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“I’m done making courtesy calls, Benetti. I’ll handle things my way from now on.”
“I wouldn’t?—”
I disconnected. I wasn’t having this conversation any longer. He needed to watch his mouth around me, especially when it came to Maggie.
“Benetti still pissed?” Tommaso asked from behind the wheel.
Grunting, I looked through my email for the next few minutes. There was plenty of business awaiting my attention, decisions that needed to be made on several construction projects.
Suddenly, a text came in from my older brother, demanding I ring him asap. I found the number and tapped the glass.
“Pronto,” his annoyed growl barked into the phone.
“Ciao, fratello. Come stai?”
“You bring Massimo and Paloma there and you don’t tell me. Should I be worried?”
“No. There’s some bullshit, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“Oh? Does it have anything to do with why I’m getting texts from Luca Benetti?”
My free hand curled into a fist. That fucking stronzo. He went and tattled to mybrother?“He’s pissed because I’m taking care of a problem here that he should’ve already dealt with himself.”
“Vito.” Enzo sighed heavily. “There are rules for a reason and you know how things are done. You have to ask for permission in someone else’s territory.”
“This coming from a man who hates rules.”
“This is true. But you are in a different country with no allies. And you’ve just pissed off the only one you might’ve had.”
“Some bikers murdered one of my men and now I’ve settled the matter.”
“I understand. But it’s Benetti’s territory. He said you didn’t ask—and you hung up on him.”
“I warned him, which is enough in my book. And you wouldn’t have done any differently.”
“Vito, I want you to succeed there and you need allies to do it. None of us can do this alone. Tell me, what would you have advised me to do if I were in your shoes?”
Shit. We both knew I would have advised him to get Benetti’s blessing first. Territory mattered in our hierarchy. Yet here I ignored my own advice.
I dragged a hand down my face. I didn’t like admitting when I was wrong. “I’ll make it right.”
“You’d better because he is spitting mad right now.” He paused. “This isn’t like you. You make contingency plans for brushing your teeth in the morning. What the fuck is happening over there? Why are you in Benetti’s territory to begin with?”
I gave my older brother a quick rundown of what had happened, leaving out the parts that related to Maggie. “I’m just staying to get the winery straightened out.”
“What does this have to do with Maz and Paloma?”
“Maz is taking over the kitchen until they can replace the chef. Paloma is coming for a visit.”
“Vito,” he said with a long sigh. “Why is she really coming?”
I should’ve known he’d force me to admit it. “I’m asking her to serve as consigliere.”
He was silent for a long time. I wished I could see his face, because Enzo rarely hid his thoughts. Was he angry? Did he approve?
Finally, he said, “She’s a good choice. Smart thinking, fratello.”
Praise from Enzo? I felt my chest expand. “Now that I have you, I need a favor. I want to overhaul the security at the winery and I’m hoping you can help.”