Love and War

by Jackie Chanel

  “What do you mean, it’s not your place? Why do I need to talk to her? What’s going on?”

  “Just talk to your mother, son. In the meantime, Paolo’s in charge. He and Poleski are going to be taking care of everything. I signed some of the businesses and most of the accounts over to the two of you. All you gotta do is put your John Hancock on whatever the attorneys give you. Don’t give them any shit because they’re operating on my instructions. Is that clear?”

  Nico nodded, but Caprice didn’t. Instead, she looked over at Paolo. He was smiling like a cat with a bowl full of cream. She did not like what her father was saying one bit.

  “And,” Domani continued, “I want the two of you in Atlantic City A-fuckin’-SAP, you understand?”

  Caprice wrinkled her nose. “I am not living in Jersey. I’ll go to California before I move to Jersey.”

  “Get your nose out of the air, girl, and listen to your father,” Paolo ordered. His voice had taken on a new tone, like he had absorbed some of Domani’s power. Caprice sensed that Paolo had been waiting on this moment for a long ass time.

  “Pops, what’s the deal with Atlantic City?” Nico asked. “You keep mentioning it, but you haven’t said anything about what’s going on there in months.”

  Domani grinned. “I had to be sure I could really make it happen. We tried some things out in Reno on a smaller scale and they worked. Now we’re trying it in Atlantic City, and you two are the owners of what is going to be the biggest casino in Atlantic City. We’re going to make millions!”

  Caprice frowned. “Aren’t we already making millions? What’s so special about this?”

  “This is totally legit, that’s what’s so special about this,” Domani explained. “I got a great syndicate of investors and we broke ground on The Capri Hotel & Casino last month.”

  While Domani smiled eagerly, Caprice and Nico exchanged weary looks. Neither one of them wanted anything to do with a casino in Jersey. Now if he had said Vegas, it would have been a different story. Atlantic City was chump change and the two them had no idea what they were getting into.

  “Pops,” Nico argued, “what the hell do me and the little sis here know about running a casino?”

  “There’s a lady in Jersey…close friend of mine named Pamela. She’s gonna teach you everything you need to know. She’s expectin’ you both to be settled in and ready to work in two months. Capiche?”

  Caprice glanced at her brother. He definitely was less thrilled about the prospect of uprooting his wife and moving to Jersey. Plus his father was leaving the country and his mother had bad news to tell him. Nico was an enforcer, not a business man, but Caprice saw a silver lining.

  Not only had her father handed over a multimillion dollar business to her, she was going back up north on his orders. She and Nico could take care of the Black Diamond Mafia and be in Jersey in time to meet up with Pamela.

  This was her chance to prove to everyone that she could be the boss. This was her chance to show the world that the Bonatelli Family could do more than control the drug trade or extort businesses out of money. They could be legit. They could be the new Rockefellers. This was her chance to finally have the power that she craved. She wasn’t going to let her father down.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mahogany wasn’t happy when Caprice announced that she was moving to New Jersey. However, the idea that her daughter was going to oversee the construction of a multimillion dollar casino and actually put her business degree to use helped calm her nerves. She had even helped Caprice look for a place to live.

  Grateful didn’t fully convey how Caprice felt about her mother stepping in and finding an apartment. Caprice allowed Mahogany complete control over that project, including flying to Atlantic City to view and eventually furnish her daughter’s new living space. According to Rocco, Domani, and her physical therapist, Caprice needed to focus solely on regaining strength in her arms and legs once her casts were removed.

  The last two months had been a whirlwind, but it was finally time for Caprice and Nico to make the move to Atlantic City and say goodbye to their father. During the flight from Miami to New York, Caprice was a little nervous and sad. She didn’t want to see her father go, especially when there was no return date set. She still felt like he’d just come into her life and now he was leaving for an unspecified amount of time. If she was having a hard time dealing with it, Lord only knew how Nico had handled his goodbye.

