by Soraya Naomi
Luca, who’s apparently also pondering Santino, asks, “What do you think about her wish to help Santino? Didn’t we meet him at Club 7 the first time we saw Sal?”
“She’s holding something back. I can guarantee that; I know her. And we did meet Santino at Club 7. He’s the one who told us she worked at the fight club.”
“Her story was...” He searches for words. “...horrible.”
“It was. But I think more happened with Santino. I wonder if it crossed her mind that she was addicted to the drugs we supply that club.”
“That was also my thought when James started to explain who we are.” Luca brakes suddenly when the car in front of us stops abruptly. “I bet you and James have a lot to discuss. I predict he’ll turn to you to exact revenge.”
“We’ll see,” I say distractedly as we pass Cam’s favorite Italian restaurant in the Loop. “I need to find out the entire story.”
“Fish for more information; she trusts you the most out of any of us.”
After a silence where Luca’s watching the road with icy green eyes, I know he wants to ask what happened at the strip club with Damian and Cam.
I brace my neck, rubbing the tension. “Don’t start.”
“No can do, amico.” He switches lanes. “What happened to make you go off on Damian?”
“She slept with him.”
He faces me for a second and then turns his attention back to the road. “When?”
“I don’t know any details. I heard about it yesterday.”
“I see... And clearly you haven’t dealt with this yet?”
“How do I deal with it? I fucking hate it and want to punch Damian’s face repeatedly. And the thing is, I can’t really be mad at Cam because I never gave her an ounce of commitment. But still, she shouldn’t have.”
“Didn’t you fuck around too?” Luca chides with a smirk.
“You all assume I just fucked around with everyone.”
“Didn’t you? You did before you met Cam.”
“I didn’t,” I defend. “Not while she was in my life.”
“You were always flirting, saying things,” Luca explains without judgment.
“When I say those things, I’m joking around. You take me way too seriously. That’s just harmless flirting. I never slept with anyone else while Cam worked for us.”
“I believe you. I just never understood the nature of your relationship with Cam. Look, I’d be angry too, but make sure you get the whole story or, at least, get your facts straight before you accuse anyone. Apart from that, what’s your plan with her? James is already displeased with how much she relies on you. He’ll never accept her being with his Capo.” He glances at me expressively. “I’m not so sure I like it either. You heard her story; she’s resilient, yes, but also damaged. She needs to rebuild her life, heal. She’s our family now. Our responsibility. And you will treat her with respect.”
Someone’s overprotective. I lift a brow and look at him.
“We have to take care of her. As a family,” he emphasizes. “Are you ready to give up everything to pursue her?”
“No,” I answer honestly.
“Then talk to her. Both of you speak your mind and then make her focus on rebuilding her life. She’s obviously not aware of the fact that it’s against the rules for a Capo to date a family member against the boss’s wishes.”
We round the corner of the street, to the skyscraper where Security Simplicity rents a floor.
“No, she isn’t aware of it. She needs some time to grasp everything. A lot of information is coming at her right now. If I break the truth to her, I’ll hurt her. And with my current frame of mind, I’ll hurt her badly, and I don’t want that. Well, I do a little because she slept with Damian.”
“You don’t want her, but you don’t want anyone else to want her either,” Luca accuses.
I snort because he’s wrong. “I want her. Trust me, I want her. That’s the problem here.”
“Think with your head and not with your dick,” he says blandly.
“That’s difficult when it comes to Cam.”
“Give it a try,” he throws back as he puts the car in park in his designated spot. “Now let’s hear what Jeffrey has to say. Then we’ll meet James and Salvatore again to form a plan about how to handle Fat Sal.”
***
The three directors are all present when we arrive at the meeting.
Luca and I, impatient as always, demand to know the status of the financial health of our company.
“What did you find, Jeffrey? Luca is up to date,” I inform as Luca and I both sit down across from the three men.
“One point seven million in total is unaccounted for in the last four weeks,” he replies with remorse.
“How did this go unnoticed until now?” Luca’s tone is unruffled while my blood is already overheating about this major screw up.
Jeffrey stands his ground under our glares. “I traced it back to six digital amounts you announced, which were processed in the books, but the drug money never came in to Finance. One million was supposed to come in last weekend – that’s why Accounting only noticed it now. We always have a delay because you have me draw up papers in advance of your actual deals. Just the one million is actually missing right now since the remaining seven hundred thousand will come in in the next two weeks.”
Our cash line is simple. Luca and I know what our drug profits are monthly, and we get a cut of that cash from Salvatore to invest into Security Simplicity – fake orders and contracts are drawn up to liquidate the Syndicate’s drug money into the legal money of this company.
Luca and I share a speaking glance. We’ll have to discuss this with Consigliere Salvatore and the Capi, who handle the physical transportation of the money.
“Are those the numbers?” I point to the manila envelope on the table.
“Yes.”
I slide it toward me with my finger on the edge. “The only hard copy?”
“Yes.”
He knows we only allow one hard copy of these kinds of reports. We read it, discuss it, and shred it. We never leave paper trails with any data that can be traced back to the Syndicate.
