"

Sotza took a long sip of his drink, then set it down on the table and looked at Mateo, an amused glint in his dark eyes. "An interesting man. He wants the world to believe he’s an enthusiastic eccentric, but I believe he uses this flamboyance to lure people into a sense of complacency. I’ve heard rumours of his brutality. He’s not the kind-hearted gentleman he makes himself out to be."

Mateo agreed with Sotza’s assessment. “He wants us to think he’s harmless, but his position suggests he’s anything but harmless. Though I do think he feels genuine affection for Raina. You had a lucrative meeting?"

Sotza gave a short nod. "It was illuminating. We’ve become complacent over here in the Americas; we don't pay enough attention to what's happening across the ocean. Though Italy has an old and steeped tradition in the Cosa Nostra, I believe that Giovanni is interested in innovating some of their trade. He believes it's time to start looking to the west for business associates."

Mateo nodded his head, tossed back his own drink and commented, "After spending time with Savino I believe that he’ll make a good ally."

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