Page 3 of Relentless Refuge

My body stiffens at his calm revelation of my eavesdropping, but Father doesn’t seem surprised by it at all. If anything, he looks annoyed that Marco brought it up. Lucco, however, who has been very quiet, chimes in with anger laced in his tone.

“She’s a woman. Their ideas are about how to decorate homes and plan weddings.” He smirks and laughs beneath his breath, and I scowl at him, happy that our new acquaintance pays no attention to him.

“Thank you for asking, Mr. Romano.”

“Marco, please.”

“Marco,” I say, nodding. “I believe you’re a fool for giving away ten percent when you could easily have won my father for five.” I smooth the front of my gray slacks and notice Father raises a single eyebrow. “But now that you’ve committed to the ten, you’re stuck. As for the efficacy of this arrangement, time will tell, but all true alliances are built on mutual respect and trust. Are you trustworthy, Marco?”

“I’ve built my business on the foundation that my Family does and will always come first. That being said, I will never jeopardize the business or my blood. If the arrangement fails, it will not be because you cannot trust me. My only goal is to see both of our families succeed.” His eyes narrow on me. “You take an interest in your father’s business?”

I walk around the desk to stand next to Father and rest my hand on his shoulder. He pats it knowingly. My heart and soul belong to him in every way. He isn’t just my father, he is my leader and my protector. Wild horses could not pull me away from my loyalty to him.

“It is our family business, not my father’s. If the world were a different place, I’m certain I would be leading right alongside my brother and father.” I know how Father feels about it, and my boldness and speaking out of turn may well earn me a lecture later on, but Mr. Romano asked, so I answered.

“Interesting. And if you were to lead this Family, what would you do?” The way he wraps his lips around the cigar pinched between his thumb and fingers is seductive.

“Well, firstly, I would deny this arrangement and offer a new one.” I set my jaw and wait for him to take the bait. This isn’t a business meeting. He’s testing me—testing our Family.

“A new arrangement?” His drags on his cigar are aimed at intimidating me. He hasn’t even touched his tea.

Why would this man invite me to stay in a meeting I don’t belong in, only to question me on hypothetical business arrangements? He’s interesting and commanding, and even my father seems mesmerized by how he controls the conversation.

“I would proffer you this. We take twenty percent of all transactions off the top. You receive no access to our suppliers, least of all our arms dealer, and we do the trading for you. Outside of that, you pay a fee of ten thousand dollars on each sale on top of the ten percent, and we decide what types of munitions you can trade.”

He sets the cigar down and claps his hands loudly, grinning like a madman as he stands. “Bravo, Ms. D’Angelo. Alberto, you have a powerhouse here.” He reaches out a hand to shake my father’s, and Father stands to take it.

A bit surprised by the reaction, I take a step back as they shake hands and Father speaks first. “I will think this over. You’ve given me a great proposition, and I agree with your sentiment. My daughter is brilliant, Marco. You may just have to change the stakes on this alliance of yours.”

Marco retracts his hand, picks up the tea cup, and downs the entire contents at once. As he sets it down, he looks directly atme and says, “I’ll give you time to think, Alberto. Ms. Isabella, it was good meeting you. I do hope we will meet again.” He runs a hand through his hair and walks out the door without another word, and I’m speechless.

“Hmm,” Father growls as he sits back in his chair, and before the dust can settle, I turn to look at him.

“It’s a good deal, Father. He’s right. In just twelve months’ time, we could see the Family’s influence grow. You should do it.” I cross my arms over my chest. Father never lets me make decisions, but he does listen to my advice at times.

“You’re a fool, Isabella. This man wants to move in on our territory and nothing more.” Lucco picks up his cold cigar and the lighter and puts the stogie in his mouth.

“Both of you stop.” Father glowers at me and nods. “Thank you for tea, Isabella. Darling, would you leave us to discuss this?” He pats my hand, and I nod at him.

“Of course, Father.” I turn to walk away, but when I reach the door, I pause. “I like him. I think he will make a good partner,” I say over my shoulder and then open the door and walk into the hallway. The lingering scent of Marco’s cologne and the smoke from his cigar still hangs in the air, and I smile as I shut the door behind me.

I hope I see a lot more of this man, and soon.

3

MARCO

Victor sits next to our uncle across the table from me, and beside me my cousin, Peter, devours a large plate of spaghetti. So far, the evening has been filled with banter and lively conversation, but with the meal nearing its end, I feel it’s time to get down to the brass tacks. We’ve made an alliance with the Family from Newark, but it comes at a cost.

I push my empty plate away and wipe my mouth with the black cloth napkin. The waiter approaches, but I wave him off. I can’t have anyone eavesdropping on our business talk. Then I drape the napkin over my empty plate and clear my throat. Victor’s chatter about some bird he’s been chasing for a few weeks fades away and Darnel leans forward, also pushing his plate away.

“So, we have an arrangement. That’s fantastic. We’ll be able to deliver on those orders?” His question reminds me of the lingering deals we have in place, which without this alliance with the D’Angelo family we’d otherwise be unable to fulfill.

“We’ll be delayed, but yes. They will be fulfilled.” I drum my fingers on the white tablecloth and watch Peter eating. He’d lick the plate clean if we weren’t in public. The man has zeromanners, but he’s a fantastic accountant, so I tolerate him. But I make a mental note to reserve our important meetings behind closed doors and not involve a meal.

“How delayed?” Victor asks, setting his fork down. He’s right to ask that because a delay in the supply chain could have effects that we’d rather not endure. Even a single day may dissuade our customers from returning.

“I’ll get the timeline from D’Angelo tomorrow. I have the meet set, but I’ve not been introduced to the supplier yet.” I spoke with the Don of the Newark family earlier this morning to confirm our agreement, and barring any minor catastrophe, things will work out as we’ve planned. “I’m going to attend the meeting myself the first time. We have to make sure things go smoothly.”

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