“Come on.” Lissia hooked her arm in Sable’s and tugged her to the hallway. “We’ll go on an online shopping spree. That always passes the time when Marchello and Milo discuss business.”
Antonella had already made herself scarce by hurrying up the back staircase to her room, and Ricardo had whisked Lissia and Sable out of the kitchen before Sable had a chance to object.
“Open it,” my father said. “It’s probably the message we’ve been waiting for.”
“It doesn’t make me comfortable that it was addressed to Sable.” I tore open the brown paper that covered the medium-sized box the item was stored in. “That makes it feel too personal.”
“It’s meant to be personal.” Marchello slid the box away from me. “I’ll open it.”
“Is there a note?” I asked as he took the smaller box out.
“No.” Chello opened the lid and removed a blue pendant on a thin silver chain.
“Jewelry?” I stepped closer to him to get a better look. “What is it?”
‘When is Sable’s birthday?” My dad took the chain from Chello.
“September,” I said.
“Sapphire.” My dad studied the odd pendant dangling from the chain. “This is her birthstone.”
“But what is it supposed to be?” I took it from him. “It looks like a cocoon. What the hell does that mean?”
“That’s exactly what it is.” My father pressed his lips together. “That’s the message.”
“I’m not following,” I said. “What does Sable’s birthstone and a cocoon have to do with one another?”
“The butterfly cocoon symbolizes entrapment,” he said. “It’s used in sex trafficking circles because the space is dark and cramped.”
“The victims are trapped,” Marchello said. “That sick fuck.”
The thought of Medina addressing the package to Sable unsettled me. He used her as a threat because I let him see her as my weakness on Valentine’s Day. I should have put a bullet in his head that night. We wouldn’t be in this position if I had eliminated the threat.
“Medina is getting too bold,” my father said. “It’s time to strike.”
“I agree,” Marchello said. “We have to interfere in the business of Philly, Boston, and Chicago. We can’t wait to negotiate.”
“Hit them where it hurts.” My father slammed his fist on the table. “We need to make three coordinated attacks on their ports. Nothing gets in or out for forty-eight hours. We’ll reevaluate once that’s done.”
“If they still don’t give in, we’ll target their warehouses,” Chello said. “We won’t back down until we burn down any means they have to make money.“
“Two days will slow them down enough to realize they’re doing business with the wrong side.” I nodded. “They’ll give in, because if we paralyze their operations, not even Medina canhelp them. Their cartels won’t be happy, and they’ll have to scramble to make things right.”
“They’ll need us to do that,” I said. “They’ll be begging us for forgiveness.”
“That forgiveness will come at a high cost for them.” Chello ran his hand through his hair. “That’s the price they’ll pay for going against us in the first place.”
“These actions will solve the problems we have with the three cities, and I will make them pay for betraying me,” my dad said. “But it will open up a new set of complications.”
“Once we hit them, it delays any plans Medina has to traffic anyone, and that will make him retaliate.” Marchello glanced between me and my dad. “We’ll be the direct cause of him losing money. He’ll come straight for us.”
“We need to be ready for whatever he throws our way,” my dad said. “We’ll have the backing of our cartels, but that might not be enough.”
“Let him bring it.” Threatening Sable was a fatal mistake on Medina’s part. He was about to feel the full wrath of the Accetti family. No one could protect him. “I’m fucking ready.”
TWENTY
Sable