  His father was leaving the country in less than two hours, and his mother was leaving his father after twenty-seven years of marriage. Caprice spent hours thanking the Lord that she didn’t have to witness that scene between Nico and Domani. When she had spoken to her brother, he was an emotional wreck. She couldn’t deal with his emotions and hers too.

  Domani’s Mercedes was parked outside of JFK Airport when Caprice stepped outside carrying her overnight bag and dragging the biggest suitcase she could manage on her own. Although she wasn’t surprised to see her father behind the wheel, she was surprised to see that he was alone. She had been expecting Rocco or Paolo to be with him.

  After he put her bags in the trunk, Domani waited until they were on the expressway before taking a long look at his daughter. In her designer sunglasses and expensive clothes, Caprice definitely looked the part of a young casino owner. He smiled as he recalled pictures of his own mother in her youth. Caprice was the spitting image of the first woman Domani had ever loved.

  Caprice had recovered beautifully from her injuries. She had a thin scar on the bridge of her nose from where Keisha’s rings had cut her. Other than that little scar, she didn’t have any visible indications that a mere three months ago, she had been in a fight for her life.

  Domani worried about the emotional damage a fight like that caused. What his daughter had gone through was psychologically damaging. That type of pain caused emotional damage that could change a person for life. It was the kind of damage that he wasn’t going to be around to fix.

  “How are you doing, my dear,” Domani finally spoke.

  “Fine,” was Caprice’s short reply. “Where are we going?”

  “East Hampton. I can’t risk flying out of a public airport. Not with TSA and all that other shit.”

  “You’re flying private to Greece? Must be nice,” Caprice mumbled.

  “I got a pilot friend that owes me a favor,” Domani explained. “Over the next few months, Pamela is going to bring you around many of my friends and associates. They all owe me favors.”

  “Good to know,” Caprice said absently. She was distracted by her iPhone, to the point that her father was tempted to snatch it and toss it out of the window.

  “Caprice, you’re not listening to me. I’m trying to teach you something. There’s a lesson there.”

  “What kind of lesson?”

  “You’ll soon see what I do every day. People will come to you needing things, just like they come to me, Paolo, and your great-grandfather. Never do anything for free, but your fee doesn’t always have to be money. When someone says “I owe you” or you tell them “You owe me one”, it’s your job to make them understand that you mean it. And when you need something, call in your favor. Got it?”

  “Got it, Dad.”

  “I’m serious, Caprice.”

  “I know, and I’m listening.”

  But she wasn’t and they both knew it. Caprice was different from Nico. Nico listened intently and absorbed everything his father taught him. The reason why Nico was so good at his job was because of what he learned from his father. When Domani worked for Gianni, he had the same job as Nico. He kept people in line and enforced the Bonatelli rules and regulations.

  Caprice…Domani had no idea how she was going to turn out. From where he stood, she pretended to be tough or she actually thought she was tough, he couldn’t tell the difference. Yet, at the end of the day, she was just Daddy’s little girl who wanted to wear cute clothes and makeup. She wanted to giggle and joke with her friends about boys. Despite
everything she’d seen in the past four years, there was still some innocence in her twenty-two year old mind.

  However, she was smart. She had the same business instincts as some of the best businessmen he’d ever met. She’d built her cosmetics company from the ground up when she was sixteen years old and it was still a thriving business. She knew how to apply real world business models to the illegal shit they were doing. Caprice Bonatelli had a brilliant business mind and he couldn’t wait to see what she did with her casino and hotel.

  “What are you doing on that phone?” Domani barked. “Do you ever put that thing down?”

  “Not if I can help it,” Caprice replied and kept scrolling. “And I’m chatting with my friends.”

  “Why not just call them?”

  “I prefer it this way,” she replied.

  A few moments of silence passed. Eventually, Domani couldn’t stand it and ordered Caprice to put her phone away.

  “Rocco came to me,” Domani announced when Caprice wouldn’t put her phone down.

