by Soraya Naomi
“Camilla Guillermo,” he stresses my surname, “you have the right to remain—who am I kidding? I don’t need to follow the rules; this is the damn mafia. You’re under arrest.” And he pushes me forward, toward the elevator.
Panic claws at me, but I hide it and fleetingly scan the hospital floor.
Where’s Adriano?
“Looking for your so-called husband?” Pillon asks derisively from behind me.
I glance back over my shoulder while walking slowly. “Adriano’s going to kill you.”
CHAPTER 48
Adriano
I pass my guards in the hallway as the nurse and I proceed through the doors to the nurses’ station where she hands me a pen and Cam’s release papers.
After signing them quickly, I’m ready to pick up Cam and take her home for the first time in five months, but then the nurse says, “Mr. Montesi, we have a sonogram for you and your wife at the OB/GYN nurses’ station on the tenth floor. Can you pick it up?”
“I’ll get it now.” I head toward the elevator, excited because that’s the perfect gift for Cam, along with the surprise I have waiting for her at home.
Within minutes, I’m back on Cam’s floor, but when the elevator slides open, all I see is chaos. Unease sets in just as a guard sends me a disappointed look.
“Where were you?” he says in a flustered tone.
“Why?” I barge down the hallway.
“Adriano, Cam’s been arrested. She was taken in by Pillon,” the guard announces, and I stop dead in my tracks, swinging around furiously.
“When?!”
“A few minutes ago.”
“I’m paying you a fortune to keep my wife safe, idiota! Did you contact Luca?” I shout and stalk back to the elevator.
“Yes, and Logan too,” he replies, shadowing me inside as we descend.
“Follow me to the police station,” I order and run into the parking lot, grabbing my car keys from my pocket and clicking the device to unlock my vehicle before I’ve reached it. Jumping inside, I drive out with screeching tires. The fear that left my system a month ago resurfaces with a vengeance. It’s time I settle these scores once and for all.
I call Logan when I’m forced to brake for crossing pedestrians.
“Adriano, where are you?” he asks, out of breath.
“On my way to the police station. I think we can guess what we’re stepping into. I’ll be backed into a corner because Pillon still has that tape hanging over my head. It’s time you contact Senator Tara Kaden, whose campaign I sponsored, and collect her debt. She needs to handle Pillon or...” I let the words trail off.
“Don’t do anything before I’ve contacted you,” Logan says in a rush. “Listen, I’ve been summoned to the CIA – this can’t be a coincidence that I was called in at the same time that Cam was arrested. Pillon might have allies, powerful allies. I’ll call Kaden afterwards, because I agree with you. We’re going to need more influential associates.”
“This is bad, Logan. If she’s booked and it goes on record, her life in the mafia is over. And if the media gets hold of this story, then my name will be ruined and my rule as boss will be over too.”
“Luca and Henry are handling the media. No one is aware of any investigation or our association with the Syndicate. Pillon is working on a top secret level. Just wait until I’ve called you after my meeting. I’m pulling into the parking lot now.”
“I can’t make any promises, Logan. I will not allow Cam to spend a second in jail,” I state with conviction and race to the police station.
I end the call and call Capo John, who’s at the warehouse where a few captives and Serena are still imprisoned.
“Adriano, what’s up?”
“We have trouble. Cam’s been arrested, and there might be an investigation into the Syndicate. As a precaution, I need you to end all the captives – Serena as well – bury their bodies, and remove any weapons and drugs from the building. Relocate the stash to a new, safe place and burn down everything else in that warehouse. Then destroy every other piece of evidence you can find. Contact Tez and have him clean up Club 7 right now.”
“Will do. I have a team of soldiers here with me. I can have everything taken care of within an hour,” he replies.
“Do it.” Without bothering to disconnect the call, I burst out of my car at the front entrance of the precinct.
“Pillon!” I yell as I stride past desks and several agents rise, but no one stops me in my manic path to his office.
“Adriano!” I hear Luca, who apparently arrived right after me, shouting from behind me, yet I’m too wound up to stop.
