Take Me Higher: (A Chicago Mafia Syndicate) (Castaletta Book 1)

by Ali Parker

  "Let's go." Izzy turned and walked out of the room with Marco on her heels.

  "You guys really should just fuck and get it over with." Catherine turned her attention on me. "She's a bitch when you've hurt her feelings."

  "You're a bitch all the time." I winked.

  "Love you too. Get out of here, and fire that kid. He's up to something, D. I just know it."

  "How though? He's Joe's kid. Why the hell would he step on Joe's dick like that?"

  She lifted the clipboard and tapped it as her expression grew bleak. "Ask me who runs that dock right now."

  "Do I want to know this?"

  "No, you don't." She sighed. "The Kallup boys."

  Chapter 15

  Demetri

  "Izzy, I really think you should let me or Marco handle this. Freddy is pretty fucked up from losing your mom this week." I reached back and touched her knee as she sat in the back seat, staring out the window with a mixture of emotions moving past her eyes.

  "No. I'm the only one he's connected with besides Mom, and I'm sure it's because I remind him of her." She crossed her arms over her chest as we sat outside his apartment. "I just can't stop thinking about what we're going to have to do if he's fucking us over."

  "Dad isn't going to let you kill him." Marco turned around, blocking my view.

  I got out of the car as the two of them argued for a few minutes. I didn't need to get into the middle of their shit. Everyone was too raw to be dealing with all we were up against. Nothing was ever easy in an operation like ours that had so much reach, but the fact that we were all close, perhaps too close at times, made things that much more complicated.

  Izabella got out of the car and turned to me as the wind picked up and pulled her long, raven-colored hair into the air to dance about her beautiful face. She was mesmerizing, and I hated myself for wanting to follow Catherine's advice and “get it over with.”

  "What are we doing about finding my mother's killers? I would think that you would be on top of that first and foremost?" Her tone was softer, and I took her elbow in my hand and moved her toward the apartment.

  "We're following a few leads — "

  "We being … ?" She moved up toward the external elevator to the building and pulled her arm from me softly.

  "Marco, Danny, and I will be dealing with it." I reached around her and pressed the button. "I'm pretty sure we're going to have to break a few kneecaps to get some answers, but I'm more than happy to do that."

  "Don't you think that getting someone on the force to look into it would be a lot easier?" Marco pulled my attention from his sister.

  "Yeah, but our best bet is Jonathan, and he's not budging just yet." I moved my gaze back to Izzy as the door to the elevator opened. "Your father wants you to get Jon on our side. The one thing he's missing is a woman."

  She laughed and walked into the elevator before turning and pressing her back to the wall behind her. How she could look so damn good in a T-shirt and jeans was beyond me.

  "I'm not pretending to care for anyone. That quickly leads to caring for them. I have enough dick in my life." She winked at me before staring at the wall in front of her.

  "I would think you'd do almost anything to find Mama’s killer. I would. I just don't have the right parts to woo the pig." Marco leaned against the wall beside her. "You really aren't willing to help us out? We're not asking you to sleep with the idiot, just to make him fall for you. It wouldn't be hard. Everyone falls for you."

  "’Cause I'm a black magic witch." She moved up as the door opened. "I'm dealing with Freddy, by the way. Feel free to come with me, but this is my show."

  "Fine, but if he's fucked up, make sure not to get in his face. He's stronger than he looks," I mumbled, not quite sure why I was trying to protect her from her little brother. She had me on the ground a few hours earlier with her knee in my throat. She was quite capable of protecting herself.

  "I can handle myself, thank you." She stopped outside the door and pulled out a set of keys from her jeans pocket before popping one in the lock and opening the door.

  The smell of weed rolled out into the hall in thick waves.

  "This bastard has no concern over getting caught, does he?" Marco glanced back at me as we followed Izabella into the living room. I moved over to the side and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched her do her thing.

  "Get. Up. Now." She walked across the room and grabbed a handful of Freddy's long, greasy hair, yanking him up from the couch where he lay sleeping.