  She immediately dropped the slim phone into her bag and looked at her father.

  “What?”

  Domani stared forward at the highway ahead of him and nodded his head. After Rocco’s father, Marco, was locked up, Domani had stepped in and taken care of the boy. Rocco was only thirteen at the time, the same as Nico, but it would be another two years before Nico joined the family business. In the meantime, Domani had taught Rocco everything he knew.

  So when Rocco declared that he was in love with Caprice and wanted to marry her, Domani was floored. Rocco knew better than to get heavily involved with the Boss’s daughter. Caprice should have been off limits. Normally, Domani would have choked the living shit out of any guy who approached him about his daughter; however he made an exception for Rocco.

  Rocco was a good match for Caprice. In Domani’s absence, he would protect and care for her. After she accepted his proposal, Domani would throw them the biggest, most lavish wedding the Greek Isles had ever seen.

  “Why? What did he say?” Caprice stammered.

  “He asked for my consent for the two of you to be married. He says he loves you.”

  Caprice ran her hands through her hair and fidgeted in her seat. “Oh God! Why would he do that? We’ve never talked about marriage! What did you say?”

  “I love Rocco like he’s my own,” Domani answered. “I think he’s good for you. I said yes.”

  “Why?” Caprice shouted. “I’m twenty-two, Daddy! I don’t want to get married yet. Who the hell gets married at twenty-two?”

  “Lots of girls get married young, Caprice. You’ve graduated from college and I’ve practically gift wrapped your career. You should get married.”

  “What part of I don’t want to get married are you not hearing?” Caprice snapped. “This is the worst idea ever! You’re supposed to be sending me to Atlantic City, not on my honeymoon!”

  “I think this would be a good thing for you,” Domani stated. “Paolo isn’t going to need him in the city for awhile. Like it or not, you’re going to need some muscle up there in Jersey. You and Nico are going to be very busy until The Capri is up and running.”

  Caprice sighed in frustration. Marrying Rocco was definitely not in her five year plan. Hell, it wasn’t even in her ten year plan. Why couldn’t they just date and have lots of sex? Why did all roads have to lead to the altar?

  “Dad, to be honest with you, I don’t think that what Rocco and I have is that serious. It’s definitely not ‘let’s get married’ serious. I just graduated. I’m about to start a new life in a new place. Don’t you think I should be testing the waters…keeping my options open, ya know?”

  “You’re the same age as your sister-in-law and she married Nico right after she finished high school. Maria and Nico are going to start having babies soon. I expect you to do the same. And don’t scowl at me like that. Thirty years ago, I would have married you off at sixteen, kiddo.”

  Caprice raised her shades and frowned at her father. “Thank God we don’t live in the stone age anymore. If you had tried to marry me off at sixteen, I would have run away. Can we talk about something else, please?”

  “Sure we can. I just don’t want you to dismiss this Rocco situation. The kid loves you and you need him. You have to stop thinking with your emotions and your heart. You need to think with your brain. Marrying Rocco is a logical decision. It’s good for the family. Think about it.”

  “Fine,” Caprice huffed. “I’ll think about it.”

  Normally, she wouldn’t back down from that argument but she wanted Domani to forget about her marrying anyone. If she stopped talking about it, then so would he.

  “Open the glove box,” Domani ordered. “I got a little gift in there for you and your brother.”

  Thinking it was something incredibly special, like more diamonds, Caprice quickly opened the glove compartment. She was disappointed to see that it was empty except for two shiny new cell phones. Caprice held one in her hand. It was slightly heavier than her iPhone, but it didn’t look like any phone she’d ever seen.

  “What is this?”

  “New phones for you and Nico.”

  “We needed new phones? Where did you get these from, Dad? They look like some sort of secret weapon.”

  Domani chuckled. “For now, they are going to be our secret weapon. Some guy in the Justice Department owed me a favor. These phones are the latest technology…prototypes for the CIA or some fancy shit like that.”

