Page 24

Chapter 24

Vito

Santoro Ventures Inc.—the legitimate arm of our empire that Creed is expanding and leading like a titan—is in a highrise tower he built. When I enter Creed's office, Massimo is already there and stares out at the Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop. The water is choppy, and gulls circle amongst the low-hanging clouds that partially obscure the Marin Headlands.

Massimo's broad shoulders are tense. From birth, he's been groomed to be Don and passed all the trials our father gave him. He's a great leader. But someone is fucking with the Santoros.

It's more than the regular testing and hitting at us because we're a powerful crime family. Ever since the decline of Babbo 's health became known , it's escalated, especially with the Czech mafia coming into our territory and moving humans. We haven't figured out who they're aligning with; the Czechs are small-time and would never have the balls to push us like they've been doing. They have a powerful ally.

But this isn't what dragged Creed to Gilly's.

No, Creed is spooked, on edge, and furious that the past threat to Sophie may be back.

But those ghosts should be dead. Manuel Morales, a rival of Creed's and one who was in league with Sophie's cunt father, along with their other two conspirators and a yacht-full of their men, were blown to teeny-tiny bits. Creed watched. Stood beside the man who took the kill shot that detonated the explosives to blow up the yacht after Sophie and another woman were rescued.

I shut Creed's office door, and Massimo turns. His brow furrows over his dark brown eyes, and he smooths back his hair. In his dark charcoal pinstriped suit, he looks immaculate and powerful—always in Don-mode. I don't think my big brother does casual.

"What took you so long to get over here?" he growls.

Rage flares in me again at the thought of Eden trapped in a cycle of horror and pain from what was done to her. But that rage is drowned by pride—because she faced her demons and trusted me with her secret. My love for her swells as I remember my confession that she's my heart and my fucking world—and her reciprocating in her unique love language. I want to grin like the unhinged psycho my enemies claim I am.

Massimo will definitely not approve of what took me so long to get over here. So, I smirk at him like the taunting asshole brother I am and walk to the beverage counter in the corner. "Always such a grumpy motherfucker."

He grunts, but the corner of his mouth twitches.

I ignore the bourbon decanter and pour a coffee instead. "You look like you have more than this on your mind, brother."

"The 'Ndrangheta called a meeting." He rubs his jaw, frowning. "On top of everything else right now, an impromptu meeting is the last thing I need."

The Santoros are one of the ' ndrines , autonomous parts of the whole that comprise the 'Ndrangheta syndicate. Here in California, we rule, and the tithe we pay from our criminal enterprises contributes a pretty portion to the 'Ndrangheta's coffers. They basically leave us be; however, Massimo, as the Don, still has roles to play and hoops to jump through.

Fucking mafia politics.

"Catanzaro?" I guess, because that's where the Dons for all the 'Ndrangheta families from all over the world always meet.

He nods. " Zio Marco is making the arrangements."

"Do you need me to come with you?" I'm loath to leave Eden, especially after she shared what her parents had done to her, but she couldn't exactly come with us.

Massimo eyes me.

"What?" I demand.

He never asked me again about Eden after our father's funeral and my odd behavior. I always make sure my face and body language are unreadable around her. The only slip was today when I saw Lixin touch her.

"You saw the exchange today at Gilly's." His eyes drill into me, daring me to deny it. Then he sighs, looking pensive. "It was like Lixin, Amazu, and maybe even Dom were…"

I couldn't hear what was being said, but from Eden's body language, it was clear she hadn't been comfortable with the conversation.

He eyes me again. "It was like they were testing Ed. Said they wanted to get to know her better. Even asked some off-hand questions about her personal finances. Amazu casually mentioned her leaving home at fifteen and referred to her as a Havoc Guardians’ girl."

I drink my coffee, trying my damnedest to ease the rigidity in my spine. "How did Ash respond to that?"

Massimo's forehead pinches further. "He was silent the whole time. Which isn't a tell itself because he's not much of a talker and has never been around Ed."

He goes to Creed's beverage counter but pours a vodka instead of a coffee. I raise a brow, as Massimo isn't much of a drinker, especially during the day. "What's on your mind, brother?"

His back is to me, and he doesn't answer.

I put my coffee down on Creed's desk and cross my arms, watching Massimo.

"You think Ash thinks she has something to do with Cutt's disappearance?" I voice my big worry, trying to see if this is what has my oldest brother on edge. "Because of the run-in she had with him?"

Raf and I have our ears to the ground, listening for rumblings about Cutt and any links back to Eden. All we've heard is that Cutt is up to his coked-up eyeballs in debt with multiple dealers, and the word around town is that he ran.

"It was Lixin, Amazu, and Dom asking the questions," Massimo says.

"Maybe Ash put them up to it, and he sat back to observe?" I'm trying to be nonchalant and hide my concern and growing fury that someone might be looking to hurt Eden.

"That's not Ash's style." He turns to me. "But something feels off. It has since Aiken's murder."

