Grayson yanks open the doors to Marco’s Italian restaurant. Enzo confirmed both Marco and Frankie are in here. But he made no mention of Maddie.
With our guns pointed, we storm towards a relaxed-looking Frankie, who smiles at us. I look to my left and Marco is tied to the chair. What in the fuck?
“Welcome. Come in. Take a seat.” He gestures to the two chairs opposite him at the little wooden table.
“I don’t think so, Frankie. How about I just shoot you instead?”
I walk past Grayson and head straight to Frankie, pressing my gun into the side of his head, and he laughs.
That asshole.
“I wouldn’t do that if you want to see your precious Maddie again.”
I relax my grip slightly at his reminder.
“Where the fuck is she?” Grayson roars.
“Where would be the fun in simply telling you? Come and sit.” Frankie’s voice drops into a serious tone and kicks one of the chairs free of the table.
Grayson nods to me and pulls out the chair. My eyes dart to Marco and a whole new wave of anger barrels through me as I think of the hurt he’s caused Rosa, after everything he knows she’s been through.
Today he will pay.
“Frankie, just shoot the asshole,” Marco grits out.
Oh, fuck this.
I whip my pistol and point it straight at him. His eyes go wide. I smirk, my finger itching to pull the trigger.
“If anyone’s killing my brother, it’s me,” Frankie announces and pulls out a gun from his suit jacket. He presses it right between Marco’s eyes and pulls the trigger.
Marco slumps forward, blood spilling onto the table.
I take the opportunity to pull back my right fist and slam it into Frankie’s jaw.
He rubs his jaw. “I’ll accept that one. Good shot.” He looks at Grayson and nods. “I might need to get some sessions in with you.”
“I don’t think so,” Grayson snaps.
Frankie shrugs. “Please, just sit. I will explain everything first.”
I pull out my chair. This I need to hear.
The fact that Romano was right, that his information will lead us to Maddie, sits heavily on my shoulders as I pull out a cigarette and sit.
“Maybe I’ll start by formally introducing myself.” He places his hand on his chest. “I’m Frankie Falcone. And this, next to me–” He nods to Marco’s body. “—is my older brother.”
I take a drag, thinking about Rosa. She’s the only thing stopping me from killing this two-faced snake right now.
I listen as Frankie explains himself and puts forward his ‘peace offering’. Blabbering about how he wants to take over the city with me. How he took Maddie because he needed Grayson angry enough to help with his efforts for taking out Marco and eliminating the Falcones that backed him.
I can’t stand it any longer. Grayson is a ball of fury next to me. All I want is Maddie home safely and to get back to Rosa. After today, it all changes. I can’t be hers anymore. I will be owned by the Capris.
“Release Maddie, then we talk,” I interject.
Frankie leans back and interlaces his fingers behind his head. “I’m not releasing her until we reach a deal. I’m not stupid. As soon as she’s free, one of you will more than likely kill me. Maddie has already warned me of my impending death.”
I let out a laugh. That does sound like something she would say.
“We will discuss the deal in private. Grayson needs to get to Maddie. It will just be me and you once she’s released. I’m interested in what you have to say.”
Not for the reasons he thinks. I know he worked for Romano and that he’s calculated. He could help me out of this and be the one to help me wipe them out next.
“But don’t forget, I hold the upper hand here. So I suggest you start making amends for your errors if we ever consider trusting you again.” I pin him with a glare, and he nods.
I put my gun on the table, and Frankie joins me. “Grayson, take both of our guns.” I slide mine to him and Frankie follows suit.
Neither of us needs to die today. We need a new plan.
“Fucking let her go.” Grayson points Frankie’s own gun at him. Frankie throws up his hands in surrender and fixes his gray eyes on me.
There’s not much I can do if Grayson wants to shoot him.
“Let me make the call, and you have my word she will be released unharmed.” Frankie slowly lowers his arms as he locks a stare with Grayson.
With a growl, Grayson drops his arm, and Frankie pulls out his phone. After a few hushed words to someone on the other end, he tosses it on the table.
“I don’t know what kind of trick you’re playing, Frankie, but I’ll—” Grayson’s words are cut short as his pocket vibrates. Quickly digging his own cell out, when he slides the accept button, I can hear the tinny sound of Maddie’s voice calling his name.
After all these weeks of searching, it’s over.
I watch as Grayson sprints out of Marco’s Italian restaurant. The same Marco who now has a bullet through his skull and is slumped over in his seat opposite me.
