I let out a soft, sad laugh at how I had wanted to keep him a secret because I hadn’t wanted to jinx such a good thing and it looks like I’d been right on that score. I had to give a silent thanks that I hadn’t mentioned Leo to my sister yet, and then that opened another barrage of surreal questions. How in the hell was I expected to tell my sister I was dating someone in the Mob? She was a teacher, for Pete’s sake. She lived the perfect suburban life.
Just then, my phone chimed, and when I pulled it out, it was like Fate sending me a sign.
Big Sis: They wanted 2 do sumthing nice 4 me (attachment)
I clicked open the attachment and it was a picture of an odd-looking dinner, Curtis and Mila smiling big and proud. However, I noticed the background and that’s what had me smiling.
The kitchen was a mess.
An absolute disaster.
One that she was, undoubtedly, going to have to clean up because Verona was a neat freak. No matter how much Curtis always tried to chip in, Verona cleaned like a psychopath on crack. She said it was a side effect of finally having her own home and a good life. That keeping it nice and neat was her way of never taking her good life for granted.
Me: Was it edible at least?
Big Sis: It was, tho I’m not sure what exactly it was I ate.
I laughed.
Me: It could b worse. U could b starving while ur cleaning up.
Big Sis: Speaking of cleaning, I’ll talk 2 u later. Love u.
Me: Love u 2
I put my phone away and got back to finishing my lunch. Thinking about my sister, I knew I had to break things off with Leo. There was no way I could bring something like this into her life. There was no way I could expect her to understand something that I didn’t even understand.
Glancing up at the clock, my lunch was over and there was nothing to do but get back to the grind. Dumping my leftovers in the trash, I went to the restroom to wash my hands and get back to my station. The end of my shift couldn’t come fast enough.
But then again, did I really want it to?
Chapter 13
Leonardo~
If anyone looked at my desk, they’d think I was a computer nerd but that wasn’t me. That was Sal. Sal could look at ten different screens and tell you exactly what was on each one.
I had a U-shaped desk because the four monitors on my desk were littered with spreadsheets and accounting programs to keep track of all the money that came and went through the organization. Apart from making sure I kept track of every penny coming our way, it was my job to keep the IRS off our asses and that was probably more important than finding someone who was skimming.
No one wanted the IRS on their ass.
Not to mention, Luca and Sal would rather kill someone than pay them off and we couldn’t have IRS agents go missing every time they paid us a visit.
So, I was damn near cross-eyed with going over our monthly projections when I heard a knock on the wooden doorframe. Looking up from the computer screens, I saw Sal walking in. The knock hadn’t surprised or bothered me because it could only be one of four people making themselves at home in my house: Luca, Sal, Phoenix, or Ciro. If the girls had to stop by, they always called first.
Turning away from the computer screens, I rolled my chair to the only section of my desk that didn’t have computer monitors on it. As I did that, Sal dropped two file folders on my desk, then took a seat across from me.
“Two?”
“The blue one is everything I have on your girl,” he answered. “And she’s pretty much as clean as you said she was.” I nodded. “I researched Sienna, her sister, her sister’s husband, his entire family, the school she teaches at, and a quick skim through the entire teaching staff.” I opened the file as Sal kept on summarizing his finds. “The aunt was good, too, and so is the man she’d been dating. Which, by the way, your girl still talks to and visits from time-to-time.”
“That I didn’t know,” I mumbled to myself more than anything.
“Well, because she still visits him, I did an entire search on his family and they’re just as unassuming as the rest of the group.”
I looked over at my brother. “Anything else?”
Sal nodded. “I pulled up surveillance footage at Rousseau’s from Monday and was able to identify all the people she had lunch with.”
I smirked. Sal didn’t fuck around. Considering the seriousness of getting involved with a Benetti, he was taking this research as far as he needed to in order to feel comfortable about me dating Sienna. I also knew he was doing it because Luca would insist on a full report.
“What did you find?”
He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees. “Everyone was good, no red flags,” he answered. “They’re all pretty much what they seem to be. They’re just a bunch of nurses who work too hard and let the doctors take all the credit.”
I knew my brother well. “But?”
Sal jerked his chin towards the second folder. “Ryan Trent.”
I opened the red folder and Ryan Trent’s face looked up at me. “So, tell me,” I said, looking back at Sal.
“He’s clean and pays his taxes and all that, but he’s a womanizer,” he said. “Has a thing for the chase and likes preying on the women he works with.”
“Why do you say preying?”
“Because from what I can tell, there’s no drama with the women he sleeps with.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, either every woman who he’s picked to sleep with is onboard with it just being sex, or he’s blackmailing them, or threatening them to bow out gracefully. He can’t be that lucky,” Sal suspected. “C’mon, Leo. What are the odds that a man can sleep with a shitload of women who all work together and there be no drama?”
“Slim,” I agreed.
“Sooooooooo…”
I laughed. “You’re such an asshole, Sal.”
The dick winked at me. “I checked for video feed in his apartment,” he continued. “And guess what I found?”
“Videos?” I asked, humoring him.
