Page 12 of Angelo’s Vengeance (The Commission #3)

ANGELO

Angelo

The private jet hummed with restrained tension as I stepped inside, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached.

The bruises along my ribs protested every movement, but I ignored the discomfort.

Ilias was already there, sitting at the round table in the main cabin, a whiskey glass untouched before him.

His dark eyes flicked up when I entered, filled with an emotion I recognized all too well—rage restrained by necessity.

Theodosia’s brothers, Kostas and Vaso, were already seated, both statues of barely contained aggression.

Their presence alone made it clear just how serious this was.

The plane was already stacked with men—soldiers from each of our respective organizations, who sat in stony silence, waiting for the actual discussion to begin.

My brother Remo and my consigliere, Bacco, climbed the stairs behind me. We’d driven straight here, quickly gathering what we thought we’d need, although I was certain Ilias was setting us up on the ground once we arrived.

“The captain said we’ll be airborne in five minutes, sir,” a flight attendant remarked as she secured the door. Ilias nodded in response.

Slumping in the chair, I exhaled, “What do we have?”

Ilias leaned forward, his hands clasped together.

“Not enough. Kostas has been working leads, but whoever took Theo was precise. There were no unnecessary moves and no witnesses who saw anything useful. The people at the restaurant who saw Theo seemed more focused on her than on who she was meeting. This wasn’t some random grab—it was calculated. ”

That wasn’t surprising to me. Theo was someone who grabbed your attention.

A hurricane wrapped in silk, spinning through life without a care for the wreckage she left behind.

Not only did she tend to dress herself like she either farted a rainbow or was colorblind, but she radiated joy.

It made it so you couldn’t look away. Still, she was an Anthakos.

Theo had connections that were undeniable.

There was no way this was random, and we all knew it.

Bacco scoffed as he crossed his arms. “There has to be something. There is always something. I can’t believe your men on the ground let her get kidnapped.”

Bacco was old-school. He hadn’t thought much about my decision not to marry right away, but he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut, or I would have shut it for him.

Bacco had been my consigliere/enforcer long enough to understand my views on specific hot topics.

We had talked about it until I told him to shut his trap.

He had also advised me against letting Theo wander off to Europe without protection.

Technically, she was to be my wife — the wife of the Santelli Don — and she shouldn’t go anywhere without a ring on her finger or a detail.

Bacco mentioned during the ride over that it would never have happened if we’d been on top of this.

He wasn’t wrong, and that pissed me off.

I didn’t like being told that I fucked up.

Guilt didn’t feel good. Theo might be a hurricane, but she was my damn hurricane, and she was my responsibility — something I had obviously forgotten.

My feelings about the blood oath might be conflicted, but that didn’t mean I was a monster.

Theo was Ilias’s sister and Frankie’s friend.

I didn’t want anything to happen to her.

“She’s been there a year and has been protected. They’ve been doing their jobs,” Vaso ground out, his face reddening in anger at Bacco’s implication that they hadn’t protected her. “Like you did anything to help,” he sneered.

Bacco rolled his eyes but didn’t take the bait.

It was one of the things I appreciated about him and why he worked well with me.

I tended to be quick-tempered, while Bacco wasn’t bothered by much.

He never felt the need to justify himself.

We balanced each other out, which was good for business.

Good for the Santelli famiglia . Sometimes, I’d send Bacco to meetings I knew would annoy me. He was more even-tempered than I was.

“They knew her schedule and realized she wouldn’t have much security. That suggests either a mole or someone who’s been watching closely. Did you talk to the people at her business?” Remo asked.

Kostas, silent until now, let out a low, dangerous laugh.

“You think we haven’t already considered that?

The woman she was supposed to meet doesn’t exist. The assistant confirmed Theo received the invitation through a verified channel, but it was bullshit.

The people behind this went to great lengths to ensure she walked into that trap. ”

Remo frowned. He looked rough around the edges, and I wondered whose bed I’d pulled him out of.

The one thing about Remo, though, was that he was reliable.

He was an excellent capo and an even better brother.

I’d love to say he’d make a great underboss, but I wasn’t sure he wanted that.

Not to mention, I had a great underboss.

Carlo was more than competent in running everything.

He knew the ins and outs of the operation and could run it blindfolded for me.

He was a family man from Queens and more of an accountant than a fighter, but that worked since mine was a laundering operation.

He was a good underboss when paired with a heavy enforcer, and he’d watch out for the business while I was off in Italy.

Vaso, his fist clenched, growled, “And when we find them, we will make them regret it.”

I understood that fury all too well. The thought of Theo being in the hands of an unknown enemy made my blood boil, and my fingers itch to wrap around someone’s throat and squeeze until they provided me with answers. It was an effort to remember that anger wouldn’t benefit us at all.

“I’m assuming you tracked her phone?” I asked, my voice tight, trying to sift through the information we had, which was jack shit, as the plane took off. “No good?”

“Nothing,” Kostas confirmed. “Dropped with her shit behind the lounge. We had a tracker on it.”

I nodded. I had already confirmed it with Veronica on the way here, but there was no guarantee they had a backup. I would never admit to having prayed that it was the case. It didn’t sound like it, though.

“Any word on the vehicle?” Bacco tapped his pen on his notebook as he wrote his list of thoughts.

I’d grown accustomed to his habits; he was a prolific doodler and list maker, even when there was no information to speak of.

I’d told him before that if the Feds got ahold of his little notebooks we were fucked.

