Page 21 of The Leader

Judging by Jackson’s frown, he didn’t agree. Then again, Gio knew he had taken a liking to Jazzy. Also, of the four of them, Jax was the least damaged. He had only been a baby when their parents were murdered, and they were put in a home. His little brother didn’t have any memories, let alone nightmares, from those three months in the group home. Unlike the rest of them, he had left that place unscathed. Being so young also had its disadvantages, though. Jackson had no recollection of his parents. He didn’t remember his mother’s warm smile, nor her soft voice singing lullabies to him. Gio didn’t know what was worse: remembering or not.

“Jazzy will be fine.” He had given Thea instructions.“What about Luca? Any news on his case?"

“Nothing to get him out,” Jax said with a deep sigh. He’d taken it the hardest when their brother had gone to jail a year ago. As a lawyer, he’d lost faith in the legal system for a while.

It was almost comical how they had fought their way from the slums of Tenderloin to the top, making casualties when they had to, and Luca—casino owner and entrepreneur—ended up behind bars for tax fraud. Something he didn’t even commit.

“But we have some leads,” Jax continued. “Whoever framed Luca must have been someone close to him. I put the same firm on his case as the ones that found out who killed Mom and Dad.”

“Vince is right,” Gio agreed. “It’s time for Phase Two. Where are we on Bianchi’s collectors?”

“As of today, every last one of them has transferred his debts to us. Since Rossi Enterprises will no longer be funding Bianchi, which was a stupid deal to begin with, he will have to go look for other ways to pay for his debts. Rumor has it that he went ballistic yesterday when he learned that he’s lost another government contract.”

Bianchi had been losing a lot of contracts over the past year. They had been chipping away at Bianchi’s lifestyle bit by bit, making him a nobody in the eyes of his peers. Making him no longer untouchable when they would exact their revenge. Killing the man in cold blood would be a far too clean and easy death. They wanted to take away everything he had. Throwing him out on the street cold, alone, and miserable.

Every man had a weak spot. And for Bianchi, it was his reputation as a reputable businessman. The bastard had started off as a made man, like Gio’s father, but over the past decade, he had made the transition to becoming legit. He liked shaking hands with the mayor, and playing golf with San Francisco’s creme de la creme. A world in which you were someone’s best friend one day and could become a pariah the next.

As of today, Oscar “The Knife” Bianchi would become a desperate rabbit, ready to start running for his life in the woods. And Gio was just getting ready to send out the hounds.

They continued to work up until lunch, when they were suddenly disturbed by raised voices. No sooner than that, the door opened, and Hector entered. As usual, there was a scowl on his face.

“You need to get downstairs. We have a situation.”

There was no time for questions as Gio followed behind him. Since his friend looked merely annoyed, it couldn’t be that bad.

Gio was confronted with the situation the second he walked down the stairs.

“Vanessa. What are you doing here?” It was a justified question, as he’d ended things with her weeks ago.

The second she heard his voice, she spun around, staring daggers at him. He couldn’t care less though. His attention was focused on his wife. Jazzy had folded her arms in front of her chest and gave him a smile. Somehow, he doubted it was meant to be a pleasant one.

“Our condo had a For Sale sign, so I came here to surprise you. Instead, I was the one getting the surprise, learning that you gotmarried!” Vanessa shrieked.

Had her voice always been this aggravating? “Mycondo,” he corrected her.

She ignored that and continued her rant. “I leave a few weeks for a photo shoot, and you get married behind my back?”

Jazzy grabbed her jacket from the hook. “I’ll let you twoex-lovershash this out.”

Ironically, the one woman who did have the right to ask him for an explanation, didn’t. Jazzy was already at the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Vanessa snarled, raising her hand and stepping toward Jazzy’s back.

“Touch her and I will end you.” Gio tried to rein in his rage at his ex-lover’s unjustified display of jealousy.

“I…you don’t mean that,” Vanessa started to stutter.

Jazzy spun around, coming face-to-face with Vanessa’s claw. She looked surprised, then scowled and took a defensive stand. Judging by her annoyed look, she was waiting for what he would do. Part of him admired her for leaving this for him to handle instead of giving him shit. Another part was oddly disappointed, which made no sense.

“I ended things between us weeks ago. I put my condo up for sale. Take a fucking hint. You ever show up here again, disrupting my household, disrespecting my wife, and I will end your career. All it takes is a phone call. Don’t test me.”

Vanessa gasped, staring at him for a moment with her mouth hanging open, before she grabbed her suitcase and left, slamming the door behind her.

His wife glared at him, then swiped something—which looked like the credit card he gave her—from the counter and left as well. Her silence was louder than any door shut violently.

Gio didn’t go after her. Obviously Jazzy needed some time to cool off. He didn’t have to ask Hector to follow her. Because no matter what, he would never let her go unprotected. She was a Detta now.

CHAPTER 14

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