Page 80 of Matteo
“You sure you heard that right?” Uncle asked in a measured tone.
“Yes. One of the girls thought we were getting them prepared to be ‘belles for the mobsters.’” Honestly, the concept was dumb as fuck, but for some reason, it’d worked in the past. “Maybethere is a copycat trying to reignite the Belles and Mobster auctions.”
“Not a word of this to your mom. Not until we have all the details,” Pa gritted. “I’ll alert the territories down the East Coast. We worked too hard to end that nonsense. I’ll be damned if I let it resurface.”
“Nico Morrelli might be able to pick up something on the dark web,” Uncle Massimo pointed out.
I cleared my throat. “Speaking of Morrelli, have you?—”
“Yes, it’s done. He was good with it.” My eyebrows shot up, surprised at how well this was going. “We’ll announce it at the party later today.”
I opened my mouth to ask for details when Luca King DiMauro and Cassio King strode in.
“You went all out, Luciano. Kingpins, Billionaire Kings, even some Omertà members are here, but where in the fuck are the Russians?” Luca drawled, both brothers taking a seat on the couch facing the terrace and gardens that Nonno used to nurture.
I missed the old man. A decade had passed since his death, but seeing those gardens was almost bittersweet. Mom took care of them now, but sometimes I wished she didn’t, because seeing them perfect like this almost made you believe he was still around.
“You know the Russians, they’re always fashionably late.” He raked a hand through his hair. “There are whispers about belles again.” Pa didn’t beat around the bush, causing me to let out a groan. He pinned me with a stare. “Son, these auctions are nothing to take lightly. If it were to resurface, our girls and women would be in danger.”
“Áine mentioned the trafficked girls you rescued.” Of course she would. She was Cassio’s wife after all. “They’re safe but not talking. Did they say something to you?” Cassio questioned.
“They couldn’t give me much, and the guards were useless. In fact, they didn’t even know who had hired them, but the fact that those girls even knew about belles isn’t good news,” I explained.
“It could be a mistake,” Uncle Massimo suggested.
“Quite a mistake,” muttered Luca. “Someone better tell Morrelli so his girls don’t go out looking for trouble.”
“Our nieces are the definition of trouble.” Cassio shot him a dry look. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were robbing us blind as we speak.”
My lips curved. It was a running joke that the Morrelli daughters would one day rob us all. I wouldn’t care, since Ari was about to be my wife, but some weren’t as open-minded.
“We have your wife to thank for that.” Luca feigned a glare at my father. “She kept feeding them tips on how to improve, and now we have thieves in our midst.”
Luciano chuckled.
“If they manage to steal from you, then you had it coming.”
Three years ago, Arianna and Hannah got themselves invited to their uncle Luca’s house in Sicily for the summer. They robbed half of goddamned Italy, almost causing an international incident. The worst part was that Penelope, the apple of Luca’s eye, participated when they robbed Enrico Marchetti. Needless to say, it further strained the already tense relationship.
“I sure as fuck hope you get on their radar one day,” Luca grumbled. “Then we’ll talk.”
Pa laughed. “They could never get one over on me.”
Cassio leaned back, crossing his legs. “We’ll see. You should never underestimate my nieces.”
Pa looked smug, probably thinking they’d never rob him now that our families would be joined. But he failed to realize that those closest to Ari and her sisters were usually their practice targets.
Ari was within my grasp, and nothing and no one would stand in my way.
Thirty minutes later, I left Pa and his friends in the office, reminiscing about their old days.
I was almost to my room when I ran into my mom. She was already dressed for the party, wearing a flowy cream dress that made her look both regal and youthful.
“There you are.” She beamed, straining onto her toes to reach my cheek. She kissed it softly as she patted the other one. “Have you been hiding?”
“No, I just had to handle some business with Pa,” I told her, leaving out the key points—she didn’t need to worry herself.
I couldn’t help but recall the story of her and Aunt Ella being snatched to be sold as belles. The nightmare she’d endured led to night terrors that’d plagued her on and off since. There were days when I could feel their struggles when I was a young boy, and I hated how helpless it made me feel, how it weighed down on me.
