CHAPTER FOUR
MELO
"So who did you pick?" Marco asks.
The last of the girls have gone and Marco is standing awkwardly at the door. He doesn't approve of this method of finding a wife. Left to him and the other underbosses, they'd be the ones finding me a wife.
"The Bianchi girl," I say without hesitation.
He moves from the door to a chair on the opposite end of my desk in an instant.
"Her father,"
"You didn't kill him, Marco. Think of this as a way for you to keep a closer eye on the family." I say interrupting him.
"But that's not why you chose her is it?"
I allow myself a smile and shake my head.
"That is not why."
"They're prettier girls on that list, why would you pick her?" He asks, his voice colored with disdain.
I scoff and take a sip of my whiskey. "Which ones?"
Marco once again clamps his lips shut and looks away.
"You are my second in command. I won't kill you for speaking your mind."
Marco looks up at me and holds my gaze. He studies me for a few seconds before he decides I am telling the truth.
"Bella is a beautiful woman, no doubt, but her father worries me. Detective James McGregor is a dangerous man. He's cracking down on families and making sure everyone does a minimum of 10 years. Even if Daniel Bianchi didn't betray us, he met up with Detective James and they had a very long discussion."
"You're saying that if Bianchi didn't give up the location of the warehouse, he could have given up something worse."
"My point exactly."
Marco has a point. The good detective has a vendetta against everybody in the crime business. For him to have had a long conversation with Bianchi, it means that he was after something.
"And Bianchi didn't tell you what they spoke about?"
"I tried to press for answers but the blood oath forbids me from doing him any harm."
I nod. "I need to pay a visit to Bianchi before any announcement is made."
Just then, my phone and Marcos' rings. We look at each other before answering. Marco opens the door as the people on the other end of the call start speaking.
I grab a clip for my gun and follow after Marco. There's been a hit at one of our storage units. It's not the police and nothing was stolen, just destroyed. Who would be trying to send me a message? All my immediate enemies were subdued when I took power from the previous Don.
In the car, I start making calls to get any footage from the attack. The cameras in the unit were destroyed but I'm sure they couldn't have destroyed all the cameras in the area.
"You look calm about this." Marco says.
"I am calm about it for now. When I access the situation and know what we're dealing with, then I can go crazy."
The word crazy hits him and he flinches. He's heard the stories and he believes them. The car stops and my door is opened by Tim. He's in charge of this Unit.
"Do we have any footage?"
"Yes, Capo. It was hard but we got it. They deactivated everything here but we got them at the next street."
Just as I thought. This was a well-planned attack and I doubt it will be the last time we see something like this. He hands me a tablet and I watch as two blacked out SUV's drive away. They're are no plate numbers but I didn't think there would be.
"Do we still have that contact with the CPD?" I ask Marco.
"Yes we do."
"Tell him I want someone down here to dust for prints and ask him if he can find out where those cars went."
Marco nods and leaves to make the call and I turn back to Tim.
"How many people went into the unit?"
"Just me and three of my men."
"Okay, make sure they're the only ones who go in and out from now until the police are done."
I start walking and he follows. I take in the destroyed unit and smile to myself. Things were getting easy anyway, I will always welcome a challenge.
When I get back to the car, Marco is already waiting for me.
"He said the earliest he can be here is tomorrow morning and he can have someone check for the cars."
I nod and get into the car.
"Home, Boos?" The driver asks.
"No, I'm in the mood for the theatre."
Marco looks uncomfortable and I sigh. "Not everything I do is proof of my madness. When I need to think, I visit the theatre. We can drop you off on the way there."
"I'm sorry. You can't blame me for being cautious."
"I can't. But it's becoming exhausting."
"Can I join you?" He asks.
I nod and lean back on my chair. The theatre used to be a place I found joy. Now it provides background noise while I plot. I have no idea why I still go. My mother who introduced me to the theatre turned out to be the devil.
"That's Daniel Bianchi." Marco whispers.
We're on our way to my box. I turn towards the direction he's looking at and find the man who will become my father in-law. My gaze shifts from him to the person he's talking to. It's definitely a cop.
"That man he's talking to looks like a cop, doesn't he?" I ask and Marco nods.
"Let's go see what they are talking about, shall we?"
Marco smiles tightly and we start walking towards them.
"Will you still marry his daughter after this?" Marco asks.
"Of course. She's the most interesting person on that list."
She is stunning but what sealed the deal was her trying to act shy and subdued when I know for a fact that they were told I have no use for someone without a back bone. She's a good actress but she couldn’t hide the fire in her eyes.
"Good evening, Gentlemen." I greet as we approach Bianchi and his cop friend.
Bianchi's eyes widen and he looks scared. Just how I like my prey.