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“What is it?” There are already a ton of papers for me to sort out so the thought of more deepens the creases on my face into a frown.
“There’s big trouble,Capo."
My ears perk at the sound of trouble. Over the past few weeks, my life has been topsy-turvy with trouble. I don’t think there’s anyone or anything that could faze me right now.
The papers before me are pictures of a young brunette, gagged and tied at the hands and feet. “What’s this about?”
Cortez reaches across the desk to pick up the document again, flipping through its pages. “First of all, Marcus Winston’s contract with Evergreen fell through. It seems he couldn’t meet the requirements.” A small smile climbs my lips. I had placed another call to the manager and asked if she’d like to earn double her salary in a couple of minutes.
“There’s something else,Capo. The Morettis threatened me this morning. I have the call on record.”
He reaches into the front pocket of his jacket and brings out his cell phone.
“Cortez Donatelli…”The voice at the other end is menacing but unmistakably Bruno Moretti’s pitiable voice.
“Who the fuck is this?”Cortez's voice calls out.
“You Donatellis think you’ve had all your issues sorted by taking out Luis, but you’ve just endangered the life of the one you hold most precious…”
“Who the hell are you, and what do you want?”
Bruno cackles with laughter. “Let’s just say I’m your nemesis, Donatelli. Tell that big brother of yours that I have a human shipment coming in this weekend. I need him to make his ports available, or else this pretty brunette…what’s your name, Bella?”
I can hear whimpering sounds from a feminine voice, and then, “Mallory…”
“Mallory…”Bruno continues, “If my shipments don’t make it through your ports this weekend, Donatelli, I’ll feed your pretty Mallory to my wolves. You know what that means…”
The line clicks dead.
“Who’s Mallory?” My fingers tap impatiently on the table in front of me. Whoever this Mallory is, she must be important to Cortez for him to be this shaken up by the Moretti’s threat.
“She...” he clenches his jaw like his next words are a bomb. “Fuck! She’s the girl I’m in love with,Capo. I didn’t tell you about her because I know you see women as weaknesses.” He inhales a sharp breath, head firm but eyes trained on the desk.
My brow raises at Cortez. I never knew he had a woman. Yes, our father had raised us to see women as weaknesses, but with Aria coming into the picture, I’ve begun to see−to my surprise−how a woman can waltz into your life and become the epicenter of your existence.
The tap of my fingers against the wooden desk becomes harder and faster. Suddenly, my palm slaps down with such force that it sends the documents skidding to the opposite end of the desk.
“Fuck!”
I can imagine what it means to have your woman being endangered because of you. It’s what I’ve feared every single day since I… fell for Aria.
When I look up at Cortez again, his hands are in fists at both his sides, veins bulging at his temples. The Morettis have bitten off more than they can chew with this move, and I’ll make sure to do everything within my power to make them pay. In blood!
“Cortez, guardami(look at me)!” His posture tenses, and he finally meets my eyes. “Ti fidi di me, fratello(Do you trust me, brother)?”
Without hesitation, he nods. “Of course,Capo.”
“Good! Listen, they’re expecting us to probably make the first move, to go to them so they can plan to take us out, but we’re not falling for that.Siediti(Sit).”
He lowers himself into the seat opposite mine.
“Your girl’s going to be saved, but we will make the Morettis feel like they have the upper hand.”
His eyes meet mine and a tense expression crosses his face, “Capo, you’ve always been against human trafficking. If you don’t do something about this, your ports are going to be violated…”
“Cortez.” I push my chair backwards, rising to my full height, hands sliding into my pockets. “As long as they have your girl, we can’t do otherwise. So going to them is not an option. The best step right now is to keep them distracted with the impression that they’re getting what they want.”
He arches a brow as he starts understanding my plan.