by A. C. Katt
Meg brought out plates, and The Alpha offered the Betas and their Mates some muffins. Because of his new metabolism, Frankie didn’t refuse.
The Alpha nodded. “I could see that, Saturday. Dante’s very solicitous of your mother and his eyes go soft when he speaks of her.” He took the last bite of his second omelet and a piece of Taylor Ham.
She was there with the coffee as soon as there was only a drop left in The Alpha’s cup. She removed the omelet plate as The Alpha took the paper off another muffin and sipped at his fresh coffee.
Martin spoke up, “What could he ask for that we don’t have the resources to give him?” Meg filled both his coffee cup and Frankie’s.
“A piece of Garou.” Frankie scanned the table. The shock on their faces was palpable.
“No!” The Alpha shouted as he pounded on the table until the coffee cups rattled. “No part of Garou will ever go to an outsider. Every member of the board would challenge me before that happened and rightfully so.”
“That would be his opening negotiating position. After being refused a part of your business, he would ask to use it as a front for his illegitimate businesses. That is what you can expect from a fully emboldened Dante unless you can ferret out something he wants more.”
The Alpha made a moue of distaste.
Armand bristled. “If that’s the case, I’ll go into the pit with both Russian Alphas. It’s not as if I couldn’t take them. They have let themselves grow soft. I will prevail and then deliver them to the gods for beheading once I’ve beaten them.”
René spoke, and Frankie could see it was with reluctance. “Alpha, that would set a bad precedent. All the Russian and the European Alphas would begin to challenge you, one right after the other. It would be best if we could dispatch Prokhor and Mikhailov as per the original plan.”
“That is only possible if Dante cooperates and he will require compensation. Offer him me, Alpha. He can’t take me away from René, we’re married under the eyes of the law.” Frankie’s eyes filled with tears, but he was determined to do right by The Alpha, and if that meant a personal sacrifice, so long as he had René, he could deal with it. He bowed his head and disguised his emotions by accepting another cup of coffee.
“Beta Mate.”
Frankie straightened in his chair at The Alpha’s firm tone.
“You forget that you are now subject to the laws of the loup garou. This means that you cannot harm any human. That may be a difficult vow to keep if you go back to your stepfather. He will insist that you do what you were formerly unwilling to do.” The Alpha tapped his fingers on the table. “We will find another way.”
There was a creak as the door opened. The Alpha lifted his head up. His ears appeared to twitch. Frankie could see the wolf in the man. “Baby, what were you doing out there?” The Alpha’s forehead crinkled with lines of annoyance. Frankie had no wish to ever see that facial expression directed his way.
Sean stepped inside. “I was listening and before you have a hissy, I know what to do.”
“If it involves you, I don’t want to hear it.”
“No, it doesn’t only involve me. It involves most of the Mates…and blackmail.” The Alpha Mate’s voice held the appropriate amount of drama.
Armand’s voice grew rough and went up in volume, “Baby…”
Sean held his hands up, palms out. “Just listen. Ian dealt with Sal, Donal, Julio, and Richard with Don Ferone or his associates on a business level, as did Vitas. What if we were to tape our testimony and you can use it to threaten Don Ferone, warn him you will bring the tapes to his wife. Ian and Donal have horrific tales to tell, and Julio can corroborate Donal’s, Roland’s, André’s, and Ian’s.”
The Alpha frowned. “If you remember, and if you weren’t so busy thinking up harebrained plans you would, Don Ferone only negotiated for Sal and Apuso, he had nothing to do with the initial problem. In fact, he solved it. Ian and Donal cannot testify in court that they knew for certain Don Ferone was a part of what happened to them. And since they can’t, they are not a threat to Don Ferone.”
“Maybe just the idea of Mrs. Ferone hearing…”
“That would upset Frankie’s mother. I have no wish to hurt either her or him. I’ll talk to you later about listening at doors. That was a terrible idea. We want to cultivate Don Ferone’s good will, not antagonize him. Wait, you might as well sit down now you’re here.” The Alpha sounded disgruntled. Sean walked behind him and began to massage his shoulders.
