Page 45 of The Mastermind (Mafia Rivals #1)

CESARE

The meeting with Bonafacio was set at Tero’s in Midtown.

Few people knew about my history with Charlie Nicotero. Even fewer knew the Salvatores were silent partners in all eleven of his world-renowned restaurants.

I had a brief thing with his sister back in the day. He’d been all set for a flashy debut in Formula Two when he’d face-planted in cocaine. His sister begged me to kick him straight before he lost a promising career.

Long story short, he never made it into racing. But in my attempt to help him out, he’d introduced me to the sexiest motor racing on earth. And to the best busiate alla trapenese outside of my mother’s kitchen.

He got his act together long enough to take my advice about opening a restaurant, then promptly lost it all to drugs. I dug him out of his dark hole a second time with the condition I fronted his business and the threat to slit his throat if he so much as lost me a penny.

He’d made us both millions in the ten years we’d been partners.

I slid into the backseat after leaving Maddelena and met Fist’s gaze in the rearview. It’d been a week, and I still hadn’t spoken to him.

Now was as good a chance as any. ‘You know what’s going on.’ It wasn’t a question.

He hesitated, then nodded. ‘Yes, Boss.’

‘Do you have feelings about it I should be concerned about?’

He’d eyed me for a stupidly long stretch, making my nape itch. ‘No, Boss. You’ll do what’s right, when it’s right,’ he replied in his usual monotone.

One of the many knots in my gut untangled. ‘Good man.’

I slapped him on the arm, eased back in my seat, and texted Rafa.

On my way. 15 minutes.

At his prompt response, I slotted my phone back in my jacket pocket, next to the virtual grenade I intended to win this particular battle with.

I still couldn’t believe what my father had uncovered in Sicily. All for the low, low price of a full refurbishment of an old crumbling sixteenth-century church and direct access to Orazio and me when needed. I agreed immediately. Orazio, being the ornery bastard he was, had held out for a day.

I patted my pocket, unable to stop my grin from spreading as we arrived at Tero’s.

My grin disappeared on seeing Rafa, his face set in coldly furious lines, waiting on the curb, which in itself was surprising considering Bonafacio would be arriving with a small army like we had, and the last thing I needed was for him to be caught in some stupid drive-by by a runner with twitchy fingers.

‘What the fuck are you?—’

‘El Topo’s not coming.’

My own fury sparked. ‘He cancelled?’

His lips thinned. ‘Correction. He’s not coming here. He wants you to come to him. Alone. I told him to fuck off.’

My teeth gritted hard enough to hurt my jaw. ‘Call his people. Tell them I’m on my way.’

Fury turned to shock. ‘Like fuck you are. Frate , this is a trap?—’

‘He probably thinks so, but he won’t after he learns what we have.’ At his mutinous look, I sighed. ‘I have three back-to-back races starting in a few days plus Orazio’s birthday party thrown in there. I’m not letting this hang over us for another three weeks. It gets settled today.’

His fists bunched hard, but after several beats they unclenched. ‘I’ll call. But I’m following. And so are our men. Anything happens, we kill them all. Capisci? ’

As a sign that he didn’t totally hate my guts, it was touching enough to bring a lump to my throat. Bumping fists with him, I let him slam the door.

Fist, who’d heard everything, put the vehicle in drive.

And we were off.

I’d seen pictures of the home Maddelena had grown up in. At a fifth of its size, it would never meet the majesty of Fallbrook, but it was impressive nonetheless. In a Westchester look-how-fucking-rich-I-am kind of way.

I had little time to admire the architecture though.

At the end of the short drive, twelve men in two rows of six, armed to the teeth, formed a beefy receiving line to the imposing front doors.

I hid a grin and waited for Fist to open my door.

Behind me, the single SUV they’d allowed through the gates let out the six soldiers I’d brought. Another forty lined the streets surrounding the Mancinelli property in case hell broke loose.

Stepping out, I buttoned my jacket and strode in measured steps towards the thin, hawk-nosed man framed in the door.

Like Orazio, El Topo was showing his age of a life lived on the edge of constant danger. But with thinning hair and a sickly complexion, he looked slightly worse for wear than my grandfather. I searched his features for signs of Maddelena, and to my relief I saw very little.

She’d clung hard to her grandmother’s and mother’s DNA.

‘I told you to come alone.’