  "Wha-What?" He started to swing, and God love her if she didn't head butt him and put his ass back on the couch, facedown. She pressed her knee to his upper back and her hand to his head.

  "What the fuck are you doing here smoking instead of working?" She bent down, and I let my eyes move down her thick curves, coveting her and trying hard not to get a hard-on just watching her manhandle the kid.

  "I'm off today. Get off of me, Izzy. Shit." He jerked around, but she leaned in farther until he cried out. "All right. Stop. Stop!"

  "Get up. Now." She moved back and gave him a second to sit up before she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. Her strength surprised me a little.

  Marco glanced over at me and gave me a look. "Shit. Glad that's him and not me."

  "Me too," I murmured and turned my attention back to her.

  "Why did you reroute a shipment over to one of the docks that you know isn't ours anymore? Are you working for someone else? Did you not know that the Kallup boys own that dock?" She tightened her grip on him as he started to choke.

  "The Kallup boys?" Marco asked.

  "How did you know that?" I asked her, not wanting to interrupt, but there was no way she’d heard Cat telling me about the dock. She and Marco had already left the room.

  "I know a lot of things." She glanced over her shoulder and pinned me with a shut the hell up look before turning back to Freddy.

  "What? No. I don't know what you're talking about. Cat does all the shipping. Did you ask her?" His eyes filled with tears, and he tried to move a little. "D. Man, I wouldn't do anything to hurt the family. It's my family. Izzy, come on, shit."

  "It's looking that way, Freddy," I called out and shook my head. "It looks like you're more interested in helping Thomas Kallup than your own family."

  Marco moved up to stand beside Izzy and touched her arm. "Let him down."

  "No," she barked and tightened her grip again, causing the kid to gasp for breath. "You better start fucking talking, Freddy. Mama died on Saturday, and then this shit happens. What do you think you're doing?"

  "Izzy." Marco gripped her hand, and I moved up on the other side of her.

  "Let him breathe so he can talk to us." I pressed my hand to her lower back and rubbed softly. "I'm ready to get out of here. Let's just take him back to the —"

  "No. I know a rat when I smell one." She released Freddy and moved faster than I was ready for as she grabbed him and pulled his head down to ram his face against her lifted knee.

  The kid fell back with a scream, his nose busted and blood running down his face and all over the front of his shirt. "Fuck! You broke my nose. What's the matter with you? I thought you loved me."

  "I do." She got in his face and gripped the sides of his head as he started to cry. "And Dad's going to put a hit on you if you don't fucking shape up. Family means everything until you fuck up. You know that, right? I'm saving your life right now, though I'm not really sure it's worth it."

  "Why then? It's not worth anything." He pushed at her, but she held on.

  "Because I love you." She pressed her forehead to his as Marco and I backed up a little. "And I'm the one that he's going to call. Do you want me to show up here and gun you down?"

  "No, okay? I'm sorry, all right? I fucked up, but it wasn't on purpose. I just can't think. I can't figure out which way is up and with Mama — "

  "Don’t give me that lie. This shit started three weeks ago, Freddy." Sh
e slapped him in the face and backed up. "You don’t get to blame Mama. She loved you, and her passing is going to make us stronger as a family. That includes you."

  He sniffled and tried to dry his eyes, only succeeding in smearing blood across his thin face. "All right. I'll sober up. Don't take this from me, and don't tell Dad about my shit. I'll fix it."

  She moved back to stand between us, her face a mask of indifference as she rolled her shoulders. My cock twitched in my pants at the thought of her looking at me like that.

  "This is your last chance. If you don't clean this up, we will. Marco and D will come in and pull you off the narcotics ring and investigate what you've been doing with the Kallups. Then they'll tell Dad, and he'll call me in his office, and the next time you see me will be the last. Do you get that? You're dangling over the edge of a cliff, and all that exists below is death, Freddy. Mom wouldn't want that for you. We don't want that. Fix this shit, and do it now." She turned and walked out into the hallway, Marco following her.

