Chapter 4

Dante

One deep breath was all it would take to bring my body in contact with Camila. My new favorite scent, that of cinnamon, was already invading my senses. While I’d done my best to keep my distance on the plane, now she was close enough that I could inhale her scent, sweet and cinnamon with the tempting aroma of innocence. Dario would say my thoughts were inappropriate. They were, and if I lingered in this position much longer, they would become even more inappropriate. The issue was that ever since I first heard of the invasion, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Camila was my first thought. Her safety. Her youth. Her beauty. Her standing within the cartel. I’d seen too many injustices in all my years on earth to not understand the horrible fate that could have awaited her.

My thoughts went back to hours earlier.

Throwing on a pair of blue jeans and t-shirt, I hurried to my rental car and sped through the dark San Diego streets until I reached the Ruizes’ home. By the time I arrived, the grounds were swarming with cartel soldiers. It took a call from Andrés to convince the men at the gate to allow me entry. I gritted my teeth at the sight of the spilled blood on the pool deck and within their home.

The same fucking home where less than forty-eight hours ago, there had been a festive wedding. The Ruiz house staff was busy bleaching and cleaning away the evidence as I was taken upstairs to Andrés’s home office.

When the door opened, I was met with a multitude of dark stares. After raising my hands, I pulled the revolver from my holster and made a show of laying it on Andrés’s desk. The one rule my brother made clear when he called was not to do anything to upset the alliance.

By the palpable friction in the room, I wasn’t feeling welcomed.

“I’m here to help.”

Andrés appeared older than he had at Mia’s wedding as he stood and offered me his hand. “Gracias.”

“Tell me what the famiglia can do to help you.”

The elevator doors opened to my sister-in-law. Valentina and Camila rushed forward. I didn’t say a word, nodding to Catalina as I made my way toward Dario’s office, the capo dei capi—boss of bosses—of the Kansas City Mafia.

Dario had that title for almost a year. Upon our father’s death, he’d taken the position he’d been born to hold.

Change wasn’t easy under any circumstances; however, our father’s indecisiveness preceding his death didn’t facilitate an easy transfer of power. Father had said he would step down as capo as soon as Dario wed. He didn’t.

A bullet from Alesia Moretti, father’s mistress, accelerated Dario’s rise to power. Our father was no longer our concern. Currently and permanently, Vincent Luciano would preside over the devil’s angels, quite possibly vying for the top job against Satan himself.

As with such a transition, there were members of the outfit who weren’t pleased that Dario assumed the role he’d been promised. At the time of our father’s demise, my brother was only thirty-six years old. Many with more wrinkles and gray hair thought the position should have gone to one of our father’s brothers.

Dario and I worked tirelessly to create a cohesive outfit. Tolerance for disloyalty was nonexistent. The former soldiers, capos, and associates would work with Dario Luciano, or their terms of service would be permanently severed.

The first few months were the most difficult.

Neither Dario nor I wanted to end the lives of people who had been loyal to our father. Then again, you know what they say about one rotten apple. Now, nearly a year later, the purge was complete. That didn’t mean it wasn’t a constant job to ensure continued fidelity.

The rather recent alliance between the Luciano famiglia and the Roríguez cartel proved to be a double-edged sword. Or in our world, a sharp fucking knife. To say that Dario was committed to the alliance was like saying that winter was cold, or summer was hot.

Last June, Dario wed Catalina Ruiz, the elder daughter of a Roríguez cartel lieutenant. In another few months, the alliance will further be solidified with the birth of their first child. If anyone had a problem with the famiglia and cartel unification, they had a problem with their boss. Fucking with the alliance wasn’t something Dario would allow.

That was why I was now entering my brother’s office. In our newly redefined organization, I was now my brother’s underboss and his consigliere. It was in that capacity that I stayed in San Diego after our sister’s wedding. There were a few business deals I wanted to see for myself.