I smiled. ‘You didn’t tell me shit. We had a meeting which you pulled out of at the last minute. Besides, I’m a terrible dancer when the tune isn’t to my liking.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘It’s clear nobody bothered to teach you respect, boy.’

‘Oh, I know respect. So I know it’s earned. You haven’t earned mine. And you’re already in a deficit by calling me “boy”.’

From the corner of my eye, I saw his men fidget at my lack of deference. But I was starting as I meant to go on. ‘Now, I can leave if you want, but then so does any chance you have to make the right choices.’

His eyes narrowed. Assessing my level of bullshit. Then he looked over my shoulder.

‘Where’s my granddaughter?’

‘Not here.’ I shook my head. ‘Did you seriously think I would bring her with me?’

Unholy rage sizzled to life in his eyes, and I was glad Maddelena was safe and sound in my bed.

‘Shall we?’

His gaze shifted to Fist and the two soldiers flanking me. Then to the lieutenant closest to him before turning to head inside.

The armed man stepped up to me. ‘Just you.’

I raised my hand at the slow hiss emanating from Fist. ‘It’s fine.’

I felt his silent protest drilling into me, but I didn’t look back as I followed El Topo. Hopefully, the ticking bomb tucked into my pocket would make him behave.

The inside of the mansion was just like the outside – showy, expensive but altogether unremarkable. My feet ate up yards of polished floors as I followed another soldier to a large study with all the antique bells and whistles.

Bonafacio was seated behind a massive desk that almost swallowed his slight figure. I hid my surprise that his son, Maddelena’s father, wasn’t present.

I waited till the door shut behind the soldier to approach.

‘May I sit?’ I asked evenly.

A flash of surprise lit his watery blue eyes. Then he waved permission.

I released my jacket button and sat down.

‘First things first. I’m marrying your granddaughter, most likely by the end of the year.

If it’s a rumour you were hoping was false, sorry to disappoint you.

I’m also here to advise that doing anything other than giving your wholehearted blessing will be viewed very unfavourably. ’

His eyes slitted. ‘Let me get this straight. You’re keeping my Maddelena hostage, no doubt blackmailing her into your bed, and you have the balls to come here to ask for my blessing?’

It would’ve probably been less volatile to allow him to believe that.

But I had to take every crumb of suspicion off Maddelena.

Because sooner or later, he’d work out that blackmail or not, his granddaughter and I were seriously into each other.

Hell, even I got a little embarrassed for us for our inability to keep our hands off each other.

When that happened, El Topo’s tiny brain would explode all over my Maddelena. So I needed to play this right.

‘The only blackmail going on here is mine. On you.’

‘There you go, showing your balls again. Why should I not send you back to your grandfather in several tiny pieces?’

‘Because the outcome will be the same. A pile of shit on your doorstep.’

His beady eyes flashed pure loathing. Then he bared his capped teeth. ‘This should be interesting.’

‘I know the identity of the person who killed my mother.’

His smile switched off. ‘Be very careful what you say to me next, boy.’

I nodded solemnly, like I was taking his advice seriously.

‘I don’t want nor need your blessing. I’m with your granddaughter now.

What I came here to say is that if you do anything that even hints at you attempting some sort of retribution for the fact that Maddelena is now for all intents and purposes an Untouchable and a Salvatore…

’ I paused to savour the sight of his face contorting with rage at the very thought.

‘If you do that, I will take immediate steps to put you down.’

He grinned, a mirthless display of too-large teeth. ‘You’ve clearly been inhaling too many engine fumes from your piece of shit car.’

‘And you, unfortunately, are giving gangsters a bad name by not knowing when to keep your mouth shut. Especially after doing something as sacrilegious as having your rival’s wife gunned down in broad daylight.

’ I reached into my pocket for the tiny pen drive, watching him closely.

Sure enough, his smile slipped once more and he micro-shifted in his seat.

‘At your age it’s probably a waste of time to teach an old dog the trick of not making the mistake of confessing to murder to a priest you then murdered too, huh?

Poor Father Sanguinetti, God rest his soul. ’

He lost a shade of colour, but his eyes didn’t shift from the drive.

‘What you didn’t know was that after your first confession, Sanguinetti told Patri Calogero he feared for his life.

That he feared exactly what you ended up doing to him.

So he took precautions. We have you on tape, literally confessing to murder.

And implicating your granddaughters and several other people who would be very upset to be named.

’ I tapped my forefinger on the drive a few times, just to taunt him.

Then tossed it back into my pocket and rose.