I want my wife with me!
Before I’ve even touched the knob, the door is pulled open by Pillon, who’s wearing a superior grin.
“Montesi—”
“Where’s Cam?” I throw open the door with fisted hands, and he steps aside.
The room is empty, much to my chagrin. I seize his expensive jacket, slamming him back against the wall. He grunts and holds up his palms.
But someone is tugging me off while I’m seeing red and spit in his face, “Where. Is. She?”
I’m pulled back by Luca and Carmine.
“You need to keep it cool,” Luca advises.
I reluctantly raise my hands in capitulation and shrug them off.
Pillon rights his jacket while none of the agents in the precinct intervene. I catch his façade wavering when a flash of uncertainty is revealed in his expression.
“This entire precinct is corrupt,” Pillon sneers at the men who aren’t interfering.
“So are you,” I counter. “Where’s Camilla? Tell me before I draw my gun, and trust me, I’m ready to take that risk.”
“She’s fine. In another room, waiting for you.”
“There better not be a scratch on her,” I warn.
“Sit down so we can negotiate.”
Having no other choice and no update from Logan, I sit down in front of his oak desk. Pillon slams a file on the desk, but I don’t flinch. Instead, I insolently lean back in the chair as a war rages inside me.
“I have a case against the Syndicate. And Camilla Guillermo—”
“Montesi,” I correct him.
He rests both palms on the bureau. “Fine, Camilla Montesi is part of the mafia. And the Syndicate held FBI agent Santino captive and killed him. Now, Yakiv Medlov has been tried and sentenced for that murder, but you and I know that trial was a joke. Either you or he”—he points to Luca standing behind me—“is pulling the strings behind this organization. Now, I’ve had to clear a lot of hurdles, but I still have that tape. You were very smart to help Kaden get voted into the Senate; she’s been trying to get me discredited constantly. But I’m always a step ahead, and I’m still the DA. I’m going to prosecute Camilla and expose Medlov’s trial for the joke it was. Then he’ll be released, and she’ll be convicted. Unless you give me something more valuable. There’s one thing I’m more interested in...”
He lets the insinuation linger and claims his seat behind his desk, although we all know what he’s implying. He wants to bring down the entire Syndicate and become known as the DA who bested the Italian-American mafia.
My nostrils flare from complete loss of control. The need to lay my eyes on Cam consumes me fully. This perpetual burden of figuring out how to keep my wife and baby safe is draining me. So that leaves me with one choice. The choice I didn’t want to make. But I’m backed into a corner, and there’s only one way out.
“Carmine, Luca, leave us,” I order with deadly calm, without looking at them.
“Adriano—” Luca starts to object.
“Go,” I insist and meet Luca’s troubled gaze.
He shakes his head once, pleading with me not to do what he knows my next step will be.
“Non puoi essere serio, non farlo.” You can’t be serious, don’t do this.
“Non me ne vado senza di lei, Luca. Non è un'opzione per me. Abbandoneresti Fallon?” I’m not leaving her
behind here, Luca. That’s not an option. Would you leave Fallon?
His lips thin into a hard line. “I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”
“Go!”
Begrudgingly, Carmine and Luca exit the room.
Pillon rears back in his chair and drums his fingers on the desk.
I make the only choice I can because my love for Cam doesn’t permit me to let her be charged. So I give myself up to save her. “I’ll give you something more valuable than her. I am the boss of this Syndicate. I can give you the names and hierarchy of the entire Chicago Syndicate.”
Pillon’s thick brows climb halfway up his forehead, then he narrows his eyes. “You’ll cooperate with me in building a case against your entire organization?”
“Yes.”
“How do I know you won’t kill me as soon as I release her?”
“If I could’ve killed you, I would’ve done so already. It’s over for me now. All I care about is saving her. The rest of the Syndicate may burn.”
“First, give me some names as insurance.” He fishes out his phone and clicks on his recorder. “Who is the underboss of the Syndicate?”