Dario looked up from behind his desk, his dark stare meeting mine. Newfound tension radiated from his being, emanating from his pores, and displayed in the taut muscles and tendons in his neck and jaw. “What the fuck do you know?” he asked as I entered.

Shutting the door, I walked closer. “Not a lot more than you. Catalina’s family was attacked—their home.”

Her parents.

Her brother.

Her sister.

My mind inappropriately went back to Camila. Her petite figure, delicate fingers, large green eyes, the way her maid-of-honor dress hugged her curves. I even had visions of her at Mia’s wedding. I’d kept my distance, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t noticed how nicely she’d grown up in the last year. And then seeing her this morning outside her father’s office—it took all my self-control not to reach for her and to assess that she wasn’t harmed.

I wanted to strip off that sweatshirt and verify her lack of injuries.

Dario stood. “One of their guards was killed. What did you learn about anyone else? Getting fucking information from our new brother-in-law is slow and tedious.”

The capo dei capi was wearing his usual formal attire. His custom suit coat hung from the back of his chair. His button-down white shirt was crisply starched, and diamond cuff links glistened at his wrists. Besides the physical clues, the only outward sign of his stress was that his normally perfectly styled dark hair was tousled as if he’d run his hands through it more than once.

I continued my report, “Aléjandro was on his way from the Bella, Jorge’s floating mansion, when I left with the women. According to Andrés, Mia is out there too.”

Dario exhaled. “How are Valentina and Camila?”

“Scared but unharmed,” I replied.

Dario nodded. “I’d told Andrés to send them here. Your still being in San Diego was fortunate.”

“I did what we talked about yesterday, getting a feel for their operation. I was going to go to visit a few other cartel drop-offs today.” I shrugged. “Instead, I got to babysit the women.”

“They’re Catalina’s fucking mother and sister.”

Shit. I wasn’t complaining. My brother was definitely wound tight. “What does Catalina know?”

“The basics. She was asleep when I got the call. With traveling to and from California for Mia’s wedding, she’s worn out. I waited until she woke.”

I settled in one of the seats across from Dario’s desk. “I didn’t stop to talk to her.” I needed to make space between Camila and me. “How did she take it?”

“Not well.” His nostrils flared. “She was better when she learned Valentina and Camila would be coming here.”

Dario stood and gripped the back of his tall leather chair and pressed his lips together before adding, “There’s more.”

Leaning forward, I stared at my brother. “What?”

“Last night, earlier in the evening, Mia and Aléjandro’s new home was ransacked. No one was hurt. Apparently, no one was there.”

“The fuck? Why wasn’t I told.” I thought of something he said. “No one was at their home?”

“Aléjandro had guards outside, but he believes the perpetrators came from the ocean, unseen by the guards. It’s a situation he decreed to resolve.”

“Fuck,” I sighed as I leaned back. “That wasn’t mentioned when I was at the Ruizes’ home. Two separate incidents seem unlikely.”

Dario nodded. “No one was aware you stayed in California. I had to convince them you weren’t part of the invasion.”

They thought I might be involved. “No wonder they all sent death stares as I entered Andrés’s office.”

Dario walked to the highboy and filled his coffee cup. Turning to me, he lifted his eyebrows in a silent question, regarding coffee.

“No, I already drank a pot. As for the invaders, the cartel killed three of the Russians. There was a fourth one. They took him to the basement at Wanderland for questioning.” My lips curled. “I would have been happy to stay in San Diego and help with the interrogation.”

Dario’s millisecond of an expression change was the first hint that his face hadn’t turned to stone. Even his voice was a tad lighter. “Did you offer?”

“I did. They turned me down.”

“From what I’ve been told, our new brother-in-law excels at the same thing.”

“Yeah, but if I were there, we could cut off appendages twice as fast. It could be brotherly bonding.”

Dario shook his head. “Your suggestion wasn’t the only one turned down. I offered to send some of our men.”

Lifting my eyebrows, I asked, “Andrés turned you down?”