I look over to a relaxed-looking Frankie, who stands and grabs a bottle of scotch from the bar and two glasses. The clever fucker knew how to play us, knew our values about family. He kept up his end of the bargain and released Maddie. Now, I keep my calm, for Rosa.
“Nice touch, killing your brother.” I take a long drag on my cigarette.
“He had to die. Trust me. He deserved that. I’ve been waiting years to end him.” His nostrils flare as he looks over to his dead brother’s body. Not a single ounce of remorse on him. The guy is a psychopath.
“Now, what do you want with me? You’ve made your point, you’ve released Maddie. You now run the Falcones. So what? A truce?”
He chuckles. “A truce?”
He leans forward, his elbows resting on the table. “No, I actually have a proposition for you.”
“Go on…”
“We join forces. Create one unified group to go up against the Capris. We will run every line of smuggling into New York. They still have a foothold here, so we take their business and remove them from the equation. Stealing their guns was a brave move, but we can take them, especially with the army you’ve built.”
I lean forward, flicking my cigarette over the ashtray. “You mean the family I’m marrying into?”
He slams his hand down on the table. “Marrying who?”
“Maria. Who do you think gave you up? I had to dance with the devil to lock you down.” I grab the glass and swallow the contents in one gulp.
He lets out a ragged breath, his pale gray eyes narrowing.
“Shit. What is the exact deal you’ve made?” he asks, lighting up his own cigarette.
“They smuggle guns using my shipping ports. I marry Maria, my new watchdog, for her visa. If I don’t, he will kill my entire family, starting with my one-year-old niece. Turns out he wasn’t too happy with us stealing his imports.”
“Jesus, fuck, Luca.”
Smoke plumes into the air. We sit in silence with a corpse.
“I can help you,” he finally says.
“How? You’ve been lying to me for over a year. I can’t trust you.” I toss down my cigarette into the ashtray.
“Look, I’m sorry about Maddie. I did it to protect them both. I needed him angry. I needed him to help me wipe my brother out. Maddie was getting in the way, first at the casino and then at the hospital. I had to do something.”
“You didn’t have to fucking kidnap her, Frankie!”
“Well, I mean, I guess.” He shrugs. “I looked after her, Luca. Honestly. Ask her when she comes home. She will tell you. I never intended to cause either of them any harm. But I had to end Marco. So, for that, I am truly sorry. I had to do what I thought was right for everyone here. I’ve been planning my revenge against him for years, and I couldn’t let anyone get in the way.”
In a way, I get it. I have no clue what Marco did to him, but it must have been fucking bad.
“But we have bigger problems. Romano is coming for our city. We need all the manpower we can get. Marriage or not, that won’t protect you. Maria is a bitch, like a rottweiler. She will be waiting, if not planning your slip up. That I can assure you.”
I sit back, assessing him.
Over the last year, he’s proven to be one of my top recruits. And after the stunt he’s just pulled, I know he’s smart. Too smart to have as my enemy. Today is a stark reminder: Rosa needs protecting. While I’m with Maria, I can’t, but Frankie can.
She called him her protector once, so now he will have to do it again.
“Fine. On one condition. Until I can trust you again, I have the final call on every move we make. We take down the Capris together, we protect our families. That includes Rosa. You protect that woman with your life, Frankie.”
He scratches his beard, his eyes darting over to his dead brother, and then his eyes go wide.
“Rosa? You said she was dead?”
“She’s not dead, Frankie. I lied.”
He runs his hand through his dark brown hair, relief washing over his features. Smacking his hands on his knees, he grins at me. “You fucking got me there.”
“I mean it. She has to leave my place tomorrow. I want you to put her up somewhere with her sister. Look out for her, protect her like you used to.”
He frowns. “How much do you know?”
“Enough to know she trusts you. That’s one of the reasons I kept you alive.”
Silence fills the room,
“Deal.” He offers me his hand. I hesitate before grabbing it.
“Well, partner, what is our first move?”
If I didn’t like this asshole so much, I’d punch him again in his perfectly sculpted jaw.
“Looks like I have a wedding to plan, to a rottweiler of a woman, plotting my death.” I roll my eyes.
“We won’t let them kill you. At least, we will make it hard for them.”
I push back from the table. “Looks like we will make a good team, after all.” I grab the door, the fresh air hitting me.
Frankie pours himself another drink. “Yeah, because we are both ruthless assholes.”
I chuckle. He’s right.
