Page 33 of Consequences
“He did what?” I stare at Emilio, unable to process what he just told me. Wincing, Emilio wiggles against the bed, trying to get comfortable while avoiding me. “Emilio…”
“Sorry, Master,” he responds as I move the pillow behind him.
He gives me a brief smile of relief, and I struggle to keep my face blank. There are bruises on his face. Bruises I didn’t cause.
I swallow my irritation down as he continues, “I did have Dr. Ranlen patch him up, but then I made him get on a plane and leave. He deserved being stabbed. Had Hollis not done it, I would have. He almost ruined the alliance. Not to mention, after speaking to him that last day, he was avoiding calls from your cousin. I knew your command to him. If he fucks up…”
Growling, I can’t disagree. I’d have stabbed him myself.Why did he go against my policies?“Alright, I’ll give him a call. I’ll ask if it can be a video call, so he can’t take anything the wrong way. And let’s hope that he hasn’t made any moves yet. You’re right, silence from you would have set him on edge. He knows we don’t talk about these things to other Families—not even blood related ones.”
I brush a kiss against Emilio’s lips before leaving. It doesn’t take me long to track down Cristian who agrees to set me up with a video call. Sitting down in the borrowed office, I watch Jude get everything ready. I know less about him than the rest, which worries me. The only Martellis who haven’t been claimed by a fucking Amato, to my knowledge, are Marcus, Keegan, and Antonio. From the way Jude ignores me, I wonder if there’s yet another Amato-Martelli Curse going on.
When Jude stops what he was doing, I snag his attention. Grimacing, I carefully sign, “Which one?”
For a moment, he doesn’t answer, and I wonder if my signing is completely wrong. I’ve been working hard on it since we heard Jude had come onto the scene. Still, I’m nowhere near as proficient as the Amatos.
With a detached gaze, Jude finally answers me. He carefully spells it out, before adding what I assume is a sign name. “Antonio.”
I close my eyes, mentally cursing this entire Family. Jude hits the desk with his palm, forcing me to look at him again. While I can’t follow all of it, what I can understand has me cringing.
“I am sorry.” Jude stops mid-tirade and stares at me. His lips twitch and he snorts at my admission. Sighing, I elaborate, “It was rude to close my eyes when you’re signing.”
“You are forgiven.” Jude finishes setting everything up, but before he leaves, I stop him. He cocks one eyebrow, daring me to fuck up again. I admit, out of all the Amatos, he may bemy favorite currently. That grit…without being overly pushy. I respect it.
“Was that a sign name for Antonio? And can you walk me through it?” He blinks at me in surprise, before he teaches me the stylized A, followed by the ghost sign. I don’t bother holding back a smile. I nod to him with satisfaction. “Very fitting. If you give Nicolo and Nario sign names, will you teach me?”
Jude’s eyes widen, and he signs an agreement before backing out of the room. I smother a laugh, knowing I’ve set him off balance. While he wasn’t disrespectful like Roman, he didn’t boast either. It was very straightforward, which I respect. I make a note to talk to Antonio, but I’m fairly certain what I’ll hear. Jude’s entire demeanor screamed dominant.
Shaking my head, I go ahead and place the call to Luca, now that I have privacy. It doesn’t take more than two rings before Luca answers.
“Padrone,”he breathes. His eyes roam my face hungrily, the relief emanating off him. Still, it does not excuse his actions.“I’m sorry I’m not there. Lio would not allow it. We would have found you sooner had he?—”
I hold up a hand, cutting him off. “Luca, you helped train Emilio to be my Second, did you not?”
“Well, yes, but Benjamin?—”
“And isn’t the rule that the Boss chooses his Second?”
Luca purses his lips, before dipping his head.“Yes, Padrone.”
“Then you had no right to interfere with Emilio’s decision. He was operating in my stead. Doing the job that you helped train him for. Not to mention the other issue…” I leave that hanging and watch Luca pale.
“I…fixed it,”he responds weakly, looking anywhere other than at me.
“Hmm. So if I call Sergio, he’ll tell me that you’ve performed perfectly. He still believes you’re there to learn about human trafficking, so we can enter that revenue stream?”
I narrow my eyes at him, because he better not have fucked us on this. I want that shit shut down, and despite Sergio being my cousin, I want him out. Luca taking over that territory will give me a stronger alliance—if he can keep his head.
“He does, Padrone. I…did have to pay a penalty.”Luca pales when I wait him out.“I had to work my way up again.”
“In other words, you threw away months of work just to come back, try to take over, and fail, not only with our own Family, but with almost ruining our alliance. Then when forced back, you had to start all over again. And hopefully, did not raise suspicion, but the way you’re not meeting my eyes tells me you did a shit job at it. Am I understanding this correctly?”
“Yes, Padrone,”he whispers.
Sighing, I rub my temples. I did not need this, in addition to all the other fuckery going on. “Very well. I will not punish Hollis for what he did.”
“That’s bullshit! He had no right to do that to me. I am still a Martelli!”Luca growls, and hits the desk he’s sitting at.
I let him continue to curse before cutting him off, quietly asking, “Who am I?”
