Carlo Moretti slams his fist on the table. “That little fucking punk.”
“Tell us about this meeting with Oleg,” my father says. “How did that come about?”
Rocco had already called him while I was in the hospital and told him about the ambush, leaving out them kidnapping Lennon to get to me. I owed him one for that. They can’t know how important Lennon is to me. Not yet.
This is the tricky part. I have to get them to want Toly to stay in Tampa. If he doesn’t get Zerilli’s territory through marrying Giada, I’m fucked.
I take another drink of water and steel my spine. “Oleg contacted me to give me the information about Emilio and to propose a deal.”
Eyebrows raise but they stay silent.
“The deal Oleg proposed is that we convince Zerilli to let his son Toly marry Giada. In exchange, they would cease trafficking in Tampa.”
Caelian chimes in here. “This is a good solutionfor him, since Zerilli doesn’t want to hand his empire to his son. It would still stay in the family through his daughter and her children.”
Joey Amato grunts. “You think Zerilli is going to hand his daughter over to Russians? Especially when she’s already engaged to a respected Italian?”
I nod. “I don’t think I’ll have a problem convincing him it’s in his best interest.”
His gaze locks on mine through the screen, thick brows pressing down in concern. “You’re willing to hand over your fiancé to Anatoly Romanov?”
I force myself to stay solemn.“Qualunque cosa la famiglia abbia bisogno io la faro.”
Whatever the family needs.
My father is smirking at me. I ignore him and keep pleading my case. “Look, we know Santino isn’t going to be on this earth much longer.” Some of the men make the sign of the cross. “The advantage for us here is that we’ll have someone taking over his territory who we can control. Toly isn’t smart. He isn’t ambitious. He will keep Zerilli’s empire running, and we still get our cut of the profits. We keep our enemy close and working for us. We all know the Bratva can bring in legions of soldiers from Russia and overwhelm us if they choose to. This partnership will prevent them from even considering that.”
I watch their expressions carefully. They seem to be listening, so I keep going. “Times have changed. We must keep peace and fly under the radar as much as possible. These days there’s too many federal agencies hell bent on puttingus all behind bars. Turning a powerful enemy into an ally goes a long way toward keeping peace and keeping us off the fed’s radar.”
Sonny D’Angelo turns to my father beside him. “Your son makes a good point.” Then his gaze returns to me, dark brown eyes sparkling in a wrinkled face. Still sharp. “If you’re saying Anatoly Romanov should run Tampa for the Bratva, what do you propose we do about his father?”
After I had time to think about it, I decided against suggesting we take Oleg out. New York wouldn’t understand why I’m proposing to concede territory to avoid a war with the Bratva while simultaneously suggesting we take out a Captain—an act that would undoubtedly start one.
They would be suspicious of my motives. I’m not going to forget Oleg’s actions, but that’s a debt that will be paid another day. “I do suggest part of the agreement is that Oleg has to leave Tampa permanently.”
There’s some shuffling in the room as The Commission members consult with each other.
Then Carlo Moretti clears his throat and holds up his hand. “Okay. The first issue we need to address is Emilio Zerilli’s treason. As we all know, his actions are unforgivable. The punishment for his disloyalty is clear.” Carlo’s nostrils flare. He glances around at the other men.
They all nod solemnly.
Then his eyes meet mine again, the corners of his mouth curling down into his bulldogcheeks. “Alessandro, carrying out his sentence falls on you. Make it a message to future traitors. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“All right. We will get back to you soon about Oleg Romanov’s proposal. Whether we agree to let his son Anatoly stay or not, I think we can agree Oleg himself needs to leave Tampa.” He glances around the table and the others nod.
A bit of the pressure eases in my chest. “I’ll talk to Zerilli and confirm Romanov’s accusation about Emilio’s treason. And I’ll await your decision about Anatoly.”
When they end the call, I turn to Caelian. “We need to start getting our ducks in a row now. So, as soon as we get the green light from New York, we can execute the plan.”
“Agree. So, what’s the plan for Milo?”
A slow, malicious smile tugs at my lips.
Chapter 40
Alessandro