“No one knows except us five?” Luca asks.
“Only we know,” Jeffrey confirms.
“Continue as usual,” I order, wanting to leave right away to contact Salvatore for an explanation. “Luca or I will keep you updated when needed, and any more inconsistencies are to be reported to one of us.”
All three men nod before Luca and I return to the car.
“Contact Salvatore to meet us at Francitalia within an hour. I’m calling James,” Luca instructs as he holds his phone against his ear.
***
We set up a meeting at Francitalia, a restaurant in the Loop that’s owned by an associate of the Syndicate. We can convene there safely. It’s one of our secure places in Chicago, because we can’t always meet in the middle of the day at headquarters – we don’t want to keep driving up north all the time.
James and Salvatore arrive half an hour after us. Settled at a table near the window with the bright sunlight almost blinding us, we cut to the chase.
James starts with his most pressing matter, “Camilla is my first concern now. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I want to know everything about Club 7. This will be dealt with according to Syndicate rules. My daughter has been violated.” He’s focused mostly on me while he voices his animosity.
“Apart from Cam, we have other problems.” Luca removes his suit jacket.
And I add, “Our update isn’t good news.”
Then Luca continues, “One point seven million dollars in cash never made it to Security Simplicity. Salvatore, Jeffrey said one million was supposed to come in last weekend?”
He appears surprised. “I don’t have any inconsistencies in my books nor have I heard anything from any soldier or Capi. How’s this possible?”
“I haven’t had any problems reported to me either,” I in
form them.
“What exactly did Jeffrey say?” Salvatore asks.
Luca throws the folded envelope onto the table. “He didn’t have to say much. There’s the proof. The money never reached SS.”
“You need to check the numbers and find out which deals it involved so that you can give me names of the soldiers we need to question,” I explain.
Salvatore takes the envelope. “I’ll do it right after I’ve taken care of Camilla’s papers.”
“Good,” James says to Salvatore. “Call Luca and Adriano the second you have the names.” He then addresses us, “What are you going to do about Sal’s first soldier that we have captive in the warehouse?”
“I still want to interrogate him about Cam. Let’s see if the stories match up. Although I believe Cam has been forthcoming about it, it’s still good to verify,” I state, without revealing to James my suspicions regarding the Santino aspects.
“Especially now, since we obviously have enough other problems,” Luca finishes. “It works in our favor that Sal doesn’t have his first soldier, and he’s probably torturing his own bodyguard, Santino – if he’s not already dead. At least Sal’s vulnerable. Until we figure out his interest in us, we still have the upper hand.”
“That’s true,” James agrees and meets my eyes. “I’m unsure what to do about Cam’s desire to help this Santino.”
“She won’t let it go,” I forewarn.
“For now, I’ll stall her. I’m not doing anything until I know more about this guy.” James checks the time on his watch. “I have to leave. I’ll see you all later. Salvatore, I expect names of soldiers tonight.”
And we go our separate ways.
***
Luca and I stand before Christopher inside one of the cells in the warehouse.
We left him in here, standing up and cuffed to the overhead bar that hangs from wall to wall, since last night. The cut on his hand has been sheathed in gauze, and Damian gave him water and food. Luca’s given Damian orders elsewhere, knowing I’ll kill him if I see him before I’ve found some tranquility in my intrinsic storm.
In a rush because we have to attend dinner tonight at James and Alessa’s house in Lincoln Park, I demand, “What do you know about the time that Camilla worked at the fight club?”
Sweat covers his temples, and he has trouble holding his head up while Luca and I stand patiently next to each other, and he says nothing.
I turn to Luca and comment cynically, “We really don’t have time for this.”
Luca looks to Christopher and shakes his head.
We take a step back, then I reach for my handgun from my ankle holster and point it at his dick.
Christopher struggles and protests, “I’m a first soldier! You can’t shoot me.”
“I can do whatever I want. I’m the Chicago Syndicate,” I retort and grin when I see him freeze in recognition of our organization. “I’ll let you go if you give me answers about Camilla. That’s all I’m interested in.”
His labored breath becomes more restless. “What do you want to know?”
“How long was she in the fight club?” I ask and hold back my gun, weapon averted from him.
“A couple of months,” he replies tersely.
“Why was she there?”
“I’m sure you know.” He hangs more and more from the bar for support.
This is a strong soldier. He’s holding up well under duress.
“I want to hear it from you,” I say as Luca removes his phone from his pocket and slides a finger across the screen.
“She was held there by Sal.”
“And?” I aim the semi-automatic at him again, covering the slide on top with my hand and showing my teeth.
“She was used. She was a slave, and then she escaped.” The words tumble out.
“How did she escape?”
“With...the help of a bodyguard.”
“His name?” I ask.
“Santino.”
“How exactly did Santino help her? I want the details.”
“She seduced him,” he answers.
Luca and I can’t help but glance at one another, and stashing his phone, he’s instantly focused back to the matter at hand. It was probably Fallon.
“How?” Luca asks, moving next to me.