“No. I want the charges against Camilla dropped. She’s to be freed of any prosecution and not to be indicted.”
He hesitates but replies, “Fine.”
“Who is the underboss of the Chicago Syndicate?” Pillon repeats.
“Luca DeMiliano,” I answer.
“Who is the boss of the Chicago Syndicate?”
“I am, Adriano Montesi.” I lean forward and demand, “I want to see her, Pillon. All bets are off if I can’t see her.”
He’s quiet for a long time before he presses a button on the desk phone and instructs, “Release Mrs. Montesi and bring her in here.”
Time hangs heavy in the air while I wait with Pillon’s arrogant glare on me. The instant the door rasps, I lunge up and simmer with rage when Cam’s brought in with her hands cuffed behind her back.
“You fucking cuffed her?! Undo them.” I take Cam into my arms as an officer unlocks her restraints, and I rub her wrists. “Are you okay?” I stroke her stomach next, simply because touching her calms my nerves.
She nods and mutters, “What’s going on?”
“Give me a moment alone with her,” I say to Pillon while staring into Cam’s anxious eyes.
“Five minutes,” he replies before he steps out.
Her hand comes up to my face. “What did you do? What’s this about?”
Since time is pressing, I reveal, “The tape is still in his hands, Cam. I didn’t have choice.”
She furrows her delicate brows. “Did...did you give yourself up for me?”
“I had to, Cam.”
“No! No!” She shakes her head frantically, but I brace her cheeks.
“Calmati. I don’t want you to stress yourself or the baby. I had to give him me in exchange for you. I can handle jail, Cam. But I can’t live with myself if you have to stay here.”
“But this means you’ll be arrested? And publicly tied to the Syndicate? The media will be all over this. Your reign as boss will be over. What are you doing?”
“I’m protecting you, my wife, as I promised.”
Her bottom lip quivers, but she’s holding it together.
“Look, I don’t have much time. I need you to go home and take care of yourself and our baby. Let us handle this.” I press a hard kiss to her forehead as she embraces me tightly. “I will fight until my last breath to have that life we fought so hard for. It will happen for us. Fidati di me.” Trust me.
“Fate is always working against us,” she utters against my chest.
I force her gaze on me with both hands on her face. “I’m twisting fate so that our paths end up together. I will move heaven and earth to be with you.” And I kiss her with everything I have. “Now go home with Luca and promise me that you’ll stay there and won’t do anything stupid.”
“I promise. Don’t worry about me. I wouldn’t do anything to put our baby at risk. But I’m scared,” she confesses yet still stays tough, blinking away the dampness in her eyes to appease me.
A strong sense of pride for this irrepressible woman wells up inside of me, and I stroke the corners of her trembling mouth while my soul twists in enragement, knowing that I have to send my pregnant wife home alone.
Unfortunately, at that moment, Pillon rushes back into his office, clearly afraid I’m instructing Cam or that I have something up my sleeve, with Luca and Carmine in tow.
“Time’s up,” Pillon says. “I’m going to set everything up to get Adriano’s statement.”
“There’s no need to be scared,” I lie to Cam, because I can’t bear to see her in pain, right before Luca practically drags her out.
If Logan doesn’t have anything valuable for me after his CIA meeting, then this is the beginning of the end for the Syndicate. Then this is the end for me.
CHAPTER 49
Camilla
I’m supposed to arrive home with my husband by my side. Sadly, nothing ever goes as planned in our messy lives. With much effort, I try to stay calm while anxiety wants me to break out in tears. But I fight the urge to cry – crying won’t help me. All I want is some normalcy now that I’m pregnant.
Adriano’s parting words were said with such a devastatingly painful, yet lovely, undertone that I cling to them.
Fidati di me. Trust me.
I wrap my arms around my middle as Fallon and Luca accompany me inside while Luca is barking orders into his phone, which is on speaker.