“It’s not Andrés’s call. It’s Aléjandro’s. I even had a short conversation with Jorge. He’s not happy, but thank God they caught the Russians.” Dario’s shoulders relaxed. “El Patrόn told me the same thing about the Bella. Mia is safe on his boat.”

“I heard it’s secret and strategic.”

“It is,” Dario replied. “The boat is a fucking superyacht, like something oligarchs own. When el Patrόn is on the yacht flying the Mexican flag in international waters, he isn’t subject to US laws.”

“So, our sister is floating someplace…what twenty-five to thirty miles off the coast of California?”

“Roughly.” Dario paced behind his desk. “Aléjandro turned down our men, said they had to deal with it their way.”

“Probably better.”

“Why?”

“Mia and Aléjandro’s house. Catalina’s family. Aren’t you seeing the connection?”

“Yes, I’m seeing it. That’s why we should have men out there. Mia is still a Luciano.”

A smirk came to my lips. “Just like Catalina is still a Ruiz.”

“No.” He sent daggers from his stare. “Yes. Fuck you. I want to do something. They’re suffering because of our alliance.”

“You’re doing something. You’ve taken in Catalina’s sister and mother.” I looked around the stately office. “If this place had been attacked, wouldn’t you feel better if your wife was somewhere where you knew she was protected?”

“Allies…fucking family were attacked. I don’t want to babysit my mother-in-law and a child.”

“Camila isn’t a child. She’s the same age as Jasmine.”

“Oh, right, they’re fucking adults.”

“By definition.”

Dario’s jaw tensed. “I don’t want definitions. I want to track down whoever is behind this.”

“You want blood.”

He nodded. “I want fucking blood.”

“I would assume that’s the same thing Jorge and Aléjandro want. Our new brother-in-law isn’t second-in-command because of his annoying personality or because he’s a pompous ass who won’t accept help. He’ll get the job done.” I stood. “Listen, when the negotiations started for Mia’s hand, I wasn’t sure…” I lifted my hand to stop Dario’s rebuttal. “…I mean, I kind of kicked his ass at your wedding. But as we learned more about him, I became convinced. Mia’s safe on some multimillion-dollar yacht, and the two Ruiz ladies will be here. That gives Aléjandro and the rest of the cartel the peace of mind to get their job done.”

“We need to up our manpower on the street. Depending on who’s pulling the Russians’ strings or financing their operation, they could bring it here to Kansas City. I’m sure as hell not putting my wife in their crosshairs.”

“Or her mother and sister,” I added.

“They’ll all stay put for the time being. I know you’ve already been awake a fucking day. So have I. Right now, I need you to hit the streets and get word out to the capos. I want everyone in the famiglia to be on the lookout for something coming from the Russians. Out west it was probably either Kozlov’s or Volkov’s organization. If it was either one of them, then they could easily be in contact with Myshkin in St. Louis or Ivanov in Detroit.”

“You think Myshkin would seek help from the Detroit bratva?”

Myshkin.

The name made the small hairs on my arms stand to attention.

“We have to be on the lookout for anything.”

I agreed. “We need to take that bratva scum down once and for all.”

“Get yourself cleaned up. This information needs to come from the top, and you’re the top next to me. Make everyone understand that we’re talking code-red importance.”

I looked down at my clothing. “I’m clean enough for the streets.” I didn’t wait for Dario’s response. He was the boss in the suit. I was the man who got shit done while blending in and standing above. “Do you want me to tell them what happened in San Diego?”

Dario inhaled. “Yes. Tell them what they need to hear, not where anyone is staying. Only tell them that the second-in-command and a top lieutenant of the Roríguez cartel both had their homes invaded. If our people get the truth from us, they won’t believe the lies Myshkin’s men spread on the streets.”

“Will do.” I tilted my head. “What is your next move?”

“Welcome my in-laws for an indeterminate-length-of-time visit. Oh, and let them know that for the time being, they’re grounded.”

I scoffed. “I’d rather be on the streets.”

“Me too.”