I swatted at his chest. “Mateo Emiliano, is that all you think about?”
His hands gripped my thighs. “When you’re in my lap? Yes, beautiful.”
I blushed, but it didn’t distract me from my message. “I overheard Lorenzo doing a lot of talking while I was in his house. And you need to know that he’s preparing something massive. He knew that your alliance with him was a joke, but he went along with it to lure you into a trap.”
“Do you know what kind of trap?”
I shook my head. “I tried to find out, but that’s when I found all of that documentation proving that he’s working with my mother. Lorenzo has some sort of defunct, dusty office space where he keeps boxes and boxes of files.”
“Good to know.”
I cupped his cheeks. “You need to be careful. Lorenzo’s plan is to strike when absolutely everyone is weak. And I know for a fact that he’s already trying to make bargains with people.”
He narrowed his eyes. “How so?”
I kissed his lips softly. “When Rosana got into the house—and she sedated your head of security, by the way—she told me that Lorenzo agreed to marry her if she killed me.”
“Well, I suppose that bet’s off,” he murmured.
“Still, it shows us Lorenzo’s moves.”
“She could’ve been lying to you.”
I cocked my head. “And if she isn’t?”
He paused for a while before he picked me up into his arms. “Come, I’ll help you pack. And in the meantime, you can tell me everything you overheard—word for word—at Lorenzo’s.”
And while my heart was happy to be going home, I knew my soul would miss it here. With Teo, in his bed, with his fingertips stroking my skin.
Maybe after this is all done, we can really be together.
If our plan didn’t get us killed first.
22
Charlotte
Mateo took my hand. “It’s just one meeting.”
I sighed as I pulled away from him. “I know what you’re doing, and the answer is ‘no’.”
He spun me around against his body. “You’re going home either way today. But, what I’d like is for my confidante and my lawyer to be present at a meeting. That’s all.”
I peeked up at him. “We have to leave promptly at three.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“I will walk out of that meeting right at three if it isn’t done.”
He grinned. “That, I know as well.”
I licked my lips. “Okay. Fine. I’ll sit in on the meeting, then.”
He kissed my forehead. “Perfect. Gather your things and put them in the car. We leave in fifteen.”
I blinked. “Wait, the meeting isn’t taking place here?”
I watched as Mateo walked off and started barking orders at men who lugged my stuff down from the apartment I used to dwell in. Over the past few days, I’d been sleeping with Teo in his bedroom, and I had to admit that it felt nice. Feeling his arms wrapped around me first thing every morning made me feel comforted and protected. Feeling him shifting around at night just to get closer to me made me feel loved and cherished.
I knew I’d miss him whenever I went home.
But, what the hell was this last-minute meeting about?
“Ready to go?” Teo asked.
He offered me his arm and I slid my own through it. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”
He nodded. “Once we get to a place where there aren’t prying ears, yes.”
I was shocked when he led me out to a car that he was driving himself. Then again, I knew he was taking the death of his driver pretty hard. He opened my door for me and helped me to sit down, then he walked around and hopped behind the wheel of the car himself.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive,” I said.
He chuckled as he buckled his seatbelt. “Then, get ready to witness it now.”
I lost myself in the beauty of the island as we wove around small mountains and skirted the edge of the oceanic cliffside. The vineyards smelled heavenly and downtown smelled of baked goods, fresh pasta, and gelato. As weird as it felt to admit, I’d miss this place.
Especially since it felt as if I were actually seeing it for the very first time.
“All right, we’re here,” Teo said.
I stared at the house in front of us. “Where are we?”
He unbuckled his seatbelt. “Ah, that’s right. You haven’t been here yet. This is my house. Well, my main house.”
I slowly looked over at him. “This is where you shared your life with Rosana?”
He nodded. “And this is where I have my quarterly meetings. Come, we don’t have a moment to waste before your flight.”
The house was actually more subtle than I figured it would be. It wasn’t some sprawling estate with massive acreage and a tree farm off in the distance. Rather, it was this cute, oversized cottage tucked back away from the rest of town. It didn’t feel like the kind of place either Rosana or Mateo would have picked out for themselves, which continued to strike me as odd when Teo led me through the pristine white house.
Then again, maybe that’s the point.
“Right this way, the red chair will be yours,” Teo said.
He ushered me through a pair of white, wooden double doors that were opened for us by his security guards. And when I stepped into the room, I saw a white marble table sitting in the middle of a room lined with white bookshelves that were filled with nothing but decorations. The onyx and black leather seats that sat around the white marble table gave a stark contrast to the room. But, there were two chairs at the head of the table that stood out from among the rest.
One was a rich navy, highbacked chair with beautiful white and navy gemstones encrusted around the sharp edges of the chair.
And beside it was a crimson red chair, the high-back encrusted with pearls and rubies.
“You said my chair was the red one?” I asked.
His hand fell to the small of my back. “Yes.”
I walked with him over to the chair. “You don’t want me off in the corner or something?”
He pulled it out for me. “Nonsense. The one person I trust sits at my side. Always.”
