Page 6 of Destruction

I wish Tennant were here. He’s so much better at this type of shit than I am. Luckily, Hollis walks through the door and some of my tension eases.

“What’s going on?” he asks, heading straight for me.

“Shit. Lio’s on the phone, asking about the most recent chatter concerning attacks on mafia organizations. He hasn’t explicitly said, but we think something happened over there, too. Either that or they’re the ones who have Dad and are trying to save face with us now.”

Hollis considers my words and nods once, squeezing my shoulder. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, Amore.” He releases me and heads to the corner where he has a computer set up. It only takes a few moments before he says, “Okay, I’m ready, let’s see what he has to say.”

Letting out a stuttering breath, I move closer to Hollis’s set up and unmute the phone. “Lio? Sorry about that. I have Hollis here now, so he can answer your questions.”

“Emilio, not how I expected to speak with you again,” Hollis says. “But I hear you want to know about the chatter regarding your Family?”

There’s a moment of hesitation and, at first, I think he’s going to hedge his words again, before he says,“Yeah. We need to know anything, and I mean anything, that’s been said or even hinted at.”

Hollis doesn’t miss a beat, though the dark look crossing his face says his thoughts are in line with ours. “Not much, I’m afraid. You know I’ve kept an ear out, and I’ve discreetly had people looking into it as well. There’s always someone grumbling and wishing they could do something about organizations like ours, but… for the past few months, there’s been one voice that's slightly louder than the others. I can’t tell you who they are though, they’re annoyingly more advanced and discreet than most of the others. I’ve been watching, as I do withall potential threats. Whether this one is viable, or not, remains to be seen.” Hollis pauses the conversation for a moment, his fingers flying over his keyboard. “Any particular reason you’re asking? If there’s a concern or problem the Martellis are having, I’m happy to look into it for you.”

“Send the information to our people,”Lio says.“So they can make their own assessment.”

Hollis laughs, low and borderline cruel. “I don’t mean to be insulting to a friend and ally, but I’m better than them. There’s a reason you’re calling and not having your people do the dirty work for you. While they might service you well on a day-to-day basis, you need someone more sophisticated for this job.”

Biting my lip, I have to look away from Hollis so I don’t laugh. Across the room, I see Carter translating for Jude, while also shaking his head at my lover’s bluntness.

“If you haven’t pinned this possible threat down yet, then maybe you’re not as good as you think,”Lio responds.

I snap my gaze back over to Hollis, to find him leaning back in his chair, a small Tennant-like smile on his face. “I’ve tracked down every single person who’s ever tried to hide from us—even if it took some time. If you want to leave your Family’s fate in the hands of the lessers that you have on payroll, feel free, but know that the next time you call, I’m charging for a consult.” He reaches out for the phone to hang up.

“No, wait!”Lio says, a little more life in his tone this time as panic begins to bleed through.

“I’m listening, but my patience has run thin,” Hollis says icily. “Ally or not, friend of Roman or not, I won’t tolerate such blatant disrespect.”

“I trust Roman, and at the moment, our circle of trust is smaller than normal. That’s the only reason I’m telling you this.”

“What’s wrong, Lio?” I ask, my heart in my throat at the graveness in his voice.

He lets out a heavy breath.“Someone took Il Padrone.”

You could hear a pin drop in the office, it’s so quiet as we absorb his words. Finally, Carter comes closer so he can be heard more easily over the phone. “I suggest you gather that circle of trust, Emilio. It seems we have a lot to discuss, since they got Cristian, too.”

Benjamin and I exchange shocked looks. I’m not even sure what to say, although Benjamin gesturing rapidly at the phone reminds me I need to respond. Straightening, as if they could see me, I clear my throat.

“Someone is very foolish to take on us both, and it will be to their detriment.” Shifting into the role I’m expected to take, I shove down the need for immediate violence and ask, “Will the Amato Family host us this evening to discuss strategy?”

The silence on the other end of the line lets me know that even Roman is having a difficult time adjusting to being the Head of the Family.“We will. However, you are limited to only four additional members.”

I quickly run through my list. Benjamin, as my Second; Marcus, as he was there for the initial truce; Ignacio, because he’ll be the best if they are trying to double cross us. And…sadly,if Luca is here, he may as well be useful. “Very well. I agree to your terms. Seven o’clock?”

“Make that eight.”

I almost snort at the byplay. If he wants to assert himself this way, I don’t give a fuck. My priority is getting Il Padrone back. “We will see you then. And Hollis—I look forward to what you find.”

I hang up immediately, ignoring Benjamin’s glare. I mean, they wanted to fuck with me, so I don’t see the big deal. Benjamin, however, seems to have a different opinion.

“Is there a reason you wanted to antagonize our allies?” Benjamin’s unimpressed stare does nothing for me.

“Roman wanted to play around. I merely reminded him I have a bigger dick. From the little I’ve been able to glean from Roman and the others, Hollis is the one to be afraid of, so I went right to the source to show I’m not afraid of them. They can either get with the fucking program, or we’ll do it our damn selves and they can fuck off.”

“I…don’t even know where to start with that. I’m going to ignore most of it, and instead, go with… are you fucking crazy? As your Second—and most importantly, your best friend—I’d rather not see you killed, or at minimum, stabbed. Because even if you’re right that Hollis is the scary one, he still comes with Tennant. And uh, I’d just be a tad bit cautious there.”

“This isn’t a life you can live in fear. Sure, I made a calculated risk, and maybe it’ll pay off, maybe it won’t, but I can’t hide. Not if I’m supposed to be the Head of this Family—as you reminded me. You need to get more accustomed to violence. In fact—” The knock on the door stops our conversation abruptly. Changing my pitch, I call out, “Enter.”

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