  I brushed my fingers over my lips and stared at him for a minute as he started to cry again. A huge part of my heart broke watching him. I wanted to fix it like I would for Drake or Cat, but I couldn't. The little shit was up to something, and even with Izzy's pep talk, I wasn't sure there was any saving him.

  Chapter 16

  Izabella

  I sat in silence the whole way back to the house. It took all I had inside of me not to show Marco or D just how badly it hurt to have to get in Freddy's face and fuck him up. My father was loving until you crossed the line, and Freddy had done that too many times already. He was one more fuckup from tasting my wrath, and should have been counting his blessings that it was Demetri who was given the task of figuring everything out instead of Dad doing it himself.

  "You want to help us get ready for the meeting tonight?" Marco wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked toward the house.

  "No. I need some time to myself. I'll meet you guys at Gino's at eight tonight." I moved into the house without giving my brother or D a second glance. Everyone wanted to keep moving forward in hopes of saving us from wallowing in the past, but I still needed a little bit of time to process all the shit that had happened.

  "Izzy," D called out to me, and I paused at the bottom of the stairs and glanced over my shoulder.

  "What?"

  "Good job today. I know that wasn't easy."

  "No one ever promised it would be." I shrugged and turned to jog up the stairs.

  D had been as much of a basket case as I had the last few days, which wasn't good. Usually one of us took turns acting like a needy child while the other ignored it. With both of us having lost our mothers, we were up shit creek on finding any semblance of maturity between us.

  I walked into my room and closed the door behind me before stripping. I changed into a pair of tight black pants, a black tank top and a black leather jacket. I put on a little bit of makeup and worked my hair into a messy bun before grabbing my helmet from the closet. My bike was in the garage behind the house, and I drove it far less than I wanted to, but after the week I'd had, it was time to live on the edge a little.

  "You heading to Gino's early?" My father's voice stopped me as I walked down the stairs and turned to leave through the front door.

  "No, Papa." I turned around and squeezed my helmet to my side. "I'm going out to Saint Mary's to see Mom for a while, and then I'll go over to Gino's. I won't be late."

  "D told me about your visit with Freddy today." He walked toward me, stopping in front of me and touching the side of my face. "I would never in a million years ask you to handle your own brother. Family means everything to me."

  "I know." I pressed my hand to his. "I just wanted to scare the little shit. He's up to something, and we need to figure out what."

  "D's on it. He'll be visiting with Thomas Kallup in the next day or so. I'm not sure your brother has the wit to undermine us, but I do believe he's somehow gotten himself wrapped up into something that he's stuck in the middle of now." He winked and pulled his hand back. "It's no worry of yours. All right?"

  "You love him, right?" I couldn't help but ask. Out of all of us kids, my father seemed to like Freddy the least. I wasn't sure if it was because Mama love him so much and took such good care of him or if it was something else.

  "Of course I do. I love you more, but it's my prerogative to have a favorite, no?"

  "That it is." I smiled. "I'm just glad it's me."

  "You want company for your trip? I could get Demetri or Marco — "

  "No. I need some time to myself." I shifted my eyes around my father's face, taking note of how much he'd aged over the last week. "Besides, D and I are at each other's throats every time we get within spitting distance."

  "Your mother and I were as well until we finally relented and gave in to one another." He chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not sure that's a good idea for the two of you, but at least it helps to ease the tension that you have. Both of you have far too many feelings for the other. You need to work that out until the time comes when you can be together."

  "And is that time going to come?" A hot ball of regret lodged in my throat.

  "I have no idea, Izzy, but whether it does or not, you both owe it to the other to respect your positions in this syndicate and support each other in a way that's much less hurtful than what you've both been doing lately." He lifted his eyebrow, and I nodded.

  "All right. I'll work on it. For you." I smiled and turned, needing to get out of the door before someone else stopped me. The mansion was always busy, and most of the syndicate could be found roaming the halls at least a couple times during the week.