Sal nodded. “He video tapes them and since some of the nurses are married, he’s basically sitting on a gold mine of insurance.” Sal leaned back in his chair. “He’s even slept with a couple of his supervisors, so he’s got that working for him in case someone tries to make waves. He can blackmail them to smooth things over for him.”
“And he wants Sienna.”
Sal nodded. “And he wants Sienna,” he agreed. “I pulled up feeds from the shifts your girl had with Trent and there’s no mistaking she’s his next mark.”
I dropped my head back and cracked my neck. “I’m going to have to kill him, aren’t I?”
“Probably,” Sal agreed. “But try paying him a visit first.”
Looking back at my brother, I chuckled. “Seriously? This coming from you?”
Sal shrugged. “Personally, I’d kill him,” he said. “However, I doubt proving that you’re a killer is the way to win Sienna’s heart. But, hey, everyone has their own idea of romance.”
“This romance shit isn’t for the faint of heart, that’s for sure,” I muttered.
“Look, Leo,” Sal said. “I’m not going to pretend to understand what you’re doing with this girl, because, quite frankly, pussy’s pussy to me. I get Frankie and Phoenix, but that’s about it. So, take this for what it’s worth. Have a talk with the man, let him know what the expectations are, and if he chooses not to meet those expectations, then handle it. Killing him right out the gate is not going to win you any points with your girl.”
“That protects Sienna, but what about the others?”
Sal jerked his head. “Tell him what you know,” he suggested. “Tell him you know about the videos and recommend that he change his views on women.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” I replied. “However, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to kill him at some point.”
Sal nodded. “I think so, too. From his paperwork, he doesn’t seem the t
ype to listen.”
“So, let’s say I have to kill him?”
Sal smiled and it really was a thing of sheer evil. “Luckily for you, Ryan Trent is a product of the system. He aged out of foster care, but the last family he was placed with were decent people. They took care of him well and helped him get into nursing school. They live in Ohio and exchange Christmas cards once a year. If you do end up killing him, he’ll be easy to get rid of.” I had no doubt about it. Making people disappear was Sal’s specialty. He was in charge of clean-up for a reason.
“What kind of psychopath has two first names anyway?”
“Right?” Sal agreed.
I laughed. “Thanks, man,” I said. “I appreciate everything you put into this.”
Sal nodded. “Now I gotta go pay Luca a visit, so he can calm the fuck down.”
This time, I shrugged. “It’s hard to blame the man,” I said. “One wrong move and the entire house of cards can come tumbling down.”
Sal stood up. “Luca’s not Giovanni,” he remarked. “There won’t ever be any wrong moves with Luca in charge.”
That surprised me.
Sal’s loyalty has always been to himself. He’s never made it a secret, either. Every move Sal’s ever made has been calculated to make sure it benefited him in the end. In hindsight, with Gio’s betrayal being what it was, his selfishness hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. I was just surprised to hear him speaking so solidarity about Luca.
“I agree.” Sal stood there, regarding me, and I could tell he wanted to say more. “Spit it out, Sal.”
He grinned, his dimples deeper than mine. “Make it work, Leo,” he said. “I don’t want to be the one to have to take care of your girl.”
I arched a brow. “Because you’d care?” Sal was a stone-cold sociopath. A heartless killer and psychopath, he lost sleep over nothing.
“Apart from myself, there are only three things in this world that I care about,” he said. “You, Luca, and our legacy. So, yeah, if I have to kill the woman you might or might not love, it will bother me.”
I smiled. “I love you, too, Sal.”
He flipped me off and walked out of my office, leaving me with the folders on Sienna and Ryan Trent. I knew he had an identical set for Luca, and I knew that’s where he was headed.
Letting out a deep breath, I knew I was going to have to deal with Ryan Trent and soon.
Chapter 14
Sienna~
I’d gotten off work over an hour ago. I’d come home, showered, and even paid some bills. I had skipped dinner because I was afraid the butterflies in my stomach would prevent me from keeping anything down. Between the butterflies in my stomach, my sweaty palms, and my heart feeling like it was on crack, I was a freakin’ mess.
When Leo had sent me a text about twenty minutes ago telling me he was on his way, that’s when the nervousness began. That’s when I started playing imaginary scenarios in my head of how this could possibly go down. Some of the scenarios were reasonable, some not so much.
My thoughts had bordered on complete ridiculousness and it was laugh at myself or lose my damn mind. My life has had so many ups and downs, but never did I imagine I’d be dealing with the Mafia. I was still finding it difficult to even believe that such a thing existed. Mobsters were supposed to be a part of history; fascinating, but long over.
The knock on my door had me gripping the balcony handrails. I’d been standing outside, my eyes surveying Morgan City, imagining what happened at night when I was fast asleep, assuming the city I had moved to was safe.
At the second knock, I went inside, shut and locked the balcony sliding glass door, and went to answer the door. Taking deep breath, I turned the knob and opened the door to find a very stoic-looking Leonardo Benetti standing on the other side.
He shot me a simple look and it was enough to make me step aside and let him in. When I shut the door behind him, I made sure to lock it out of habit. It didn’t escape me that Leo probably appreciated that habit very much.