Kostas nodded and straightened in his seat.

“They used a black Mercedes van, no plates. My contact pulled some traffic camera footage. Florence operates something like CCTV cameras. They have traffic-restricted zones that track the plates of vehicles coming in and out, but they switched vehicles a few blocks away. After that, nothing. Whoever they are, they’re smart. ”

“Smart,” I muttered, rolling the word around in my mouth like venom. “She met with a woman, but that was probably just the bait. If they took her on purpose, knowing who she was, they’ll know what’s coming for them.”

Silence stretched for a moment before Kostas spoke again, his voice low and controlled.

“We need to narrow down who would dare do this. Someone targeting Theo isn’t just making a play against her—they’re making a play against our families.

It could be against both of us, or it could be against one of us.

Either the Anthakos or the Santellis.” He gave me a pointed look.

It was no secret that I’d been dragging my feet, but I was happy he didn’t belabor the point.

Bacco nodded. “Agreed, that’s a good place to start. Let’s list out potential suspects.” With his pen poised, he looked at us.

I exhaled, rubbing my jaw. “Dino Scarpato is interfering with my construction projects. He’s been a thorn in my side, but this would be a drastic escalation, and I’m not sure he could pull it off. If it’s him, he’s looking for something big. Or leverage,” I added darkly.

“Scarpato isn’t clever enough for an international play.” Ilias ground his teeth. “There’s also the possibility of an old enemy looking to settle a score. We’ve left bodies in the ground, and some wounds don’t heal.”

“We have other players in New York. There’s Cardoni, but I think this would be out of character.

I have that meeting set up, and their famiglia would be making huge moves.

Valentino isn’t an idiot like Scarpato. He runs a tight ship.

I’m fairly certain he is busy with his kid after his wife passed away. It would be a big play.”

“What about Vallone? He’s been calm, yeah?” Remo accepted a drink from the stewardess, who was practically bending over his lap, showing her tits. He gave her a wink.

“I texted Conall about it, but he’s sure he wouldn’t gain anything from it, and he’s been very pro-Frankie lately. He seems to be trying to develop that relationship.” Ilias didn’t sound convinced, though, even to my ears, and Bacco picked up on it too.

“So, he’s on the list,” Bacco scribbled furiously. “Vallone, Scarpato, Cardoni. None of them sound likely, but all have something to gain, right?”

“Truth,” Kostas nodded.

“Renzetti should be on the list. He’s at the top, but I’m not sure if he has the money or the connections to pull something like this off.

As far as I know, he’s nobody. He claims to have connections to Olivetto territory, but I haven’t found anything more than him being a second cousin, which wouldn’t give him any claim over Nico.

” Renzetti was an anomaly to all of us, but that was where my chips would be bet.

Vaso drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair. His eyes locked on his brother. “And let’s not ignore the possibility that this isn’t about the families at all. Maybe it’s about Theo personally.”

That thought settled like lead in my stomach.

Theodosia had a wild streak and a penchant for chaos, but had she angered the wrong person?

Or had she been dating? My mind rejected the idea even as I considered it.

No, this couldn’t be just about her. Granted, Theo was reckless and tended to be a little wild.

She was also willing to do things like burn a body — so, was it possible?

Sure. But at the heart of Theo, she radiated sunshine and goodness.

No one could meet her and not absolutely adore her.

“It’s a theory.” Kostas seemed to be weighing Vaso’s hypothesis.

“The men on her detail haven’t given any indication that she’s had anyone who would do something like this.

She has attended some functions, but all related to her work.

Her business had been going well until recently, but there has been a lull in her commissions.

I think this is more about one of our families than anything else. ”

I agreed. Part of me had hoped that there would be a ransom demand or a clear direction that we could follow.

“We need to work fast,” Ilias said. “Every hour that passes makes it harder to track them. Kostas and I will push our network in Greece and see if anyone’s been asking the wrong questions. Vaso, you dig into our U.S. connections.”

“I’ll have my men hit the streets in the Bronx and Queens.

” Trying to keep any sense of worry from my voice.

“Conall and Maxim are working their territories, and I have Veronica monitoring the dark web for me.” That part made me sick, and I could tell that thought had crossed everyone’s mind.

Trafficking wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities either.

Ilias leaned back, his expression sharp, calculating. “I’m calling in a couple of favors.”

Kostas narrowed his eyes. “From whom?”

“A man who owes me more than one.” His lips curled into a humorless smile. “And he’s very good at finding things people want to keep hidden.”

I nodded once. “Good. We hit every angle until we have something solid.”

No one doubted what would happen when we did. There would be no negotiations, no compromises, only fire and blood. We would come home with Theodosia. Period.

As the jet sped through the night toward our destination, I stared out the window, my mind playing out every possible scenario. No matter how this ended, I knew one thing for sure—whoever had taken Theo was about to learn they had made a mistake of biblical proportions.

My stomach twisted at the thought that she might have been vulnerable because we had allowed this entire marriage to twist in the wind.

I knew she didn’t want it either, but maybe it was time to reconsider our positions.

Maybe our lives didn’t need to change for a piece of paper.

Maybe if it was the protection of a name, I could give her that.

I leaned back against the leather seat and closed my eyes, knowing that sleep would be hard to find in the coming days.

I just hoped we’d find her quickly and unharmed.

We didn’t speak of them, but I knew that her brothers held some of the same fears I did.

Unspeakable things could be happening. Minutes were critical. Hours? Fuck … anything could happen.