“They were lovers. Santino betrayed Sal. She turned Sal’s best guard against him.” He’s struggling to keep a steady voice but manages well.
The tempest brewing violently in my stomach since yesterday’s revelation about Cam and Damian erupts. My body stiffens, barely under control. Is he telling the truth? Is she in love with Santino? This is not good for my sanity.
Luca takes over the interrogation when he observes my severe reaction.
“Is Santino alive?” Luca speaks.
I’m drowning in questions, realizing how little Cam and I actually knew one another. Within one day, she went from a person who, at one point, was a close friend, to a complete stranger. A wave of jealousy pierces me, and my complete astonishment even manages to dampen my fury.
“He’s alive,” Christopher answers.
“Adriano.”
Who is Camilla Guillermo? She’s a mystery. She’s up to something, and this entire past of hers is not sitting well with me.
“Adriano...Adriano!” Luca shouts.
I stash my gun in the back of my pants and charge out of the cell, out of the warehouse to try to regain some composure because this is unbearable.
I grab my pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment. Leaning back against the car, I flick open my lighter with one hand, ignite my cig, and pull in a heavy breath.
Who the hell is Cam? And why am I obsessed with her? All reason has left my body since yesterday, and everything from the last two years flies through my mind.
Luca, looking apprehensive, joins me.
“I’m going to talk to her,” I say calmly, with much effort, while taking another draw.
“Is that such a good idea? You’re awfully wound up.” He pauses and rubs his jaw. “We don’t know if what he says is true. However, it would explain why she’s concerned for Santino.”
Smoke drifts up between us, and I cock my head. “You think she’s in love with him?”
Luca throws up his hands in exasperation. “That’s what you’re worried about? What about the fact that she might be lying to us? That if she is lying, she’s a damn good actress. Then there’s the fact that she’s James’s daughter, so he’s not being objective. Then I have you, who’s also clearly being led by his balls. You two do need to talk, but you need to reel it in first or else it’ll become a mess.”
“I’ll try.” I point my cig toward the warehouse. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. I just left him hanging from the bar in the same position. We’ll discuss with James how to handle him. You get every piece of information you can from Cam.”
Finishing the last drag, I flick the butt away with my thumb. “I can’t guarantee you that I’ll get everything out of her.” Let’s just hope that it at least happens without any casualties.
Luca comments, “Let’s go to Lincoln Park. We’re already late, and it’ll take us at least twenty minutes to get there. Maybe it’s best that you keep your distance from Cam during dinner because James already senses the strain between you two. And I’m afraid you might explode at an ill-timed moment.”
CHAPTER 17
Camilla
James’s house is a huge mansion. David drives us straight past perfectly trimmed hedges toward the entrance. The place resembles a palace with an entire flight of stairs that lead to massive wooden doors.
“How well do you know Alessa and James?” I ask Fallon, who’s nudging her e-reader into her purse.
“Not well. I rarely see them. I saw Alessa for the second time at my wedding last week. She’s nice though, very sweet. And you’ll fit right in.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” she mumbles, favorably pleased, and rights
her emerald dress that hangs off one shoulder as the car pulls to a stop. “Ready to meet your family?”
I start to play with my earring. “I’m slightly nervous, but the good kind of nervous. Before we go in, thank you for today. I feel much better wearing new, clean clothes and being able to buy and use all my own lotions.”
“It was my pleasure. You know, you can always count on me. Now we need to get you and Adriano alone somehow.” Her eyes gleam with mischief.
“I’m not so sure I’ll ever be ready to talk to him, so I guess I’ll just have to do it and get it over with,” I admit honestly. “Let’s just wait to see what mood he’s in because so far, he hasn’t been very nice to me. He’s conflicted in his actions and words, saying one thing and then doing another.”
“And that’s why you two need to discuss Damian. Tell him what you told me,” she urges and peeks through the window. “We have to go inside.”
I get out of the car feeling much cleaner and better than in months. We went to the hairdresser, and I’ve had my hair cut into a curved bob that ends just below my earlobes. And I’m glad to have my old, stylish haircut back. My wide-flowing, purple ankle-length skirt rustles in the wind as we climb the stairs, but it’s not cold at all. Summer is just around the corner, so I’ve topped my skirt with a skintight, white long-sleeve shirt.
We’re welcomed into a large foyer with twin curving marble stairs and a crystal chandelier illuminating the home.
A tall, slender woman hurries down the hall from a sunken living room.
And James comes up to us from the right. He’s not wearing his customary suit jacket but still radiates authority. “Camilla, this is Alessa.”
“Camilla, I’m so happy to meet you.” She’s stunning with sleek, black hair and wearing an elegant long dress.
She embraces me, making me feel a bit cramped, but I ignore it and return her hug. “Nice to meet you too.”
Meanwhile, more people have arrived, and Fallon stays right next to me for support.
“They’re all tall and beautiful. Just like you. Told you you’d fit in,” she utters.
“This is Rosalia.” Alessa moves away and an almost exact copy of her, only younger, appears.
