Chapter 23—Gabe

My brain is still buzzing from the wild sexual pleasure Charlotte gave me earlier.

It’s the kind of buzz that will make me forget and slip up if I’m not careful.

I can’t be stuck and walk around with my fucking head in the clouds.

I know I need to exercise more caution than that, and I know it more when my brothers call me to a meeting after work.

We meet at Vincent’s office in town.

Vincent is sitting at his desk, and his face is stern.

Nick is the last to arrive.

When he takes his seat, Vincent clears his throat and starts.

“Let’s make of this quick, boys.” Vincent leans forward. “It’s just a follow-up from the other day to let you know not to relax for one minute. I have eyes on the street, and they say they saw Barabbas Antonella yesterday.”

Fuck, fucking fuck. Tobias is one thing to worry about. Barabbas is the clan leader. Up until years ago, he hadn’t made any kind of presence in Chicago for a good ten years, then he resurfaced, and there was blood on the streets.

“Jesus, Vincent…” I breathe.

“I know. Tobias is still in the hospital. He’s down but not out and only down for a little while.”

“I’m sorry, guys….” I lean forward, and Salvatore throws a punch in my arm.

“Don’t you fucking apologize,” Salvatore scuffs. “If you didn’t shoot his dick off, I would have.”

“Me too,” Nick chimes in. “I just would have ripped his pants off and made sure the whole thing was gone.”

Nick would do exactly that. I was being careful, though.

“I don’t want apologies,” Vincent declares. “This is the same shit brewing from a while back. From Antonio De Lucca to the most recent shit with the Fontaine’s.”

Nick tenses at the remark. I do too. Vincent’s talking about two years ago when we had trouble with Joey Fontaine. Mia got taken and held as ransom because Joey wanted to use the shipping company to smuggle over drugs to China.

Mia got taken, and Tommy, Nick’s best friend, was killed. Tommy was like a brother to us all. We all took his death hard. The Fontaine’s screwed with us because while we talk big, we’re not known to stir trouble. It’s probably why Antonio thought he could make his threat on us. He was right, though. He barked the loudest, and we backed down. We looked like we’d gone soft. Right now, we’re still waiting for backlash from the Fontaine’s, and now we have Antonella's to worry about.

Vincent looks at each of us. “We need to be careful. We also need to make sure we don’t allow anyone to step on our turf and mess with our people, especially our women.”

I’m happy to hear that. “What do we do now? Think they’re going to come for us?”

“I do. Tobias is an Antonella.”

It summed it up. As far as threats went, the Antonella's were considered to be the most dangerous with their vast criminal empire. The Fontaine’s rubbed shoulders with the government, but some of the Antonella’s were in government or had links to those so high up the food chain you’d be fucked before you could start trying to guess who knew who.

“He’ll come for us, just not the way we think,” Vincent adds. It’s now he looks worried. “Tobias is about games.”

Fuck don’t I know. “That fucker needs to die.”

“I agree, but he has too much weight of importance. Can’t just kill him without putting a mark on our backs.” He sighs. “It would be hell to pay if we did that. The Antonella's would wipe us out, same as De Lucca threatened. The fact that it was him the De Lucca’s got to take out Antonio says a lot.”

I already told them the details of how Tobias killed Antonio from the little more I managed to listen to from Charlotte.

I couldn’t bear to hear the whole thing or acknowledge that it was because of his special relationship with Antonio that he was the perfect candidate to end him.

It was Vincent I’d spoken to first. As I did, I tried to leave out all the gory parts –the abuse on Charlotte's part. Just out of respect for her. It wasn’t something I felt she wanted everyone knowing.

Vincent guessed what happened, though, and was the one to say it outright once I’d calmed down. Salvatore and Nick guessed too. I suppose it was obvious what must have happened to her from how I behaved.

At least I never mentioned that there were others like Tobias. Fucking clients.

I haven’t asked Charlotte who the others were because I don’t want to put her through anything more emotional than what’s already going on that will hurt her.

The calmer version of me hopes she’ll tell me one day or talk to me whenever she needs to. Tobias is who I’m worried about. I’m not gonna lie and pretend I’m not worried about that sick fuck because I am.

I am because he wants her.

“He’s obsessed with her,” I say more to myself than to them. Salvatore tenses next to me, and no one comments. “Tobias is obsessed with Charlotte. He wants her.”

I lean back into the chair, and it creaks under my weight. I allow my gaze to drift out the floor-to-ceiling window and settle on the Chicago skyline set against the onset of night.