I looked up at him before I sat down and the second he seated himself next to me, all sorts of people filed themselves in, almost as if they had been waiting for us to take a seat. I watched men of all shapes and sizes file in and take a place at the table, and they gravitated to the seats so quickly that I wondered if everyone was assigned a seat.
Then, I saw a young man perch himself off in the corner before pulling a notepad and pen out of his shoulder sack.
“Who’s that?” I asked softly.
Teo nodded toward him. “That’s Manny’s boy, Trey. He’s up-and-coming in his father’s business world, and I’ve hired him to take notes and minutes at our formal business meetings.”
I looked over at him. “So, what am I going to be doing?”
He winked. “You’ll see.”
Then, he stood to his feet. “Thank you all for meeting me on such short notice. I believe you all understand how imperative it is that we meet sooner rather than later.”
The sea of heads bobbed while the boy in the back frantically scribbled down notes.
“Very quickly, though, I want to introduce Miss Charlotte Pettigrew. She’s the newest installation to our happy little family, and she will be attending these quarterly meetings with me from now on,” he said.
I am?
A plump man in the corner spoke. “Nice to see someone in that chair for once.”
A spindly man sitting across from him cleared his throat. “That wife of yours really wasn’t one to care about anything you did in the first place.”
Wait, I’m sitting in Rosana’s chair!?
Teo lifted his hand. “We shall not speak of my soon-to-be-ex-wife because she is no longer of importance. This is Char’s chair now, and you will respect her as such. Understood?”
<
br /> The sea of heads nodded, but I was too flabbergasted to nod back. I was sitting in Rosana’s chair. Well, what should have been her chair, anyway. I was sitting at the head of a formal table with Teo at my side and all eyes on me.
This is my world now.
Teo sat down next to me. “I open the floor for free discussion on what to do regarding the impending war with the Luccheses.”
An older man with a very wrinkly face stood. “I think we should strike while the iron’s hot.”
A younger man beside him shook his head. “I think the fact that you haven’t seen or heard of any sort of counter from Lorenzo after rescuing Miss Pettigrew means we need to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row before we proceed.”
The older man hovered over him. “Which is exactly why we need to--.”
I pointed. “My apologies, but what is your name?”
The elderly man looked up at me. “Giuseppe Rocco, ma’am.”
I pointed at his chair. “We don’t loom over people to intimidate them. Not while I’m around, anyway. You can sit and your voice will still be heard, I’ll make sure of it.”
I saw Teo grinning at me from the corner of my eye as Giuseppe finally took a seat. Then, I looked at the younger man off to his side.
“I think he has a fair point. I’ve been worried about the lack of response from Lorenzo since I know first-hand how hot-headed he can be,” I said.
Teo drew in a curt breath through his nose. “We need the Lucchese’s men off the streets. We need to cripple them not where it hurts monetarily, but where it hurts personally. If we can destroy their feeling of security, like I did with Char’s kidnappers, then they’ll make mistakes trying to scramble to get other men together to do their dirty work.”
My head whipped in his direction. “My kidnappers? You found them?”
The room fell silent as his eyes met mine. “I did.”
I swallowed hard. “And?”
He took my hand in front of the whole room. “I gave them what they deserved.”
Yes, this is where I belong now. “So,” I said as I gazed back out over the table, “how does everyone feel about taking out the Lucchese Family security instead of the family as a whole? I have to admit, it’s a clever idea.”
Another man dressed in a white suit jacket raised his finger in the air. “It might be clever, until we start killing more than necessary. If they have enough people at their disposal, they could keep us occupied with killing while they strike where necessary.”
I looked over at Teo. “He’s got a good point, too. We’ll need a contingency for something like that.”
He nodded. “So, you agree with Mr. Bianchi?”
I drew in a deep breath. “I think it’s an angle worth considering. Though, I think I might have a way around it.”
He ushered his hand over the expansive table. “The floor is yours, Char.”
And as I gazed into the eyes of every single person sitting there, waiting for my strategic words of wisdom, it finally clicked. It finally dawned on me why Teo wanted me at this meeting. He didn’t want me here to work, or take notes. He didn’t want me here for legal advice, or to keep me in the loop. He wanted me here to show me exactly where I deserved to sit. He wanted me here to show me the kind of place I occupied in his life now.
I might not have wanted it in the beginning when I was feeling lost and adrift. But, I sure as hell didn’t feel that way now.
So, I drew in a deep breath and settled into my new purpose.
“Who here is familiar with the idea of ‘less is more’?” I asked.
All ears were turned in my direction as I started forming a plan with my words as quickly as it came to my mind. My words were golden to everyone in the room as they waited with bated breath for me to spell out the plan right in front of their very faces.
I finally know where my place is.
And I threaded my fingers with Teo’s to make sure he understood that I got the message loud and clear.
23
Mateo
After mapping out Char’s brilliant plan, we all went our separate ways with our piece of the puzzle that we needed to fulfill. Things had to come together with the next forty-eight hours, though, otherwise it wouldn’t work. Step one of my own plan worked, though. By finally showing Char exactly where she sat with me, I had her in my arms tonight.