  “Wow,” Caprice said in awe. “CIA phones. What can they do?”

  “Doesn’t matter and don’t you go tryin’ to figure it out,” Domani replied. “All you need to know is that they are encrypted and untraceable. These are the only phones that you and Nico will be able to reach me on, understand? Don’t call me from any other phone, Caprice, or we’re all going to jail. Do you understand how serious I am?”

  “Yes.”

  “And get another phone too. The phone you conduct business on should not be the same one you giggle with your girlfriends on or play around on Facebook.”

  Caprice looked at her father. “You really expect me to carry three phones? Seriously?”

  “Quit it with the ‘seriously’ bullshit,” Domani demanded. “I’m always serious. And yes, you need three phones, if you’re going to talk on phones. I don’t use them.”

  “Which is so lame,” Caprice countered. “I’m not going to be driving to New York every time Paolo wants to talk to me. I’ll get another phone.”

  Domani pulled his Mercedes into the circular drive of his East Hampton estate and cut the engine. He took a long look at the sprawling ranch hone and sighed. Although she hadn’t been back, Caprice remembered the estate well. It was where she met her father and his side of the family. Judging from the way Domani was gazing at the house, the sight of it was bringing back fond memories.

  “Gabriella says she wants to keep this house,” Domani stated. “She thinks the Staten Island house isn’t enough. But this is your house, Caprice. It has always been. I was gonna surprise you with it as a wedding gift, but since my soon-to-be ex-wife wants it, I think you should know that the deed is in your name. You can decide if you want that conniving bitch to stay here or not.”

  If Nico was upset by his parents’ breakup, Domani was downright pissed that Gabriella was walking out on their marriage. She knew the man she was marrying when she walked down the aisle twenty-seven years ago. She knew the business, but as soon as the situation got tough, she wanted to walk away. Domani had always ensured her safety and never denied her anything that she wanted.

  It was Gabriella who refused to bear him another child after she found out about Mahogany and Caprice. For years, she made him feel ashamed at what he’d done. She used his guilt to her advantage. Now she was leaving him to be with the plastic surgeon who’d done her tits a few years ago. If Domani hadn’t been certain that he would be the number one suspect in her death, he would have had her taken care of four years ago
when he found out about her affair.

  “Dad,” Caprice interrupted his thoughts. “What are we doing here?”

  “Georgie will be here in a half hour to take me to the airstrip, and there are a couple of things I still need you to understand before I leave. This is as good a place to talk as any.”

  “What things?” Caprice asked.

  “First, promise me that you’ll look after your brother. You gotta watch his back, Caprice.”

  Caprice laughed. The idea that she wouldn’t have her brother’s back was absurd. She always did, no matter what.

  “I always do. We don’t have to talk about that.”

  “Yes we do. You gotta make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. I don’t want him going after Aries and gettin’ himself killed. When people find out that I’ve left, shit is going to be crazy in New York. I don’t want either of you there. Paolo has a good bunch of guys. He won’t need you two. But,” Domani smiled at the funny thought that had just entered his head. “Paolo’s an old man. He’s from the old school and has a very archaic idea of what our business should be and what types of business opportunities we should take advantage of.”

  “Is that why you let him keep his whorehouses and back of the club gambling spots? Because he’s old?”

  “Yes,” Domani nodded. “And if you know any better, you won’t bother him. Let him have his number running and whores. He’s an old school wise guy and you are to do whatever he says. You will report in to him every week. You and Nico. Keep him abreast of what’s going on in Atlantic City. If he has questions, he’ll ask the lawyers. Paolo is in charge until I get back so you damn well better treat him with the same respect that you give me.”

  “That’s so lame,” Caprice muttered. “The man is ancient. He can’t even keep his whores in line.”

  “I don’t care what you think!” Domani barked. “You need to understand how this all works. No one is really the boss here. Not while Fausto Bonatelli still breathes. Your great-grandfather still calls the shots.”