“Henry, I need you to work faster and get access to Pillon’s laptop or whatever system he’s working with. I can’t keep this quiet from the media much longer – people will discover that Adriano’s at the precinct. And once Adriano’s name is linked to the Syndicate, it’s over and done with for him!”
“Every computer in the city is working for me to encrypt data, Luca. I’m doing all the magic I can, man.”
Meanwhile, all I hear is the echo of my own breathing in the vast expanse of our loft. I trace my palm over the kitchen bar, reacquainting myself with the home that houses my happiest memories. The place my love for Adriano grew and evolved. The place where we’ll have our first child. But what if it all gets taken from me? Every time I think we’ve made it, something happens to obstruct our love.
“I’m going upstairs to wash my face,” I comment and head up the floating stairs to our master suite, but I stop and my hand flies to my mouth when I observe our bedroom.
Adriano has filled it with dozens of brightly-colored floral bouquets. And hanging above our bed is a framed enlarged black and white photo of Adriano and me. I’m standing with my back pressed against Adriano’s chest in James’s dining room with my eyes downcast while Adriano is gazing at me with a look of absolute love and a hint of a wolfish grin. And there’s an inscription painted on the wall next to the frame: Il mio angelo. Il tuo diavolo. My angel. Your devil.
The tears I’ve been trying to choke back fall freely as I wander through the gorgeous array of flowers toward the king-size bed.
“I took that picture,” Fallon says softly as she comes up to me. “Why did he write that?” She points her chin to the letters on the wall.
“It ties in with our wedding ring inscription,” I explain and swipe my tears away with the back of my hand.
“Don’t cry, Cam. He’ll fix this, somehow. I know he will.” She takes my hand in hers as a show of support. “You know, I read somewhere that the true measure of a man is how he treats you when you’re alone together. And Adriano was with you every single day for four months when you were in that coma. He did everything to hold on to you. Now, you do the same. He will not go to jail.”
Although I’ve vowed not to worry, that’s impossible, and I need some information to pacify my rampant emotions. “How? He’s given himself up, which means he’s probably giving a statement right now that he’s the boss of the Chicago Syndicate, only to ensure that I don’t get charged becau
se of that damn tape!”
Both of our gazes whip to the staircase when Luca intrudes. “Adriano’s just stalling for now until we get more information from Logan, Cam. That’s the status. Logan was called in to the CIA when you were arrested, and we’re waiting to hear from him before Adriano can make his next move. That’s why you need to trust us. And we better pray that Logan has some positive news.” He pauses before adding, “Or else it’s over for all of us.”
CHAPTER 50
Logan
The CIA office is suspiciously deserted, and a few men in black suits guard my superior’s door. To my surprise, the lovely, dark-haired Senator Tara Kaden is waiting for me with a mischievous smile on her face.
“Where’s Cooper?” I ask, seeing that she’s alone. Usually, Cooper is the only one who summons me.
“Cooper has been terminated,” she responds coldly. “I messaged you from his phone. Take a seat, Mr. Wade. I have a proposition for you. A very lucrative proposition.”
“I’m kind of in a hurry, so—”
“I know that Camilla Montesi was arrested by the DA and that Adriano Montesi is at the precinct now, probably giving himself up. I can help you.”
With that statement, she has my full attention.
I sit down as she rests her hip against the desk and begins, “We have a common enemy in the DA. Pillon’s meddling in business he should have no involvement in, starting with Yakiv Medlov, who’s the subject of a political tug-of-war. Senator Wallace was supposed to handle that, but he didn’t, so he’s been taken care of as well. But now, Medlov has been sentenced when he should’ve been terminated. To make matters worse, Pillon is apparently seeking to free Medlov to build a case against one of the most powerful mafias in the state. A mafia that you are part of. Pillon has been locating the kidnapped girls that were found on Medlov’s estate, and they’re starting to talk in exchange for money. Medlov is a threat to this administration that I can’t have. So, I can make the DA back off and handle those girls, but I need you to help me with Medlov.”
“Help you do what?”
“Make him disappear; make every part of that empire disappear as if it never existed.”
