Chapter 59: II Bastione 2

Chapter 59: II Bastione 2
Dante

"Okay, it seems you really want someone dead," Luca confirmed the obvious as I held on to my glass tighter until a crack formed. I dropped the glass on the table, shattering what was left of it.

Sicario.

It dropped like a stone in a dump of water, sending ripples straight through my chest. I tried not to show it, but I felt the heat rise in my neck, the same way it always did, even though danger couldn't get close to Isla. Everything that had happened earlier in the night replayed as it flashed through my memory. My anger grew fonder just remembering how close they were if I had just been there, he was going to take advantage of the situation.

I stared at Costa, but I wasn't really seeing him anymore. The realisation hit him. "You have met him." He confirmed.

My jaw locked first, then my hands curled, slow and tight like they were closing around a throat. All I saw was Isla with another man's shadow beside her. A man I didn't trust. A man I didn't like, a man I already wanted to break.

"Dante. If you made an encounter with this man, you need to let us know. Now your transition is close, we can't afford to lose Cosa Nostra's hand on this." Fabian's eyes paled as he took a sip of his drink.

"I met him. He was a guest at the party."

"What party?" I glared at Costa, who swallowed his words hiding his smirk.

"My engagement party."

"Finally introducing the lady to the circle, I see you took my advice." Quadir was elated but stopped in his tracks, when my glare only grew. "Except it's not her."

"No it's not. I am to get married to Romano's daughter. Apparently, Padrino believes I need him because of his network. We can strengthen our circle of trust if he is on our side. Marriage is the only condition."

Silence fell on the group.

"That's messed up. But you didn't know who Sicario was until you met him today. Right, maybe he isn't a real threat." Luca shrugged as we all fell into deep thought.

"To me, he is. He grew a liking towards Isla. It is only a matter of time before he acts on it." I paused, trying to blink the memory away from my mind. "They were so close together."

"Do you want to marry Bianca?" Costa asked tersely.

"Hell no. We have a plan to play along until we can gather everyone on our side then we wouldn't need Romano. He would have no choice if he were standing alone in his decision."

"That's good, trust me. How do we get them on our side?" Fabian asked Costa. Costa had operated from Italy the longest and he was the only one who had worked closely with all families. He knew the ones we trust.

"Your only problem should be Sicario, Romano. Donati and De Santis. Carlos De Santis and Andre Donati wouldn't be a problem. We can persuade them to give us their vote. They already question your legitimacy in being the godfather of Cosa Nostra. With the right tricks, they can follow you." Silence followed the not-so-good news. I was happy as a don, I didn't want more power to disrupt everything I had built. Besides
, I didn't think I would be around long enough to enjoy my reign as the godfather.

"I am going to say what we are all thinking. I know the conflict you have with Sicario. Getting close to Isla seems to be a power play on his own part. He knows what he is doing. But if you want to get him on our side, Dante you have to be close to him."

"Never!" My heart wasn't racing. With the weight of rage, it didn't make me lose control. It made it clear. Cold. Focused. "Why is he even in Italy? I thought he had nothing to do with the parliament? He wasn't in Italy the last time I checked."

"Well, he does have an interior design company across Europe. It's one of his legit businesses, but there are rumours that he launders all sorts of funds with his company, but it hasn't been proven." Interior design company? Something didn't feel right with it.

"What's the name of this design company?"

"Hisini Interiors." Fuck. I barged into an unsettling posture.

"That's the company Isla works for."

"A coincidence?"

Costa coughed. "With Sicario nothing is a coincidence." He shrugged. “Everyone knows him. The ghost who walks between families. He doesn’t belong to anyone and that's the problem. I thought you had a plan on how to handle him."

"Well, I didn't think he was going to be a problem." until today. Nothing about this felt right; it all seemed like I was part of a game I didn't know of, and someone was moving the chess pieces. "Everything is falling apart. I will try to get the rest of the men on our side as for Sicario, I don't know."

"He has roped your girl into this whole mess, you have to know." Fabian poured himself another drink.

Dante glared at him, but Fabian only raised his hands. “Relax, Don. We’ve all been there.”

Quadir leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “The problem with men like us,” he said, “is we fall for women who don’t know how to live in our world. They crave our darkness until it starts to swallow them.”

Luca nodded, his smirk fading. “Yeah. Then they blame us for what they asked for.”

For a moment, silence stretched between us. The music from the other room floated in, low jazz, the sound of ice clinking in glasses, the soft laughter of people pretending not to be broken.

I looked around the club. The Bastion was full tonight, politicians, heirs, men with blood under their nails. Each booth was a secret, each table a lie. And yet, somehow, it was the only place that felt honest even with the anger in my bones.

I didn't drink, my mind was still with Isla as I couldn't get the picture out of my head. The way she’d looked at him, defiant, beautiful, untouchable. The way she’d said his name like it meant something once.

"You don't have to worry Dante. I will be with you through it all. I think I can come up with something if any threats arise. For now, let us just enjoy the night."

"What about Rafael? Has he made a move yet?"

"Not yet."

"Okay. I think he might be in alliance with Romanos and we can pin that against him if it all goes wrong. If we play this right, we won't have to worry about any sort of threat that would compromise our position with Cosa Nostra." I assured them. They have kept their faith in me when they shouldn't. They were the only ones I could trust.

Costa clasped my shoulder, his lips closer to my ears. "You know love is another kind of madness. Protect her if need be but don't fight it. Or she will be the one you'd lose fir
st." His glasses clinked on the glass table as he stormed out of the room.