"Maybe it's because someone murdered Gilly's owner-operator after a fifteen-year tenure," I suggest casually, but unease rakes down my spine. "Succession hasn't ever happened like that before."

"Possibly."

The door opens, and Creed walks in. I make a mental note to return to this conversation with Massimo, then turn to our baby brother.

Like Massimo, Creed wears a perfectly tailored suit. The ink on his exposed skin starkly contrasts with his executive attire. But my baby brother pulls it off like a model-rockstar-business man.

"How's Triple S?" I ask.

Creed goes straight to his beverage counter, pours a bourbon, and downs it, then pours another. "She's home with Mamma. She feels I'm overreacting and imagined seeing Morales."

"And what do you think?" I ask.

Creed sips his next bourbon instead of shooting it back; his brows pull together. "I've been on edge and heightened alert ever since finding out that Sophie's pregnant." He rams fingers through his hair. "But I'm sure the guy looked right at me and smirked like he was toying with me. But… I don't fucking know."

Creed isn't involved in the mafia world, but that didn't make him untouchable. He's still a Santoro, and our enemies are still his enemies.

Massimo looks as pensive as me that someone is toying with us and using Creed and Sophie to do it. "I have Daniele searching—you know she's like a bloodhound with a scent. I've also got Crispin to run Manuel Morales' image through whatever city surveillance systems he can access. If that turns up nothing, we'll broaden the search. We'll see if a dead man really isn't dead."

"Do you want me to reach out to Jesús, Creed?" I ask.

He frowns. "The Garcia Cartel wasn't involved in what happened with Sophie."

"Jesús is an intel gatherer; he could have heard whispers if Morales or any of them survived."

Creed considers, then nods. "I also let Tag know. He and his team are digging to see if they can find anything that indicates Morales or any others survived. He's all over it because it could mean risk to Severyn if any of them did."

Massimo and I don't know all the details, but Creed worked with a team to save Sophie. Tag is the team leader, and Severyn is the woman who was taken with Sophie.

"Something else related to that past threat to Sophie came up today." Creed leans back against his desk. "I've heard rumblings that Silvestro Mancini is trying to fly under the radar on the West Coast with Magna Titano Group—a shit construction company. If he's involved, it's likely a front."

Possibly for his most profitable revenue source of human trafficking.

"Andro confirmed that Manuel Morales and Magna Titano Group, AKA Mancini, had dealings together before Morales was taken out," Creed adds.

Andro is Marco's son—our cousin—and Creed's right-hand man. As for Silvestro Mancini… During the threat against Sophie, it looked possible that Mancini was the unknown third party providing the resources to back Morales and Sophie's father, but that had fallen apart when examined closer.

Or maybe it was only meant to look like it did.

"I've been looking into Mancini," Massimo rumbles.

Both my eyebrows lift high. "This is the first I've heard of this."

He crosses his arms, staring at me. "You've been distracted."

"The fuck I have."

"Focus," Creed barks, looking between us before settling on Massimo. "What have you found out, Mass?"

"Mancini is a snake," he grits with something akin to hatred flashing over his face before he's unreadable again. "It would be right up his alley to support the Czechs with their human trafficking and trying to push into our territory. We control all California ports and prevent a pipeline for moving flesh."

I frown. "There are two problems with that theory. One, there's no evidence that Mancini and Novak are aligning. And two, they hate each other."

Simon Novak is the Czech mafia's leader, who took over after the previous leader, Alois Slovak, and all his inner leadership circle were killed.

Depending on who tells the story, it was Mancini who slaughtered Slovak and his inner circle in retaliation for killing his wife, or it was the Czechs claiming Mancini betrayed them and that they had nothing to do with his wife's death.

" Allegedly hate each other." Massimo sips his vodka. "Alessio Candreva is of the theory the hatred between Novak and Mancini is a front."

Alessio Candreva is the Don of the largest Italian family in New York, and we're friendly with him. We know he's no ally of Silvestro Mancini, even though they're both part of the La Famiglia .

"Mancini took out Slovak and his inner circle so Novak could take control?" I frown as I contemplate. "That actually could make sense."

Creed sets down his tumbler and paces in front of his wall of windows. "So maybe Mancini was the unknown third-party supporting Morales and Ortez after all."

"If that's the case, Mancini hasn't moved against Sophie since," I reason. "And the Czech's pressure in our territory has almost been exclusively in San Francisco."

"Where the Chamber would back us in preventing any sort of human trafficking routes and operations," Creed finishes.

"You're assuming logic dictates where Mancini is concerned." Massimo's deep voice is laced with malice.

"Why do you have such a hard-on for this motherfucker?"

He grunts. "Leave it to you to associate this with a dick. Always thinking with your cock."

"When you got the cock I do, why the fuck not," I taunt, making him smirk.

Creed stares out the window with his brow pinched. Massimo sets down his drink and takes out his phone. He glances down at it, his finger running over the screen before he locks it and slips it into his pocket.

Creed is on edge, and Mass is acting… odd.

