*Adrik*
I reluctantly left the house much earlier than normal because of my meeting with Niko. I was tense at the possibility that this situation with Anthony was going to get out of hand. I feared it was already to that point, given he was talking to other bosses and trying to persuade them to turn against me. I was anxious to get this matter resolved quickly.
As we flew to the penthouse, I replayed the previous night in my head. The way Sephie looked at me with so much longing, so much passion. I’d never had a woman look at me like that, especially not after such a short time. She gave herself so completely to me. I wanted to spend every night showing her just how much she meant to me. I closed my eyes, the picture of her face etched clearly into my mind’s eye. I was already counting the minutes until I could hold her in my arms once more.
Poor Misha had to stay with her, as she wanted to go for another run after we left. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him getting soft while he watched over her. She promised to go easier on him this time, but I have a distinct feeling that his idea of easy is much different from hers.
Niko was led into my office by Viktor promptly at 10:00. I motioned for him to take a seat. He looked nervous, so I remained quiet and watched him. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants as he sat in the chair opposite mine.
“Hello, sir. It’s good to see you again,” he said, trying to sound friendly. His thick Italian accent prominent.
I nodded.
“If you don’t mind my asking, sir, what is this meeting about?” he asked, still visibly nervous.
“It’s come to my attention that you and Salvadori have been…speaking,” I said.
“Salvadori and I speak often, sir. Can you tell me what we’ve been speaking about that gives you concern?” He rubbed his palms on his pants once more.
“You tell me.” I wanted to see if he would tell me everything or if he would try to cover for Salvadori.
“Uh, well, sir, Salvadori sometimes has grand plans that he has no intention of following through on. I believe this was one of those times. He was angry about you increasing his tax, he might’ve said some things that he didn’t mean in the heat of the moment.”
I raised my eyebrow and stared at him intently, which proved to make him even more nervous.
“Sir, if you please, I thought he was crazy for even thinking it and I told him so. I said, “Sal, you’re fucking crazy to be even thinking that’ and told him to be careful.”
“Tell me his plans,” I raised my voice just enough that he cleared his throat, now visibly squirming in his seat.
“He wasn’t happy that you banished Anthony to Sicily, even though it was his original idea. He thought he’d be able to send Tony to Sicily for a few weeks and then he’d be able to come back. You forbidding him to come back angered him. He told me that his brother has been coming up with a plan to come back to the states, but he’s been ignoring him. Now that Anthony is there with his brother, he’s starting to listen to his brother. Lorenzo is an evil son of a bitch. I’m glad he’s not allowed in this city. He did tremendous damage while he was here,” he said while rubbing his left eyebrow, like he was trying to smooth the hair.
“What else,” I said, tapping my fingers on my desk. I could feel myself losing patience, but I was determined to remain calm. I couldn’t use this situation to my advantage if I lost my temper now.
“Sal was talking about talking to the other bosses, namely Vito because he thinks Vito is weak. Sal wants power. He wants to take over other areas of the city. He’s greedy in his old age. The people in his part of the city are not happy right now, as he’s been withholding money from them. I’ve heard he’s starting to force more taxes on the businesses in exchange for his protection. If they don’t pay, his guys go rough the owners up.”
I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my cool. Those were tactics that were prevalent when my father was in charge. The people of the city feared my organization and wanted us gone when my father was in control. I’d spent years reversing that. Why does he now wish to ruin the peace? He’s making more money under me than he ever did under my father. It didn’t make sense.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“No, sir. I just want you to know I’m loyal to you, sir. It was never a question,” he said, running his fingers over his left eyebrow once again.
“That’ll be all then.” He quickly got up to leave. Viktor opened the door to escort him out. Once he was out of sight, I stood and paced my office. Viktor would return with Ivan once Niko was out of the building. I was furious and on the verge of losing my temper. I slammed my fist on my desk just as Viktor and Ivan walked into my office.
“It went that well?” Ivan asked as he took a seat. Viktor smirked and took a seat beside Ivan.
“That son of a bitch Salvadori is trying to take over the city. Niko supports him. I need to meet with the other bosses to find out where their loyalties lie. I want you two to send guys to Sal’s part of the city. He’s been strong-arming his businesses. Find out how the people feel about this change. We might be able to use the people against him. I need guys that I trust in there to find as much information as I can.” I was still pacing my office. “Viktor, I need you to set up meetings with the other bosses.”
“Yes, sir. Do you still want tomorrow mostly clear?” he asked. I had planned on surprising Sephie tomorrow and I wasn’t going to change those plans unless absolutely necessary.
“Of course. She’s the only thing keeping me from ordering their deaths right now.”
Both chuckled. Ivan asked, “why does he want to take over the city? Is he not making enough money? What’s the end goal? It doesn’t make sense.”
“I’m not sure yet. I suspect it has to do with his brother Lorenzo and my father, but I don’t know. I agree that it doesn’t make sense. He’s made more money under me than he ever did under my father. Up until a few days ago, I barely taxed him. Both Andy and Niko said he’s gotten greedy, but there must be a reason for it.”
Ivan tapped the side of his nose. “Is he sampling his product?”
“I wouldn’t have been surprised if Anthony was. Is. But I don’t know about Salvadori. Seems out of character, but four days ago I would’ve said him trying to take over the city was out of character as well.”
We all sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what to do next. “Let’s see what the other bosses have to say before we make a plan.”
“Agreed,” they both said.
I looked at my watch. I didn’t have another meeting for two hours. I decided to hit the gym and beat the shit out of a punching bag for a while to clear my head.