I nod, staring absently out the window. A throbbing pain knocks on my skull, thanks to the Macallan, and I hope I manage to snatch some sleep on the plane.
“Is this why you have been so melancholy?” Ben asks, sliding over beside me. He wraps his arms around me, and I lean on him for support.
I rest my head on his shoulder. “Mostly. I had a feeling there was a woman. But it’s more the futility of my life. The twins won’t need me much longer, and I want to go back to NYU, but my husband refuses to speak to me about it.”
“Let me handle that,” Ben says.
I look up at him. “He won’t take orders from you about his personal life. He might not care much about me, but I am still his wife. He won’t take kindly to you butting in.”
He kisses my brow. “I know how to handle Gino Accardi. Leave it up to me. I’ll get his approval. Just do what you need to do to accept the place, and I’ll deal with the cheating asshole.”
36
Leo
“Is that handled?” Ben asks, as I enter his office at the Caltimore Holdings building, closing the door behind me.
“It is.” I sink into a chair in front of his desk. Picking up a stress ball, I knead it in my hands. “He won’t mention anything about being in Chicago. Do you want to tell me why I just split my knuckles giving the dick a personal warning?”
A muscle pops in Ben’s jaw as he leans back in his chair, spinning sideways and looking out the window at New York laid bare before his feet. His sigh is heavy with exhaustion and concern. “I should, but I’m not sure I will.”
I sit up straighter, almost strangling the ball in my hand. “This is about Nat,” I surmise, having assumed as much when Ben told me to beat the shit out of one of Accardi’s men. “I know she went to Chicago with you on Wednesday.”
Ben swivels in his chair so he’s facing me. All indecision is wiped from his face. “Gino is cheating on her.”
Familiar rage kicks me in the gut. “That isn’t anything new. We both know he’s fucked around with whores behind her back for years.” He isn’t alone in doing it. Most of the dons have girlfriends and whores on the side. But this is Natalia we are talking about. “Why do you think I hate the fucker so much?”
Ben levels me with a lethal look. “We both know why you hate him, and it has little to do with whores.”
“He doesn’t treat her with respect,” I snarl, throwing the ball at the window.
“And this is why I didn’t want to tell you. You can’t let your personal feelings get in the way.”
I snort. “Are you telling me you’re keeping this strictly professional?” Disbelief oozes from my tone.
He rubs at his temples, sighing again.
“I thought as much.”
“No made man is permitted to disrespect his wife in such a blatant way. He’s been wining and dining his lover all over Chicago, without giving a shit who sees him. It’s no wonder things are a fucking mess there. He’s not focused. His priorities aren’t in the right place. Barretta has made it clear he wants out of the acting don role ASAP. The Russians are closing in, and the rank and file are fragmented. Loyalty is feeble. We need strong leadership. I thought Gino was the man for the job, but we may have to replace him. I can’t look weak, and he’s making me look weak.”
My spirits perk up at that, and Ben notices.
“I don’t mean take him out.”
“Why not? By disrespecting Natalia, he’s disrespecting you.”
“I can’t kill a don because he has slighted my sister, no matter how much I would love to.”
“But you can if he fucks up in Chicago. This will reflect very badly on you if he can’t control the situation there. The Commission entrusted this to him, and he’s already sleeping on the job. Pun intended.”
“I spoke to him and made it very clear he is to end it with this woman and regain control in Chicago or there will be hell to pay.”
“Bet that went down well.”
“Like a lead balloon, but I don’t give a fuck if his feelings are hurt. I sent him to Chicago to restore order, not to find himself Juliet number two.”
My eyes widen at that.
