Page 84 of Love & Power

“Gian is all about the family line, keeping things pure and in the family. Remember, the two families intermix on the regular, and he wouldn’t want some unknown riffraff muddying the waters,” Domenico reminded. “Bosco might be the head of the Leoni Family, but Gian is the man who controls what happens.”

“Which leads us back to my question… will Torben rebuild the Leoni Family or choose to build something new with the connections he has?” Astin pressed.

“He already has his own empire that he lets Bosco believe he runs,” Von announced, looking up from her phone. “I’ve had a hunch for a long time about this group who keeps trying to buy from me. There are rules to working with me, no exceptions, and these boys won’t give me the answers I need to hear. So I sent some people to look into it.”

Setting her phone on the table, Von gave it a shove, sliding it down for Ivy to catch at the other end. Ivy became completely absorbed in whatever Von had pulled up, making me want to snatch the phone out of her hands so I could see, but I didn’t. Ivy would fill us in, so I just needed to wait.

“He’s the current leader of the trafficking ring here in Nepreea,” Ivy said, her voice flat as she relayed the information. “Torben is the reason things have gotten so much worse and explains why I couldn’t pin down who was truly running the organization. The bastard was hiding in plain sight within the Leoni Family.”

The cloud of anger that shifted over Domenico’s expression had me tensing up. I knew he wasn’t a threat to Astin, but the dark energy coming off him put me on edge.

“There’s no way to get him to show up to the party, but no matter what, he will be on my list to deal with as soon as things settle,” Domenico bit out between clenched teeth.

Ivy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and sniffed. “Get in line… this piece of shit is mine. I’ve been hunting for the leader of this trafficking ring for years. No one is going to take this from me, not even you.”

In a move that startled us all, Domenico’s hand snapped out to grab Ivy’s jaw and forced her to look at him. “I know you think you hate me, mia amata, but you’re not going to do this on your own. As much as I know you want to take this man down, I won’t allow you to lose your life doing so.”

Ivy’s crystal blue eyes flashed with rage. “Why, because you still think you own me? I keep the brand on my body to help me get into places without anyone paying the slightest attention to me, and not because it has any other meaning.”

“You can continue to lie to yourself if that helps, but I won’t let you lie to me,” Domenico countered, releasing his hold on her and taking a sip of his drink. “If you really believed that, you never would have come back to help me, yet here you are. Yes, yes, I know it’s because of Astin, not me. Dress the situation in whatever logic you like, mia amata, but just know I’ll be waiting right here for you when you’re ready to face the truth.”

The two glowered at each other for a moment before Von cut the tension. “The last of my people just entered the club. I think it’s time we had our meeting, don’t you?”

Everyone stood and exited the war room to join those who’d been escorted into the lounge area. Gemma and Thad placed the Twilight Hall model on the table set up in the middle of the lounge. Watching Astin, Von, and Ivy coordinating and laying out the plan for everyone involved was like watching a magician reveal the magic trick and being even more impressed.

We were there for a good two hours working out the kinks and making sure everyone knew their job. The trickiest part to this whole plan was to mark those on our team and needed to be dead by the end of the night. Interestingly, one of Von’s people came up with an idea.

“Does the party have a theme?” the woman asked.

The three women looked at each other and then to Domenico.

“Well, the family colors are gold and blue which we’ve incorporated heavily in the venue,” Domenico offered. “The name De Santis is derived from the term holy or devout. Not sure that helps any.”

“What if everyone was pinned with flowers… blue and yellow flowers for those who we slip the poison to and white for those we save?” another person suggested.

Ivy nodded as she grabbed the tablet she’d been keeping notes on. “That we can absolutely work with, making little wristlets for the women and others to pin on the men. If anyone asks, it’s all a play off the meaning of the De Santis name and crest. Using the double colors will help disguise the fact we are marking them. All right, so everyone is clear that white flowers mean pure, and no poison will pass through their lips?”

The group nodded.

“Excellent. Now, just a reminder that champagne glasses will have poison on the rim of the glass, so it doesn’t matter how small a sip they take, it will do the job. Everyone must wait for the announcement that a toast will be happening, which is your cue to pass out the drinks,” Ivy reviewed. “Once you’ve all left the room, the doors will be sealed, and the real party will begin. Oh… just a friendly reminder, if you dare to try and betray us, we will know, and you’ll be dead before you even get the chance.”

Everyone shifted uneasily at her words, knowing it wasn’t an idle threat. One thing people knew about Ivy Foxxx is she never promised something she couldn’t deliver on, which was one hell of a reputation to have.

Cedro stepped forward and started to hand out chips to everyone. “As an incentive and since you’re here, this token will get you five free drinks. Go, enjoy a night at The Aurora on us.”

A cheer rose, lifting the mood as they all slipped out onto the dance floor. Soon, they were lost in the sea of people, leaving no trace there had ever been a secret meeting in this room. Not long after, we slipped out the back and returned to Von’s place, where the girls hashed out the final changes to the plan before turning in for the night.

thirty-two

Feeling Atticus’s hands on my hips as he turned me so he could zip up my dress grounded me. All day, I felt like I’d been lost in a fog counting down the seconds until I could start getting ready.

The day had finally come.

I was going to get the revenge I’d been owed since the day they took my mother from me. The rage that burned within me had been building for the past twenty years, and now it was finally time to let it loose. All day, I’d been thinking about how I wanted to end their lives, what I wanted to say to them, and if I needed to hear them admit their sins against me. Not many people got the opportunity to stare into the faces of the men who were the cause of all their pain, but I wasn’t one of them.

“Asta,” Atty called, sliding a hand down my arm. “Are you listening?”

Shaking myself back to the present, I looked at him standing behind me in the full-length mirror. “I’m sorry, Atty, I didn’t hear you.”