When I turned around to face the music, Leo was leaning up against the back of the couch, his hands gripping the fabric-covered wood on either side of his large, hard, ripped body.
He regarded me long enough to make me uncomfortable, and when I started playing with the hem of my shirt, he finally took mercy on me. “What would you like to know, Sienna?”
My eyes darting around like a cornered animal, I defaulted to politeness. “Would you like to sit down?”
“Would it make you more comfortable if we sat?”
“Don’t do that,” I blurted, my nerves shot. “Don’t…play with me, Leo.”
His eyes narrowed a bit, but he relented. “Let’s sit down,” he said. “I imagine this conversation will take some time, so we might as well be comfortable while we talk.”
I could feel my head nod like a neurotic bobblehead, and I followed his lead as he made himself comfortable on my couch. I made sure to leave significant room in between us as I sat down, though. I was self-aware enough to admit that if he touched me, I’d probably weaken.
Quickly.
I watched him unbutton his suit jacket and relax against the back of the couch. “Now, what is it you’d like to know, Sienna?”
There were too many questions fighting inside my brain to be asked, but I thought it’d be best to stick with factual topics, rather than dive headfirst into the emotional ones. I needed to know what I was dealing with, even if I knew how this was going to end. I was fairly certain this wasn’t the life for me. This wasn’t the life I wanted for my family.
“Are you guys…” God, I didn’t even know how to pose the questions. “Are you guys the biggest…”
Leo’s face softened, obviously feeling sorry for me. “Yes, we’re the biggest family in Morgan City. The entire state if you really want to know.”
My head jerked in a nervous nod. “O…okay.” I took another deep breath. “And what do you…what exactly is your role in all this?”
“There are three of us,” he said. “My oldest brother, Luca, who is in charge of the entire organization-”
“The Boss,” I mumbled, recalling what Parnell had told me.
Leo’s expression was so kind, I wanted to smash it off his face. It made me feel stupid. “Yes, Sienna,” he confirmed. “Luca is the Boss of the Benetti Family.” I nodded for him to continue. “Next in line is Salvatore and he’s the Underboss, second in charge behind Luca.”
“And…and you?”
“Luca oversees the entire operation, Sal oversees security, and I oversee all the family’s finances. I’m the family accountant for all intents and purposes.”
“So…so, you don’t…” I wanted to ask him if he kills people, but I couldn’t get the words out. Instead, I switched questions. “Are all your…uh, ventures illegal?”
He shook his head. “No,” he answered. “We have many legal businesses. However, we do have several illegal ones, Sienna. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you we don’t.”
“What are they?”
“I’m not going to go into specifics with you,” he said. “No offense, but those kinds of details are only entrusted to family members.”
“I understand,” I replied because I did. That made sense. I imagined trust was their most treasured commodity. If they went around telling everyone who asked the details about their business, they’d all be in jail by now.
“So, you’re third in charge?”
Leo smirked, flashing those dimples. “It’s a little more complicated than that, but I suppose I am.”
“Why’s it complicated? If you’re the third brother, that would make you the third heir, right?”
“Have you heard of The Holy Trinity?”
I nodded, not repeating what I’d been told out this Holy Trinity. “Yeah. It’s The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost.”
“Luca is known as The Father of Morgan City for obvious reasons as he’s the Boss of the Benetti Family.” Okay. “His right-hand man and b
est friend since they were young boys is Ciro Mancini. He’s known as The Son. Luca’s left-hand man and other best friend since they were young boys is Phoenix Fiore. He’s known as The Holy Ghost. Now, where most families have only one consigliere, the Benettis have two: Ciro and Phoenix. And while Salvatore is second in charge and I’m third, Ciro and Phoenix answer only to Luca. They are every bit a part of the top tier hierarchy.” Leo shrugged. “And that’s common knowledge on the streets of Morgan City.”
With so many people at the top, it was very possible that Leo didn’t get his hands dirty, right? I mean, he said he was their accountant. If that was true, there wasn’t a need for him to get his hands bloody, right?
Right?
“Do you…ki…uh, get rid of people?” I asked hesitantly.
“Only those who need to be gotten rid of, Sienna,” he answered easily.
“Have you…” I couldn’t get the words out. I wanted to. I wanted to appear as if I was sophisticated enough for a conversation like this, but I really wasn’t.
Leo leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together, his green eyes as piercing as a sword’s tip. “Yes,” he answered truthfully. “I have.”
“Leo-”
“And I will continue to do so, when necessary,” he continued, making his position clear.
“I see,” I whispered regretfully, but really, what else did I expect? For him to give up his entire life over a woman who he’s been screwing for a measly month? Talk about thinking highly of yourself.
“Tell me what it is you see, exactly, Sienna,” he requested.
“That maybe I was right all along, Leo.” I took a deep breath and straightened my back, trying to look strong. “I think we should stop seeing each other.”
“I see,” he remarked softly.
“I…even if I thought I could…maneuver through what it takes to date someone like you, I have a sister to think about. She has a family. The thought of placing them in danger is…well, it’s unacceptable.”
The Bishop (The Holy Trinity Duet Book 1) Page 7
