“Oh my God. Mom has a hickey,” Caleb says, staring at me like he’s going to puke and at Leo like he wants to strangle him.
My hand subconsciously flies to my neck. “I do not!” I am going to kill him for blurting it out in front of Leo’s parents.
A chorus of laughter rings out around the table.
“Shit,dolcezza.” Leo is fighting a smirk as he pries my hands away and stares at my neck. “You actually do.”
“What’s a hickey?” Rowan asks, and another round of laughter breaks out.
“Your Uncle Leo is a vampire,” I tease.
Rowan frowns. “He drinks your blood?”
Cue more laughter. Hell. I am making a mess of this, and I decide I’ll let his parents handle this one. “I’m only joking, little charmer. Ask your dad later, and he’ll explain.”
“Thanks for that,” Ben deadpans, flipping me the bird behind the kids’ backs.
After we eat, we say goodbye to Leo’s family, and then we head to Ben’s study to discuss how today will go.
“You’re wearing a Kevlar,” Ben says, his “I’m a don and don’t fucking mess with me” face perfectly intact.
“Don’t attempt to argue,” Leo says when he sees my mouth opening. “This is the only way we are letting you walk into Greco’s house without us. It’s not too much to ask.”
I give in easily because I know this is hard for them. They are trusting me in a way the majority of made men, brothers, and husbands would not, and I love that they don’t want to clip my wings. “It’s not. I’ll wear the vest, and I’ll have my gun and a knife. Plus, Brando and Nario will be with me.”
I want to be the one to confront Don Greco. I want to put him in his place and pay him back for the past. Besides, I don’t trust he won’t kill Leo if he steps foot in his house, and we need to keep Ben out of this, to protect his position and to let the ruse play out the way we need it to.
It has to be me. We all know it.
* * *
“Natalia Accardi.To what do I owe this pleasure?” Maximo Greco says, failing to get up from behind his desk to greet me, when I am ushered into the office he keeps at his home.
“It’s Mazzone,” I say, striding across the room with Brando and Nario at my rear. I wish I could tell him it’s actually Messina, but I’m waiting to drop that bomb at the most opportune time. “And we need to talk.”
He arches a brow in amusement, and I can’t wait to wipe that smug smile off his face. I sit down without invitation, leaning forward to slide the first envelope across his desk.
“What is this?” he asks, staring at it like it’s a loaded gun. I suppose, in a way it is.
“Open it and see.” I clasp my hands regally on my lap and keep my head up, letting no expression show on my face as he slides the photos out and looks at them.
A red flush creeps up his neck and onto his cheeks as he flips through the incriminating pictures. We got everything. Him meeting with the Colombians and the drug dealers peddling their shit on the streets. There are even shots of the supplies on his ships and evidence of his men unloading the cargo. “What is the meaning of this?” he roars, thumping his fist down on the desk.
“I think those photos speak for themselves, and you forced me into doing this, so spare me the self-righteousness and the bullshit threats.” I narrow my eyes on him. “It wasn’t that difficult for my PI to follow you or your men. You’re getting sloppy in your old age.” I throw a second envelope across the desk. This one contains the photos Leo took, years ago, of Carlo at the warehouse. “This is how it will go down. You will contact my brother and retract the request for Leo to marry your granddaughter. You will also give him your word that you will not raise a motion of no confidence in him as president of The Commission. You guarantee that you won’t come after me, Leo, Bennett or our families, and those photos will never see the light of day,” I lie.
“Refuse or attempt to double-cross us, and I will share those with my brother,” I continue. “I don’t think The Commission will take kindly to you doing deals with the enemy behind their backs. I’m pretty sure that would be a death sentence.” I stand, smoothing a hand down the front of my skirt suit. “I will also ensure copies of those photos are delivered to the FBI and the Colombians.” If it’s the former, he’ll go to jail. The latter and his entire family risks being slaughtered. Either way, he knows he’s a dead man unless he agrees to my demands. “That will happen automatically if anything happens to me or one of my loved ones,” I add as an extra incentive.
“You little—”
“Finish that sentence and we have a big problem.” Nario cracks his knuckles, wearing his usual bloodthirsty face.
I turn around, giving Greco my back as a string of expletives leaves his mouth. I slip my rings on and turn to face him. “And by the way, it’s Mrs. Messina now.” I wave my left hand in his face. “Leo and I got married yesterday.” It was our backup plan in case Greco had any other nasty surprises up his sleeve. Judging by his reaction, he’s all out of ammo. Too bad for him.
Greco’s eyes narrow to slits. By admitting that, I’m telling him in a none-too-subtle way that Ben already knows. His mouth curls into an ugly snarl, and his fists are clenched so tight the skin on his knuckles blanches white. I know he would love to take me out, but his hands are tied.
“One final thing.” I smile down at him, gloating because there is nothing quite as satisfactory as putting this ugly little toad in his place. “You can forget about running to your pal Accardi.” I throw a couple of additional photos on the desk. The first one shows Maximo deep in conversation with Caleb’s dealer, and the second shot is a pic of the dealer handing shit to my son, proving Maximo went out of his way to set this up. He trapped my son into taking drugs, and I want to murder him for that fact alone. “I have just had a set of those shots delivered to Gino in Chicago. He knows what you are up to now, and I doubt he’ll want to play any longer.”
“Get out of my house!” he roars.