It still looks lively, but there’s something ominous about it. Something that has always spiked my nerves because of the uncertainty nights in Chicago brings.

“Has she said anything more?” Vincent asks, cutting into the silence.

“No, it’s enough. She’s said enough. He paid for her, Vincent, and did it again. The fucking tape nearly made me hack his head off.” I burned it and burned the camera, too, praying the sick fuck hadn’t made copies. I wouldn’t put it past him to be lying about it, the same as I haven’t put it past him to be plotting for me in his hospital bed.

“We gave him the money. That’s all he’ll get, no more. No one owes him shit.” Vincent grits his teeth, and I’m glad again that he sounds like he’s ready for battle. He’s changed. I see Frankie in him. He’s talking like Frankie. He would say the same things.

“No, we don’t owe him shit. In fact, he must know too that we know he killed Antonio. He would have known Charlotte told me.” I was sure of it; even if she didn’t say it was him, I would suspect it.

Vincent nods. “The family is making it look like a burglary. The wealth and power is what they were after, and they got that, so I don’t see any threat on Charlotte coming from them. It’s just this motherfucker.”

“Yeah, and he might think she owes him for keeping her alive,” I add. “This is all so fucked up. It really is.”

“We just need to be ready. All of us. This guy is one sick fuck. If he chooses, he’ll come for all of us. We’re each other’s weakness because we’re brothers. Boys, if you see anything out of place, we check it out, anything at all. We need to be ready for his games.” Vincent looks at all of us then focuses on me. “Watch your back, Gabe, and keep your woman within your reach at all times.”

“Don’t worry about that. I plan to,” I assure him.

I wish I could keep her right next to me.

I really do, but that would suffocate her.

Fear makes me want to put her on a plane to St. Lucia and take her far away from here, but that won’t work.

She’s excited about starting the job at the school, and she should be.

Raventhorne Academy is a good school, and it suits her.

I’m standing on the balcony of the fifth floor of the club, thinking of what to do.

It’s very different from what I actually want to do, which is drive right over to the hospital and put a fucking bullet in Tobias’s head. End him. That is what I want to do.

End the bastard. It doesn’t sit well with me that he’s still alive when he did what he did to my girl.

The shit thing about it was he wasn’t the only one.

I can’t imagine her going through all of that and living through it for ten years.

Now this shit.

I’m right though; he’s obsessed with her. I saw it blaze in his eyes. The minute that bullet never fired from the revolver and got me, the bastard turned into some hell fiend.

He wanted to kill my ass and take her.

That’s what he wanted to do, kill my ass and take my woman and the fucking money.

“Hey…” Salvatore says, coming up to me.

He stands next to me and drops his elbows onto the metal rail.

“Hey there,” I reply.

He throws a punch in my arm. “Fucker, you gonna just sulk? It’s against the rules of the club.”

“Prick.” I throw back. With the amount of times Salvatore thinks it’s a good idea to punch me, I’m surprised he’s still alive and that I have an arm left.

I figured long ago that he teaches me patience because he’s been doing that since we were kids, and I’ve been taking the hits.

“When you’re here, leave the shit outside.” He smirks.

“Trying to. I’m trying to.”

“Try harder because people can tell you have shit on your mind, and that’s never a good thing.”

“Yeah, I hear ya.”

“So, is St. Lucia off the table then?” He quirks a brow.

He was the only one I told about the one-month request I made to Charlotte. “For now,” I answer.

“Can I be selfish and say I’m a little glad to hear that?” He chuckles.

“You can.”

He straightens. “She coming tonight?”

“Yeah, she’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

He turns at the sound of footsteps, and I follow his gaze and see Mimi coming up the steps. Tonight’s her night off. She’s not working and what she’s dressed in tells all - a black negligee that makes her look like she just stepped out of a dream.

She smiles when she sees Salvatore and stops a little distance away from us.

I gotta ask because curiosity gets the better of me. “You finally ask her out, or whatever?”

“It’s more of the whatever variety. Have fun. I know I will.” Salvatore chuckles and walks away.

I watch him slip his arm around her and guide her away.

When they turn the corner, I return my attention to the dance floor and to my prior thoughts.

Tobias can plot for me all he wants. He can. I’ll be ready for his ass when he comes for me with whatever game he has up his fucking sleeve.

He can come for me, and I’ll be ready.

I’ll be ready to play.