Page 65 of Unrelenting
“You are, but I have matters to attend to. Marco will take you home when you’re ready.”
Giving me no time to argue, he kisses my cheek and strides from the room. I stand there in stunned disbelief for a minute.
Did he really just leave me here with a couple of complete strangers? I hear the front door slam shut. Yes, it seems he did.
NINETEEN
Lorenzo
Outside of Italy,Paris is probably my favorite city. There are incredible parks here as well as fabulous galleries. Then, of course, there’s the amazing food and drink scene. In these beautiful surroundings I can even tolerate French wine.
Paris is one of the places I come when I want to get away from it all, but unfortunately, this trip is all business. Damiano and I traveled to New York for our cousin Olivia’s wedding and then came straight here to meet with other members of the pan-European consortium we’re part of.
The people around this table control most of the criminal activity in Europe and conduct a great deal of legitimate business with each other as well.
The large, intimidating man to my left is Sev Baranov, a Russian mobster who runs a small but powerful Bratva organization affiliated with the Reznovs, now led by Piotr, who sits across the table from us.
Damiano occupies the seat to my right, and next to him is Joe Dalgleish, a British businessman whose political connections help him hide his shadier exploits.
Opposite them are the Lenkov siblings, Daniil and the sinfully sexy Mila. Their brother, like ours, has chosen not to attend the meeting.
At the head of the table is Niamh Donnelly. The Scots-Irish Mafia queen is the one who first suggested we all work together, and she keeps us in line.
Our first order of business tonight was finding someone to rescue a Scottish damsel in distress from the man who’s held her captive since slaughtering her family four years ago.
At first, I thought Niamh wanted me to step up and marry the girl, but it seems my cousin Gio is the preferred suitor.
It makes sense. He’s unattached and close to the girl’s age. Though he’s young and untested, his eagerness to prove himself worthy of the family name will help him succeed in his task.
The second issue we dealt with was much more interesting. An upstart Albanian gang has been hijacking our shipments out of Marseilles and costing us millions in revenue. They’ve made an alliance with the Corsican Union so striking them will probably lead to war.
If that’s the case, so be it. We’re more than ready to spill some blood, especially now our ties with our American cousins have been strengthened through Piotr’s marriage to Olivia.
As Niamh calls the meeting to a close, my stomach rumbles. I haven’t had a chance to eat today but thankfully Sev arranged for us to have dinner here.
We head out into the living room to greet the spouses who’ve come to eat with us and I immediately spot my cousin talking to Evie, the heavily pregnant wife of Daniil Lenkov. It’s their second child, I think.
The rest of us need to get on with the business of procreating if we’re going to have anyone to pass our rapidly growing empire down to.
“Did you forget to put a dress on?” I greet Olivia as I take in the scrap of fabric she’s wearing. It’s high at the neck but barely covers her ass.
She glares at me and fires back. “Don’t you have a pretty restaurant owner to harass?”
That hits harder than it should. It’s been several days since I last saw Lucia and I’d much rather be back in Florence making things right with her than standing here trading barbs with Olivia.
I regret abandoning Lucia at my mother’s house. At the time I was focused on sorting out my family’s issues. I didn’t consider how Lucia would feel about me rushing off like that, leaving her with people she’d only just met.
In hindsight, I realize it was a mistake to take her to the villa. I should have waited for a better time.
Things are not always easy for my mom. Since she sustained a brain injury after a particularly severe beating from my father, she’s struggled with everyday tasks, She’s forgetful and that leads her into tricky situations. She needs someone constantly by her side to make sure she’s safe.
Though my mom was excited to meet Lucia, my visit triggered her anxiety over Gabriele. I suspect she focused on him so she didn’t have to think about the fire she caused by leaving a dish towel too close to the stove.
Thankfully, a member of the security team was there within seconds of the fire starting and put it out before it could cause any damage.
When I left the villa, I went to see Gabriele to ask him to go see her. A visit from him would help put her mind at rest.
Unfortunately, my brother refused to see me. He only spoke to me via intercom when I pulled out my gun and threatened to shoot the guards who wouldn’t let me onto the property. It’s been months since I saw Gabriele in the flesh, and I’m worried about him.
