Aurelio continues. “You do not need to worry about him, Vincenzo. Franco will serve his purpose, and you will be back on top, doing Papa’s bidding again.”
Vin stares at Aurelio with hatred in his eyes, and I speak up, keeping tight control of my voice. “What purpose is that, Papa?”
Aurelio leans back against the desk, gesturing with his hands almost like a shrug. He brings the cigar to his lips slowly, as if he’s savoring the moment. “Franco will get for me what I need, and then I will kill him. And everyone else involved.”
I don’t know who ‘everyone else’ is meant to include, but Matti turns a pale shade of white and clenches his jaw. Fuck, I’m not going to be able to keep both him and Vin off of Aurelio. I catch Matti’s eyes, and give him a small shake of the head. Now isn’t the time.
Aurelio barks out a laugh, clearly enjoying our barely suppressed anger. He doubles down, smiling languidly. “I will kill them both just like I killed Mikey and histroiawife.”
I look at him sharply. Why is he claiming to have ordered the hit on Mikey and his wife? I’ve been with him for weeks as he ranted about how it makes us look weak that someone took out one of our guys, and we don’t even know who it is.
Vin speaks first, his voice rough and gravelly. “Why would you keep that from me? He was one of my guys.”
“Yes,” Aurelio sneers, his grin fading. “One of your guys. One of your guys who had very bad plans for me. He wanted to stealthe Luminous job out from under my nose, using blackmail to make it happen.”
That part might be true. Mikey and Franco both work for Vin, and Mikey was married to Franco’s sister. If Franco was stealing the Luminous & Co. job from us, it’s possible Mikey was in on it, too.
I want to signal to Vin and Matti that this is a lie. I glance at them, but they both appear to be buying it.
Aurelio continues to bait Vin and Matti, arguing back and forth, chastising them both, but I’m in my head trying to figure out the best path forward. Not for the family, not for Vin and Matti, not for myself—for Giovanna. Everything comes back to her. It always does.
Matti says something, and it’s not what he says but the way he says it that snags my attention. Jaw clenched, voice tight, clenching and unclenching his fists. Matti is slow to anger, but when he gets there, he explodes. And that can’t happen. I move in closer to him, and so does Vin.
“This is bad for business,” Aurelio is saying, shaking his cigar at Matti. “I thought you knew better than to let pussy get in the way of orders. Family first, yes? But it doesn’t matter anymore now. We can get back to the bigger matter, the Luminous job, no?”
Letting pussy get in the way of orders?Matti’s a once-and-done kind of guy when it comes to women. I knew Aurelio was pissed that he fucked some woman he ran into while checking out the plane crash in South Carolina—another sister of Franco’s who apparently stole the flash drive Aurelio so desperately wants—but I don’t see him ever letting a woman come between him and the family.
Aurelio shifts his attention to me. “Since these two are a disappointment to me and to the family, perhaps it is time for a change, Tommaso. Perhaps you should step to the headof the line for the Luminous job. This job is perfect for you. Especially you.” Aurelio’s eyes sparkle, and I narrow my eyes at him, waiting for the bomb I know he’s about to throw. “We were forced to take on a…liability, thanks to the delays and the difficulties we’ve had in getting this job off the ground. In order to convince the CEO to help us pull off the job, we had to move his daughter to…a separate location.”
Matti and Vin both look at me
“Fucking knew it,” I whisper under my breath. My expression darkens as I step closer to Aurelio’s desk.
Aurelio’s smile is sharp and mocking. He side-eyes Vin before turning back to me. “The girl was leverage. But since the disappearance of the flash drive and with it all the information I needed for the Luminous job, things are taking longer than expected. The men holding her, well, they weren’t exactly hospitable. We have concerns her father will not comply if he sees her current state, so now we’re keeping her until the job is done.”
Vin’s hand moves toward the gun at his back as I lean on Aurelio’s desk.Not exactly hospitable?I can barely breathe. I clench my jaw tight and close my eyes for a couple of beats, trying to center myself.
Aurelio interrupts him with a loud grunt. “That’s no reason to spare her. Business is business, Tommaso. Don’t disappoint me like your brother.”
Vin growls, his voice low and dangerous. “Where is Giovanna?”
Aurelio ignores Vin and turns to me, raking his eyes over me in disgust. I stand tall, expressionless, staring straight ahead. If I look at him, I’ll kill him. Aurelio comes around the desk and stops an inch from my face.
“Maybe I’ve coddled you too much, let you avoid this side of the business, stay with your studies and your city hall andyour meetings. But if you’re going to be like this one here,” he jerks his head in Matti’s direction. “And give meagitaover a fucking woman, then I will do to your Giovanna what I did to hisputtana. Take care of it myself.”
None of us move. None of us speaks, each one of us planning how we want to destroy this man.
Aurelio laughs cruelly, then glowers at us. “Get OUT.”
Matti turns pale at Aurelio’s words, but I know Aurelio is lying. I’ve been on the estate with Aurelio for weeks and haven’t seen Matti’s woman, whomever she is. But is he lying about Giovanna, too? Is it more than one man hurting Giovanna in these videos? Is he planning to kill her?
Matti bolts out of the room, and Vin follows. Aurelio laughs and picks up the house phone. “Yes, he is on the move. Follow him. Then wait for your moment and strike.” He pauses. “I don’t care what it takes. Get the flash drive and bring that cunt to me.”
The phone receiver clatters in the cradle, and he glares at me. “Tommaso, Tommaso. It is too late for Giovanna. Let this silly childhood crush end as it should have years ago.”
“Where is she?” I regret the words as soon as they are out of my mouth.
Aurelio sneers. “Gone. Now focus. You need to help me find Franco.”
