MAFIA POSSESSION ( Completed)

SECRET PLANS

“Is this what father had in mind when he bargained a peace treaty?” I said sourly— a million thoughts were scurrying in my head-- the main one was that my brother would soon be gone and he would be surrounded by dangerous men who had wanted him dead for a long time.

“This and much, much more…if our Hotels and other small businesses can branch out to Los-Angeles and other cities controlled by the Romero’s, it would yield a ton of profit. This is all on the legal front, Isabella.” His tone changed from distaste to almost excited.

“Of course, they still control the streets— we can’t make those types of deals on their territory without paying a fee to them and they fucking charge an arm and a leg. But on the legal front, this is simply putting the alliance into action. If the Romero’s mean to keep their word, then they won’t fuck with us.”

Then it dawned on me and my eyes widened in shock. “They don’t know. You plan on surprising them.”

He looked away again, his hand rising to stroke his chin and his lips tightening into a thin line. “If they want to expand in New York, we won’t stop them. The way we see it, it will only make us stronger. The Irish have been giving them hell recently and last week they intersected a prominent package.”

This information was making my knees weak. What did he mean by package? Guns? Drugs? Or perhaps prostitutes?  “What package?”

“Women, Isabella. Adonis was in charge of a shipment arriving from Brazil when the Irish attacked. My spies tell me he was shot and injured pretty badly. All the women were killed. If the Romero’s intend to destroy the Irish then they can’t afford to go back on the peace treaty with us. This is the perfect time for us to move forward.” He didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that my fiancées brother had almost been killed.

My anger startled even me, “You mean this is the perfect time to take advantage of them because they are in a weakened state?”

His look of shock lasted only a moment before he too was overcome with anger. “Why do you act surprised? We are the mob, Bella. And it’s not like we’re moving in on their territory. Just because Adonis was shot and they lost a shipment does not mean they are weak. It means they are angry.”

My rage didn’t dissipate and at his scorching look my eyes narrowed dangerously. Did he not know that anger was a weakness? Anger always clouds people’s judgment!

“Plus, our decision to expand didn’t occur to us a week ago. We aren’t taking advantage. It just seems like the tables have tipped in our favor. I’ve been gone for 3 months getting everything settled— long before any of this happened. You know that.” His breath was rapid now.  “We’re simply expanding our legal businesses which will profit us economically.”

“Yeah, and piss off my fiancée who will surely take it out on me!” It was obvious my words stung—the look of guilt written on his face betrayed how he felt about the whole thing. But what could I say? Was I supposed to congratulate him for a job well done? Not likely. Not like this. Not when it could affect me so directly.

“Not to mention you’re leaving,” I said after long moments of awkward silence.

Armando’s face softened and all the anger left his eyes in a split instant. Our fights never did last very long. “It’s only a temporary situation.”

Exhaling deeply and walking towards him, my hand reached up and grabbed his arm. “I know it’s not my place to tell you or father how to conduct business. I’m just worried that the last two years might go to shit because of this. You’re coming into their territory without so much as even a warning. You should at least tell Anthony, out of respect.”

He seemed deep in thought, like my words held some weight but he didn’t want to admit it. His posture held little promise of going through with the advice I’d offered. My family was too prideful, not unlike the Romero’s. The whole fucking Familia was upheld by vows of honor and pride and a string of macho bullshit that got people killed. It sickened me.

“I’m going to take a rain-check on that lunch, give Annalise my regards,” I said. Letting my hand fall from his arm and not missing the look ofdisappointment that flashed in his eyes.

Too easily it had gone from being a good day to being a shit day. Almost robotically my body moved in the direction of my room. It had been a long time since I heard from Anthony. For Christmas this year he had sent me more expensive jewelry. For Valentine’s Day he sent roses and exotic chocolates. Despite those efforts the way our last call had ended still haunted me.