But for now, my focus is on my baby brother. "What do you and Triple S need, Creed?"

"To confirm if Morales or any of those bastards lived," he growls, turning back to me.

"Well, fuck, thanks for clarifying," I deadpan with an eye roll.

That gets a wry grin from him before he's back to frowning. "Boston and California are thousands of miles apart. Does Mancini have the resources to try to push into our territory and operate?"

"Multinational conglomerates rule empires that span huge distances all the time," Massimo reasons. " You're doing it, Creed; expanding all across the states and now on the Amalfi Coast."

"But Mancini would need to go to war with us to do so."

"There's no us in this context," I firmly remind Creed. "You're on the side of the line that's not neck-deep in the criminal underworld."

"If I need to remove the threat to Sophie, I'll do whatever it fucking takes. You know that," he snarls, his icy-blue eyes flashing with fury.

"We do know that. But let's not jump off the deep-end before we know more. For now, keep your feet planted in your world, baby brother. Focus on Soph, your growing baby in her belly," my chest seizes at the reminder of Eden's hellish tortured past inflicted on her, "and getting Hope's Legacy up and running."

Hope's Legacy is Sophie's dream job-slash-passion project of helping women and children escape the cycles of domestic violence and poverty.

"Vito is right, Creed. We'll focus on Mancini. We'll keep you updated, though."

"You said you were looking into Mancini." My eyes swivel to Massimo. His broad shoulders tense slightly, and my interest increases about where his head is at. He's a family man—or, in this case, a 'company' man—and is strategic and cunning. He's planning something, or at least, considering a plan, but he's keeping his cards closer to his chest more than usual. I don't press him, though. I'm keeping my own huge secrets and don't feel I qualify to push Massimo on his. I trust him to pull me in when he needs me. "Do you have eyes on him?"

He shrugs one big shoulder. "Ish."

Before I can press him for more, his phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and sees the caller. He says without glancing up, "I need to take this. Excuse me."

He walks to the door, but I hear him as he answers the call. "Gemma. How's the princess?"

The door closes, and I can't hear more. Gemma is our cousin who lives in Italy. She's like a sister, but I've never heard Massimo refer to her as a princess because Gemma would claw out his eyes. Maybe Massimo is taking a page out of my book regarding taunting and feels safe doing so when there's an ocean between them.

"He's acting off." Creed eyes the door. "He's been different since Papà 's death, but he's darker lately. More quiet than normal."

"I don't disagree. He's got a lot on his plate with Babbo 's death."

Creed sighs, running his hand over his head. I walk to him, gripping his shoulders.

"Go home to Triple S."

Since Sophie's rescue, she and Creed have unofficially taken up residence at the estate. It's like a fortress, and Creed feels Sophie is the most secure there. And it makes our mother insanely happy. All Gina Santoro wants are daughters-in-law and grandbabies. The house is huge and has four wings, so everyone still has privacy.

"Have you come clean to him yet?"

My eyes snap to Creed's.

I know what he's referring to. In the two months since we buried Cutt and Jax, Creed hasn't asked anything. He didn't ask questions when he picked up Eden's vehicle in the industrial area that night, and she stayed with Raf and me, even though it was sketchy as shit.

"It's nothing that will endanger the family."

Lies.

But I'm too far gone with Eden to back away now. I can't. Ever.

I meant what I said to Eden—that we should leave this city and world behind. My chest caves thinking about abandoning my family, but if it's the only way to keep her safe and have her, I would.

Creed's jaw shifts as he studies me. "Is Eden okay?"

My brows pull together in confusion.

"Sophie has a high emotional intelligence," he explains. "She mentioned Eden almost seemed distressed when she realized she was pregnant. It was just a momentary flash, but Sophie was sure she didn't imagine it."

Fucking hell .

"I don't know why you're asking me, baby brother," I deflect with a neutral voice.

"Vito… Come on. This is me." He leans against his desk. "That day of Papà 's funeral… I was there. When you came out of the library. I saw your face when you came out to chase after her, brother."

Had I loved Eden even then and been too blind to see it?

If Creed had seen it on my face when I raced after Eden in a panic, that would explain why he gave me the 'pep talk'.

"I'm not asking what's all happened, Vito. And neither Sophie nor I will say anything to another soul about this, including Mass. I know you're smart, but there will be a time soon when you need to choose your path."

My decision is made of which path I'll choose if forced to.

Torment rises within me. I don't want to lose my family, but I would if it meant keeping Eden.

His eyes shine with emotion as if he knows. "Or you use circumstances to your advantage and forge a new path."

"Always with the cryptic bullshit," I growl.

He laughs lightly. "It's just an idea. I actually have no fucking clue how you'd do that in reality."

I cup the back of his neck. "Thanks for having my back, baby brother."

"You've always had mine. And when it came to Sophie, you didn't hesitate or let me down. I'll be forever in your debt." He pushes back to look me in the eye. "Just no crazy shit, okay?"

I grin. "Baby brother, do you even know me?"