“Baby…” Armand narrowed his eyes and let out a short growl. “I’m not in the mood to be placated. You may sit with us until Don Ferone arrives. Then you will leave the dining room.”
Without another word, The Alpha Mate sat down.
The Alpha Mate is far more clever than they think. He knew they wanted to cultivate Dante, not piss him off. The Alpha Mate wanted a seat at the table, and he’s accomplished his goal. He may portray himself as scatterbrained but The Alpha Mate is cagey, and he knows exactly how to manipulate his Mate and precisely how far he can push him.
“Maybe Don Ferone will surprise us and only ask for cash besides the four favors you promised,” Martin offered.
“My brother, you dream in the daytime.” René’s face turned grim.
Frankie said, “It’s going to have to be me.”
Armand nodded his head as René appeared thunderous, but nodded in agreement.
Meg cleared the table, and they got up as she laid out an Irish lace tablecloth, brought out an elaborate silver coffee service and some delicate French and Viennese pastries and tortes, placing them on a Victorian silver, multi-tiered tray. She set it and the coffee service in the middle of the table along with a dessert set. “When they arrive, shall I have Pierre pour, Alpha?”
“Yes, put the coffee on the sideboard and the cream and sugar on the table.” The Alpha glanced over at Frankie. “Does your stepfather take those chemical packets or sugar?”
“Sugar, Alpha, Dante has a sweet tooth.” Frankie laughed.
“So, I surmised. Don Ferone asked for pastry. Sean, once Don Ferone arrives, you will go back to the studio.” Armand’s sharp voice demanded no further discussion.
“Armand, I can—”
“What you can and will do is obey me,” The Alpha thundered.
The Alpha Mate threw himself down on his seat and mulishly contemplated his plate as he listened to the conversation.
§ § §
Don Ferone arrived precisely at ten, no sooner, no later. Sooner would have meant he was a supplicant, later, a sign of disrespect. Armand knew this. He personally answered the door, inviting them to the formal dining room rather than the library. “Business is sometimes best discussed over food. As you own a restaurant, I’m sure you agree.” He directed Dante to a seat.
The act of inviting Don Ferone to dine at his table conveyed respect. Don Ferone was not a hanger-on to be dismissed to an upstairs, out of the way, office. This was a delicate waltz that Armand spent years perfecting. The Don sat down. Mr. Salvaggi and Mr. Amato stood behind him. “If you permit, Don Ferone, your associates are also invited to come to the table.” Here, if Don Ferone agreed, and permitted his lieutenants to take a seat, Armand could bring Martin, René, and Frankie to the bargaining table. The Don nodded his assent.
“Call me Dante, please, we are now, after all, family, Mr. La Marche.”
“Armand, if you will.” Point met.
“If you don’t mind, you, of course, have been introduced to my husband, Sean, and Martin.” Don Ferone nodded.
“You are the artist…” Don Ferone shook Sean’s hand.
“Potter,” he said. Sean glared at Armand. “I am throwing a pot. I have to get back to my studio. I wanted to come out and welcome you to our home.”
Don Ferone preened. “Thank you, Sean. It was nice of you to interrupt your morning to greet me.”
Sean shot Armand a So there and didn’t leave. Armand sighed, as much as he loved his husband, there were disadvantages
in taking an Omega as Mate. One of which being they didn’t know enough to stay away from places they didn’t belong in. He’d bet Rémy didn’t have this problem with Ian.
“And Martin, the brother-in-law to my son.” Don Ferone returned Martin’s handshake.
“May Frankie and René also join us at table?”
“Of course, let me introduce my lieutenants, Alberto Salvaggi and Giuseppe Amato. Alberto, Giuseppe, you, of course, know Armand and Frankie. You met Martin and René yesterday at the wedding.” Dante’s men nodded and followed behind him.
“Sean, don’t you have something to do in the studio?” Armand’s well of patience had run dry. When all else failed, the direct approach was best. Sean went off in a huff. Over the Mate Link, Armand told him, “You behaved badly. We’ll talk later.”