Instead of her landing an ocean away and taking her mother on by herself.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” I murmured against her neck.
She giggled. “I’m glad I’m here, too.”
I kissed her collarbone. “And your plan’s fucking brilliant. I hope you know that.”
She turned to face me. “I’m glad you think so. I really think this approach will--.”
For the smallest moment in time, all sound in the world ceased to exist. It was as if someone numbed my eardrums and cut them off from the rest of my body. I gazed into Char’s eyes and watched as they slowly grew wider. And when her lips parted, her yelling voice was the first thing I heard.
“Teo! Get down!”
Then, the catastrophic boom that rattled the windows of my beach house kicked my brain into action.
Char went to go scream, but I kissed her and swallowed the sound whole. I wrapped myself around her and rolled us off the bed before scooping her into my arms. Another explosion rocked the side of the house, almost knocking me off my damn feet.
“What’s going on!?” she yelled.
Another explosion rocked my legs from beneath me and Char spilled onto the floor. I heard my head of security shouting obscenities while he commanded my men to cover certain doors and windows. For a split second, I caught the fear in Char’s eyes. As I scrambled to my feet and tugged up her from the floor, I saw the raw, unfiltered fear that washed behind her eyes.
“Come with me!” I exclaimed.
I pulled her down the stairs before we took a sharp left. I heard my head of security discharging his weapon over and over, his rifle tearing through God only knew what as a stampede of feet sounded outside. Char finally got her feet beneath her as glass shattered in the distance. Pictures that hung in frames slid down the wall with every boom and shake, causing small shards of sharp, clear-cut pieces to propel themselves through the air.
“Get in my office. Now,” I commanded.
I tried to shove Char in, but she whipped around too quickly. “What about you? Why aren’t you coming?”
I cupped her cheeks. “I have too much to do. Get inside and don’t open this door for any reason. There’s a reason why my office is a panic room.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!”
She gripped my arm as I tried to turn and run, and it rooted me to my place.
“Char, let go,” I said.
“I’m confused. I don’t know what’s happening. Tell me, Teo!”
I turned around as another explosion sounded much too closely. “I don’t know. But, I know you can’t get caught up in it.”
She kept hold of my hand. “What about us being equals?”
My forehead fell against hers. “You will always be more important, Char. Always.”
When I felt her body stiffen, I shoved her back into my office. I watched her collapse against my office desk before I slammed the door, listening as it hissed. I heard her banging on the other side. I heard her muffled shrieks of anger and pain as the pressure-tight door closed her away from me.
Then, I gazed into the small camera off to the side so she could see my face.
“I need you to survive and finish my work if I don’t make it out, okay? That’s why you’ll always be more important. Don’t open this door for anyone unless it’s me, and I’m counting on you to keep that promise.”
Then, I turned my back toward the door and stormed into Char’s office.
Because in a hidden wall safe behind the massive portrait that backdropped her old desk was my gun safe.
And I’d need all the guns I could get my hands on for th
is fight.
My heart broke with Teo’s words because of the sincerity in his eyes. He honestly didn’t know if he was going to make it out of this, and the thought made me sick to my stomach. Nevertheless, I forced myself to do what he asked. I forced myself to stay put.
But, as I focused on the closed door in front of me, I hadn’t considered what was happening behind me.
I heard metal panels whooshing and moving around. I slowly turned and found multiple color televisions staring me in the face behind a false wall behind Teo’s desk. My jaw dropped open as I scanned the insanity unfolding in front of me. Some of the television screens were staring into smoke-filled rooms with men crying out for help. A couple of the screens showed familiar men discharging their guns before hiding themselves behind the inner walls of the house.
Then, I found Teo.
Coming out of my old office armed to the teeth with guns.
“Come on, baby. You got this,” I murmured.
I perched myself on the edge of his desk as my heartrate skyrocketed. I watched Teo run straight down the hallway, and I kept him clocked on every television screen afforded to me. He slid on his knees until he slammed against the wall, then he scrambled to his head of security.
I watched them exchange ammunition and guns before a bullet whizzed by his head.
“No!” I exclaimed.
Without missing a beat, Teo aimed over his shoulder and pulled the trigger. I searched the television for the aftermath of that bullet, but there was too much carnage for me to figure out where the fuck that television was. There was a camera trained on the roof and I saw Teo’s two bodyguards up there struggling with men clad in black climbing gear. Two other televisions kept fading in and out, and I saw men in black with sunglasses aiming the sights of their guns directly at the camera.
And when they pulled the trigger, I jumped as the screen went fuzzy.
“Oh, boy. This isn’t good,” I murmured.
I chewed on the beds of my nails as my eyes found Teo once more. He pulled his head of security up from the floor and they raced into the kitchen before opening a door I didn’t realize existed. They disappeared behind it and didn’t emerge, and I searched the working televisions frantically trying to figure out where the hell they’d gone.
Traitor: An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance (Sold to The Don Book 3) Page 12