  "Well, look who looks like death incarnate tonight." Nathaniel smiled and moved back, holding the door for me.

  "You looking for a dark angel to rock your world?" I lifted an eyebrow and paused beside our head guard.

  His eyes moved down the length of my body as a sexy smile tugged at his mouth. "You know I would be more than happy to give you anything you wanted, my soul included."

  "And what would I do with your soul?" I chuckled and walked out into the late afternoon.

  "I hear it's currency in Hell." He laughed as well.

  "Are you saying I'm headed to Hell?" I glanced over my shoulder as I turned to walk around the far side of the house.

  "Not at all, but if you do end up there, save me a seat?"

  I rolled my eyes and kicked a few rocks before moving down the paved path to the garage. Nathaniel was too cute and honestly one of the best guys we could have protecting the house. As an ex-Navy SEAL, he was always alert, fully capable of handling almost anything, and stealthy as hell.

  After typing in the code to enter the garage, I walked in to the smell of gasoline, which wasn't unusual.

  "Anyone in here?" I called out and moved to my bike as Daniel stood up from the other side of the room.

  "Hey Izzy. How are you?" He moved toward me as he wiped his hands on a white cloth and gave me a smile that reminded me almost too much of D.

  "I'm good. How are you holding up?" I reached out and gave him a quick hug before moving back. Demetri's cousin was a slicker version of him with a swimmer’s body and long black hair that he kept pulled back in a ponytail. He was the kind of man any woman would give a second and even third glance.

  "I'm doing all right." He nodded toward the direction he'd come from. "I was working on your father's Cadillac. I guess he wants to get her running again so he can take her for afternoon drives from time to time."

  His words doused me in sadness.

  "Why isn't Carlos working on it? I didn't even realize you knew anything about cars." I forced a tight grin.

  "Tsk, Tsk. All of us Italian boys know a thing or two about cars." He tilted his head a little. "You all right? Did I say something wrong?"

  "No. I was just thinking about how my dad promised my mom that they would start going for drives again soon." I moved over to see the forest-green car
sitting idle near the back of the garage. "That one was her favorite."

  "Then he does it to honor her." Daniel smiled.

  "I guess he does." I lifted my helmet. "I'm headed to Saint Mary's. I'll see you at the meeting at eight?"

  "You sure will, and just so you know, I'll be visiting with a few of the homeless guys tomorrow that live in the alley where your mother was found. D said he went over there the other day, but the guy he spoke with wasn't one that stays there all the time. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that we're on it."

  "I know you are. Thanks." I turned and pulled my helmet on as I walked toward my bike. The drive would do me good, as would the time alone in the cemetery.

  The sunset was beautiful as I moved the bike out into the yard and swung my leg over it. I'd almost made it to the front driveway when Demetri walked out the side door of the house and stopped in the middle of my path.

  I killed the engine and lifted the face plate on the helmet. "What's up?"

  "You want me to go with you? I could drive." He nodded toward my bike, and I chuckled.

  "You can't be serious."

  "As a heart attack." He pulled his black coat closer before zipping it up and stopping beside my bike. "Move back, and let me drive."

  "I hate you today." I looked up at him as my stomach constricted painfully.

  "I know. Move back." He waited patiently beside me as I mulled through whether or not I wanted him to take the few minutes I might get to myself hostage. "Let me go with you. I'll keep my distance."

  "And if I don't want you to?" I moved back and turned to watch the sunset.

  "We can talk about that too." He got on in front of me and reached back to grab my knees, using his grip to pull me forward until I was pressed against him. "I'm going to drive like hell, so hold on."

  "Bastard." I reached up and pulled my helmet off, tossing it into the yard before wrapping my arms tightly around him and pressing my cheek to his back. "I still hate you."

  "I know. I hate you too." He chuckled and turned the bike on, pulling out and fulfilling his promise to drive horribly. Whether it was to bleed out his own aggression or have me cling to him, I didn't care. I was happy for a reason to do it.