Armand seated his guests. He sat at the head of the table with Don Ferone at the foot. Martin, René, then Frankie, sat on his right side, Don Ferone’s two associates at his left.
Pierre served coffee and passed around the cake. “These look delicious, Armand. Has your housekeeper also gone to the Culinary Institute?”
“No, Meg had a teacher, Antonin Carême, a French chef, many years ago. My father paid for her to go to class. Pierre and Meg were my father’s housekeeper and factotum before they were mine.”
“Carême, wasn’t that one of the famous French pastry chefs?” Dante finished his Napoleon greedily and plucked a crème puff from the tray.
“A man of the same name and family, some thirty years ago,” Armand answered mildly.
“A family that stayed in the business.” Dante’s eyes turned feral.
“Yes, many families have businesses they are loath to give up.” Armand regarded Dante with a deliberate glance.
“So true, I had hoped to pass mine to my oldest son.” Dante looked pointedly at Frankie.
“Perhaps this one was ill-suited, you are blessed with another. I have only a daughter.” Armand feinted.
“Yes, I met her yesterday, a delightful child. My wife was enchanted.” Dante’s eyes softened at the mention of Frankie’s mother.
Armand thanked the gods. Here was an opening. There may not be carnage here after all. “If your wife takes lunch with René and Frankie, I’ll make sure that Elena and Miss Beaumont are available to say hello.”
Dante smiled softly and showed the first genuine emotion he had since he arrived. “That would be good of you, Armand. She would enjoy that. She doesn’t get out much nowadays. Arthritis has really affected her mobility.”
Armand would have Dante’s cooperation. He saw the small smile Frankie surreptitiously sent up the table.
Armand relaxed his shoulders a bit. “I would gladly have Martin bring Elena when René and Frankie visit Brigit for coffee in Brooklyn if you think Frankie’s mother would want to see her. That way Brigit can enjoy Elena’s company without having to leave the comfort of her home. Of course, Elena couldn’t travel without Miss Beaumont and a few of my men, there is always the danger of kidnapping when you are the child of a wealthy man.”
“My wife would welcome her. It would be a great favor to me if she could visit Brigit. My wife means the world to me. I, of course, understand the danger of kidnapping. I explained that many times to Frankie when he was growing up.”
“Now we should get to business.” Armand could see in Dante’s softened features that he realized a huge favor had been asked and granted.
“What can I do for you, Armand?”
“Frankie tells me…”
Epilogue
LaGuardia Airport
Queens, NY
Arkady Viktor Kuznetsov’s plane glided onto the runway and taxied over to the private hanger. A party of three Navigators and one limousine waited on the tarmac. Don Ferone’s associates rode with Martin in one of the Navigators. Don Ferone, The Alpha, and Alpha Clavier rode in the limo.
The air stairs opened and three men deplaned. Don Ferone left the limousine with Frankie and the loup garou to greet Kuznetsov at the bottom of the stairs. “Arkady, so good to see you again. You know my son, Frankie? I have the limousine ready for you and your guests. You mentioned a security problem? The Navigators will accompany us to Manhattan.”
“Thank you, Don Ferone. This is Klim Leontiy Prokhor and Boris Pyotr Mikhailov. These are the gentlemen that need the security.”
“So pleasant to meet you, Mr. Prokhor, Mr. Mikhailov. Frankie will escort you to the limousine while Arkady and I take care of the luggage. Arkady, this way…”
“Your associates are in the limousine?” Frankie heard Arkady ask Dante.
“Yes, they have wired the ten million dollars to your account.”
“What is your take on this, Dante?” Arkady cocked his head.
“I have received certain consideration…favors, if you will.”
“Since you made it worth my while,” Arkady shrugged, “I have no objection to your disposal of my dubious colleagues.”
§ § §
“If you will follow my son to the limousine…”
Frankie had to steel himself to avoid shaking. This was something his stepfather did all the time, send men to their deaths. Frankie didn’t like doing this, sending someone to their death, even at the behest of the gods.
Don Ferone waved the men on. Frankie knew what awaited them in the limousine. He didn’t know why he was squeamish now. The horse tranquilizers had been his idea. Get ahold of yourself. These are very bad men who would hurt your new family. Get a spine.
