Page 57

Chapter 57

Massimo

Nova strides forward without hesitation as we near the basement room where Vincenzo is being held.

Before unlocking it, I position myself in front of her. One might wonder why I brought her with me, but Nova has every right to be here, seeing this through with me.

I glance back at her, and her face is set, determined. I won’t hesitate to unleash my monstrous side if necessary with Vincenzo. Her expression tells me she knows that, but she's here, standing steady with me.

I unlock the door, then enter. Vincenzo is a large man, one used to lavish luxury, and seeing him sitting in the small rickety folding chair in the otherwise bare room makes me smile.

Gabe didn't put him in the same room as Nova had been, and I'll thank my best friend later. I don't need anything to trigger Nova, nor do I need the reminder at this time of how I treated her when I first captured her.

I feel the press of Nova's lips on my shoulder blade, almost as if the same thoughts are in her head. My angst at those memories eases with her touch.

Vincenzo rises from the chair, pulling my focus back to him. "Your hospitality leaves much to be desired, Massimo."

"I didn't realize this was a social visit, Pisani."

His mouth thins at me referring to him by his last name. "We're not enemies. "

"That's looking less and less like the truth."

Nova steps out from behind me, and surprise flashes over Vincenzo's face as her small frame had been hidden with my height and width.

He shifts as if he's about to move toward her.

"Take one step, and I'll gut you like a pig."

He stills, and his eyes warily slide back to me. "I mean no harm to her."

"If you're here for the purpose of returning Nova to Mancini, then you mean every harm to her."

His jaw ticks. "Be reasonable, Massimo. Let's talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about. Nova is my wife, and she is carrying my heir. Because of both those things, the 'Ndrangheta needs to align with me, not against me in this."

Something passes over his face before he shields it. "This is…complicated."

I shift tactics to keep him off-kilter. "How do you know Ivan Everhart?"

Shock stiffens his burly frame—almost imperceptibly—but I catch it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know the coordinated explosions along the perimeter of my estate—that just so happened to precede your arrival—were orchestrated by Ivan." I don't actually know this; however, I'm putting forth my suspicions as hard evidence. "I also know you activated a jamming device, preventing Damien from giving any notice of your arrival."

Again, I'm passing suspicion off as hard evidence, but my play works.

Vincenzo's shoulders slump, guilt making him look aged and worn. "I had no choice, Massimo."

"There's always a choice, Vincenzo. You just chose wrong."

Nova steps forward, and I grip her arm to stop her. She studies Vincenzo with a furrowed brow. "Vincenzo Pisani," she murmurs, the lines in her forehead deepening. "My mother… I recall her talking to herself about Emanuele Pisani…and someone named Vincenzo."

He visibly pales.

"It's the ledger." She glances at me, then back at Vincenzo. "You don't want something to come out… It's in the ledger that my mother had, isn't it?"

Emanuele was Vincenzo's father and had died of heart problems. I inwardly smile at Nova's deduction from her vague memory. Vincenzo's expression is all the answer that's needed.

"That's what Mancini has over you, isn't it?" I deduce. "The ledger. You, Achille, Camillo, and Gastone. There's no profit-sharing deal for Glucoaid-X between the four of you and Mancini, is there? The two million dollars that each of you gave him wasn’t to buy into the deal; he was blackmailing you."

Vincenzo looks shaky as he reaches behind him for the rickety chair to help steady him. "How do you know about that?"

Like hell I'm giving away Rurik and his super hacker as my source. "It's not important. But that's it, isn't it? You four were paying Mancini off for his silence, not buying into some profit-sharing scheme."

Vincenzo's large frame slumps into the chair. "Yes. Mancini approached us shortly after Creed rescued Sophie. It was Mancini's insurance in case you discovered his involvement, and a way to prevent your retaliation. We've had to pay regularly to keep him silent about what he has on us in that ledger."

Rurik said there was only one series of deposits from the four Dons, so Mancini must have used different accounts each time.

"Then why vote against Massimo killing my father?" Nova asks. "With him dead, his blackmail ends."

"Mancini swore he had back-up plans. If he died, the ledger would become public."

My cold laugh fills the stone room. "He played you, Vincenzo." When he frowns, I add, "The ledger is locked up. Mancini doesn't have access to it; that's why he wants Nova."

He stands, eyeing her. "Then she's still a threat."

I step toward him, my unreadable mask falling aside, and I let him see the beast within me that wants to rip him to shreds for threatening her.

Nova grips my hand, and I stop. "I don't have the ledger, Vincenzo, nor do I want it. It will be destroyed."

"Empty words," he grits.

Her spine stiffens, and she stands to her full height—still tiny, but strong. "Which you'll have to accept and believe, Vincenzo. If you believed my father had the ledger without proof, then why not the latter?" Before he can retort, she continues, "The Santoros and your family are allies. Massimo himself is a man who stands by his word."

I smile, looking down at my wife, who has slid so seamlessly into her role as queen by my side. Then I turn to Vincenzo. "It's either that, or I kill you, and start a war that will destroy the 'Ndrangheta and use everything in that ledger to aid me to do so."

He looks defeated and nods.

"Are you aligned with the French mafia?" I ask, needing to know how deep his treachery runs.

"Because of Beast? No, he was my overseer," Vincenzo says in disgust. "Sent to Catanzaro to ensure I was behaving. It was another way that Mancini controlled me."

We eye each other—him waiting for my next move; me studying him, using my sixth sense to determine if he's lying. I marginally relax, deciding that I believe him.

He takes a wary step, but stops when my look turns murderous. "Aren't I allowed to leave this charming set of accommodations?"

"Not until I'm absolutely certain you're no longer a threat to my wife and child."

"Massimo," he starts to try to reason with me.

But I've already taken Nova's hand and am leading her out of the room and locking the door.

I stop her in the hallway, checking her over—her coloring and the look in her eyes. She's steady and strong.

Using my thumb, I rub along her jawline as she stares up at me. "Ready for what comes next?"

There's no hesitation. "Yes."