Alessio tried to keep his promise to her about leaving and staying gone for weeks at a time and up until now, he'd kept that promise. But there was a credible sighting on Lantana and the syndicate just couldn't pass up the chance.
He could tell that she was doing her best not to get upset or cry but with her being pregnant everything here lately hit her the wrong way and as usual they would fall into an argument about it.
"Why can't you get someone else to go and check it out first, before you just up and leave" she huffed, sitting on the bed with her arms crossed against her chest. He smirked at her cuteness but he wasn't going to give in.
"Cheri you know why and I don't want to have this argument with you again" he said a little harsher than he would have liked. Her lower lip trembled as she got up and flew past him into the bathroom, slamming the door and then he heard a 'click'. She'd locked the door.
He didn't have time for this childish behavior, so instead of insisting she open the door, he talked through it. "I will call and text you when I can, Cheri. I love you" he told her and then left the room.
He hated leaving like that but time was of the essence and they had to get going and now. According to the intel, Frank was back in New York, hiding out somewhere in Little Italy.
What Lantana didn't know or hadn't taken the time to think about, was they had total control over that area and there wasn't anything that went on in that part of the city that they didn't know about.
On his way out the door, he pulled Tommaso aside. "She's pissed at me, again" he smirked as Mas just rolled his eyes. "I left her locked in our bathroom. Mas, promise me you will keep her close. If you go out, you take an escort at all times. Do not deviate from safety protocols, okay?"
Tommaso acknowledged Alessio with a nod. "I will keep her safe. Just do what needs to be done. I'm tired of my sister having to worry about this prick" Mas said with conviction.
Alessio nodded and left with Rico, Lorenzo, Sal and Diego as they headed to rendezvous with the other families and heads. Riding along in silence, letting his thoughts drift, Alessio's phone brought him back. It was Cheri.
"Castellano" he answered gruffly. "Alessio?" she said, sounding quite shy at the moment. "Cheri" he was not amused as he really had wanted to make love to his wife before he left this morning. "I'm sorry" she said quietly.
His heart melted as he tried to picture how she looked at this very moment. He imagined her sitting in the middle of their bed, cross-legged and biting her thumb. He sighed. "Don't apologize, baby" he finally replied.
He didn't want her carrying guilt the entire time and to be honest, he couldn't stay mad at her. She was just too damn cute for her own good. He could hear her sigh and he knew he'd said exactly what she needed to hear.
"Anyway, I know you're busy but I just didn't like the way I left things and I needed to hear your voice one more time" she explained. "I'll be home before you know it, fiore" he told her, smiling. "Okay, Alessio. I love you" she said. "I know baby and I love you too" he replied.
Once they arrived at the appointed destination, the heads, under bosses, capos and foot soldiers all received their assignments from the seconds in command. It was a well thought out plan and would be executed with tactical precision.
Don Silveri did not attend as it was not necessary for him to be out in the open, but there was a constant line of communication that was kept clear for him so he would know every step of the way what was going on.
It was time. Alessio looked at the men who were looking to him for the signal. Consulting his watch, he lifted his finger in the air and circled it several times letting them know to move in.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that they'd been tricked into coming to New York. When they surrounded the room Lantana was supposedly staying in, they busted the door down and found no sign of him but what they did find, made everyone's blood run cold.
"Alessio!" shouted Lorenzo. "You need to get in here now!" Running like a bat out of hell, Alessio's frame darkened the door to the dirty, little room, his mouth now agape at the sight before him.
It was like a wall of surveillance/shrine to Cheri and Tommaso. Pictures of the two of them together, separate pictures of them out doing various things and what scared Alessio the most was some of these pictures were old, capturing Cheri at music venues, etc. and some were very recent.
They'd been led away on purpose and a deep fear seized hold of Alessio's heart as he realized that he'd left his family unprotected and in harm's way.
"Renzo, you get a hold of Tommaso now and tell him to get their asses to the safe house and to do it now!" Lorenzo recognized the fear in his boss's voice. He was afraid as well and he knew what was at stake.
Cheri dressed in a royal blue baby doll dress and matching sandals, her hair in a pony tail and minimal makeup she was ready for her day of relaxation with her brother. Heading downstairs, she heard Mas on the phone and it sounded urgent.
"Renzo, I got it!" he shouted. "I will make sure she's safe and I will call you when we get to the safe house, okay?" He hung up the phone when he saw his sister standing there.
"Cheri, we have to go now. Grab what you want to take. We have to get to the safe house. Frank used New York as a way to get the families away from Jersey. It was a trap. Not for them but for us" he said indicating to the two of them.
She wasted no time in grabbing the essentials. Clothes, a couple of pairs of shoes, toiletries, chargers, electronics, pads and pens. She was ready within ten minutes.
Meeting Tommaso back in the kitchen, they were on their way out of the house when Mas pointed to a couple of soldiers. "You two will be in the follow car, capire?" he asked them. They both nodded in acknowledgement.
Opening the trunk and throwing their items into it, Tommaso went and opened Cheri's door and reminded her to buckle up. She smiled at him, trying to keep her best face forward but deep down inside, she was scared shitless.
Everything went smoothly until Tommaso noticed the follow car was no longer behind them. "Cheri, open the glove box" he instructed his sister. When she did, she gasped. It was a pistol. She didn't react because it was a gun, but instead because she knew something else was up and Mas was now as scared as she was.
"Mas? What's going..." she never got to finish her sentence as their car was broadsided from both sides on the back passenger's sides of the car. Tommaso and Cheri both started to fall into darkness as the vehicle was approached by several men.
Before Cheri passed out, she heard one of the men talk into something on his wrist. "Let the boss know we have them." That was it. Total darkness after that.
When she finally came to, she was bound to a chair and not just bound but trussed up. The rope was around her thighs, her belly, under her breasts, on top of her breasts, around her neck and lastly around her arms.
"Daughter" his cold, emotionless voice cut through the air and her heart. Slowly lifting her eyes, she saw Frank Lantana, sitting in a chair, smoking a cigar as if conducting an everyday conversation with someone.
"Where's Tommaso?" Cheri asked weakly. Frank pointed to a monitor hanging from the ceiling in the corner. She gasped at what she saw. Tommaso was being beaten, savagely. Cheri began to whimper as Lantana just laughed at her.
"Please, what do you want?" she asked tearfully. He stood up, walked to her and lifted her chin. "What do I want, dear daughter? I want what Castellano has. I have two of the three things and the third thing is his empire. And I'll get it to. He'll trade and give up anything for the two of you" he gloated.
"And when he does, he'll be just as dead as you and that bastard in there" he was hatefully speaking about Tommaso. "Don't you dare call my brother a bastard, you prick" Cheri challenged. Frank hauled off and smacked her hard, drawing blood.
"You'll keep your fucking mouth closed or I will close it for you...permanently" the threatened and then walked out the door.
"God please" she started praying in earnest. "Please let my husband find us before it's too late. Please keep the three of us safe as well. Amen." She tried to stay strong because if she knew anything about her husband was, he wouldn't give up until they were home and Frank was dead.