Four Enforcers flanked them, and Mr. Prokhor and Mr. Mikhailov followed Frankie into the limousine. René and Martin met them with the horse syringes. Before the two men could escape, Alpha Clavier, Roland, and André, with the help of Martin and René, held them down while The Alpha and Alpha Clavier administered the injections.
Once the deed was done, Alpha Clavier exited the limousine with The Alpha. “They went out like a light. Frankie Ferone seems to be an asset.”
“I believe so.” The Alpha strode over to a second limousine that pulled out of the hanger. He turned to the loup garou and said, “It’s time to go, the gods are waiting.” The two limousines sped out into the city traffic.
Frankie walked over to his stepfather’s limousine before heading uptown with Edward to witness the execution. “Thank you, Dante, those were very bad men. That was well done.”
“You will bring the little one over for tea, once a week when she is in town?”
“Yes, as promised. She needs a gentler influence besides that of her governess. She is becoming spoiled.”
Dante chuckled. “I’d spoil a little girl, too. I spoiled your brother to no good end. Now I must take him in hand. Junior will get the business. Son, are you happy?”
Frankie choked up, and he had a hard time answering. “Yes, happier than I’ve ever been in my life. He’s exactly what I needed. I love him.”
“Good. Despite what I’ve said in the past, that’s all I really wanted for you was happiness. I was afraid that you wouldn’t get it being as you are. That is why I tried so hard to—”
“I know, Dante, I know.” Frankie kissed his stepfather on the cheek. “We’ll see Mom with Elena on Friday. Sean, Mr. La Marche’s husband has lunch on Friday with his friends. On Friday, when she is in the city, Elena can have tea with Mom. Thank you, for taking such good care of Mom all these years.”
“How could I not? She’s been my heart since I first saw her at the door when I went to offer my condolences after your father’s death. Go now, I’m sure you are needed. Mr. La Marche has all the muscle he needs. What he doesn’t have is your brains.”
§ § §
Frankie ran over to the Navigator driven by Didier and got into the front seat. They drove uptown to Garou.
Once they arrived at the building, two of Alpha Clavier’s Enforcers met them in the lobby of Garou and escorted them to the secret boardroom down in the basement. The Enforcers took him to an empty seat beside René who sat in leather in a roped off ar
ea surrounding the pit lit in red. Frankie made a moue of distaste. The small arena appeared as if it were ringed in blood.
The Former Russian Alphas were brought into the pit still groggy. Two men stood inside the pit with their faces covered in leather executioner’s masks, holding two large ancient hand axes with wicked looking blades. It was at that point that Frankie noticed the blocks set in the middle of the arena.
There was that booming voice coming from nowhere. Shivers rushed down Frankie’s spine. “Who shall reap the benefits of being loup garou shall follow the laws of the loup garou. The four declared you rogue and sent you back to Russia to serve your sentences. You defied us. Now you die.”
The Alpha stood. “I ask for mercy. Please, let them not be drawn and quartered. That was barbarism for another age. Take their heads…that is enough of a lesson for those who remain.” There was a commotion at the entrance to the area opposite to where Frankie came in with Didier.
The remaining former Russian Council arrived in chains.
“Where did they come from?” Frankie whispered to Didier.
“The Alpha had them brought to Garou by Enforcers while their party was in New Mexico.”
The voice spoke again and Frankie jumped, startled.
“You reap what you sow.” The lights dimmed. Frankie saw the outline of the sword hitting the necks and watched the heads roll from the bodies. Suddenly, white lights filled the arena and the bodies were gone. The voice continued. “Forget not who you are or who you answer to after your Alpha. Armand La Marche is The Alpha of All Alphas and head of this, the Russian, and the European Councils. We will brook no interference with that decision. You are all witness to our proclamation. The entire former Russian Council is now human but subject to none of the strictures that protect humans from our wrath. Take them away.”
The lights dimmed again and turned red, then white. The sand arena was gone and in its place, was a circular meeting room. A cacophony of voices broke out.