Page 36 of His to Break

“Who did? Leo?”

“And his brothers. They said they would do terrible things to me and to you if they found out we were trying to deceive them.”

That was to be expected, I guess, but I still don’t like it that they put pressure on someone as sweet and kind as Benny. Leo could have come directly to me for answers instead of shutting me away in a room by myself for a couple of days. I’d have told him anything he wanted to know. I suppose he had his reasons for not questioning me.

“Where did they keep you?”

“In an apartment downstairs. It was actually very comfortable.”

I scoff in disbelief. Since he was taken from that horrible strip club, I’ve been worried that he was being held in some dank, dark basement. I pictured a single, naked bulb hanging by a fraying wire as water dripped onto a dirty concrete floor. Now I discover he’s been in the same building as me all along. I should probably be pissed off about that, but right now nothing can diminish my happiness. It feels like everything is going my way for once.

“Eat up, Benny,” I say as I take another bite of my food. “We’re going to see the sights.”

CHAPTER 15

Leo

After I quit college to join the family organization full time, the first role my father gave me was as an enforcer. He saw me struggle with the pent-up energy inside me and wanted to give me an outlet. It was a good move on his part. I’ve never been afraid to inflict violence on those who would hurt my family and over the years, I’ve built a reputation that makes men tremble. Lately, my aggressive tendencies have calmed somewhat but I’m still happy to spill blood when necessary.

Antonio, however, has other ideas. Since becoming head of the family, he’s tried to move my brothers and me into more managerial roles. He wants us to be involved in expanding our family’s more legitimate enterprises while continuing to oversee the illegal activities that have made our fortune. Luckily, he still lets us loose to interrogate captives and punish our enemies because if I had to spend every day of my life in meetings like this one, I would curl up and die.

While Antonio studies the blueprints for our new hotel and casino complex down in Atlantic City, I try not to lose my temper and demand we move this shit on. He’s asked the architect, Colin Sanders, about a million questions. What the fuck does it matter to Antonio how many USB ports will be in each guest room? He should trust Sanders to do his job. It’s why he employs him, after all.

When Antonio finally dismisses Sanders, I go and pour myself a large scotch from the bottle in the minibar on the far side of the room.

“It’s not even midday,” Antonio points out.

“Really? Feels like we’ve been here for fucking hours.”

My brother knows how I feel about these consultations with architects and their ilk. “Meetings like this are important. We need to know what’s going on.”

“Yeah? Some of us don’t care if they’re going to use quarter-inch or half-inch nails in the drywall.”

As usual, Antonio ignores my sarcasm. He goes to sit behind the antique wooden desk in the high-backed leather chair our father once occupied.

“How are things with the Bianchi girl?”

The Bianchi girl. That’s how Alessandro referred to her, so I give Antonio a similar response to the one our brother got. “She’s Mrs. Volante now, and she’s a grown-ass woman. Remember that.”

A smile tugs at the corner of my brother’s lips as I demand respect for Vinnie. “Things are going well, then?”

“So far.”

He leans back in his chair and casts an appraising glance over me. “You gave her friend a job.”

As usual, my brother is remarkably well informed. I only offered Benny the chance to be our chef this morning, so word has reached Antonio quickly. I shouldn’t be surprised. Though I have a group of men working under me, their ultimate loyalty is to the Don.

“We needed a chef, and he seems harmless.”

“You sure about that? What if he conspires with your wife to poison you?”

“Then you can engrave ‘I told you so’ on my fucking headstone.”

Antonio barks out a laugh. “Don’t think I wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I know you would, fratello.” I come and take the seat across the desk from him. “Look, you interrogated the guy alongside me.” Actually, it was more of a friendly conversation. Benny was so terrified he didn’t put up much resistance before telling us everything he knew. “You saw he’s not a threat.”

“Perhaps not directly, but what if your wife uses him to pass messages to her family?”

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