Reckless & Ruined (39 page)

“So?”

“So, nobody’s heard a thing from either of them.”

Alessa heard Joel’s chair squeak like he was standing from it.

“Don’t bother,” Theo said. “I already tried calling Dean. I talked to Walter before I even came over here and he said that his son hasn’t called him since that night. He’s starting to get fucking twitchy. He put guys out to look for him.”

“Shit,” Joel muttered.

“There’s something else,” Theo said.

“What now?”

“There was a shooting around the place my guy was supposed to be,” Theo explained. “Two men shot in the face, unrecognizable bodies and no identification on them apparently. I’d take a trip down to the morgue just to see for myself, but I don’t want to draw attention that they might have been soldiers for my crew. The Outfit doesn’t need any more attention than we’ve already got these last few months.”

“Fuck,” Joel growled. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Joel cussed a blue streak before something crashed to the floor.

“What else?” Joel demanded.

“There was talk when I sent guys down into the Heights to get info,” Theo replied. “But you can only take it so far, since most of the people in that area are either shooting or smoking something.”

“I’m not in the mood for runarounds, Theo.”

“A couple of people were sure they saw a dark colored, older muscle car in the area and an enforcer said he might have come face to face with Adriano Conti earlier that night. He didn’t say what Adriano wanted, just that he saw him. But I think the guy was holding something back for whatever reason.”

Alessa’s heart stopped. The description of the vehicle couldn’t exactly be considered vague when someone admitted to the fact that Adriano had been in the area.

Abriella grabbed Alessa’s hand and squeezed.

“You all right?” her sister asked almost soundlessly.

Alessa nodded.

About Dean’s death, Alessa had never felt better.

For Adriano, she was worried sick.

“It’s just something fucking else,” Theo said, his tone dark and hateful. “Another Conti mess we have to clean up. And you know what? I’d give Adriano a pass because he’s young and made when my guys weren’t, but his father probably made the call on that. Riley is overstepping his bounds, Joel. He needs to be handled.”

“I’m working on that, Theo,” Joel said.

“Work faster.”

“Hey, you’re not the goddamn boss here, man.”

Theo laughed bitterly. “Neither are you.”

“Watch it, Theo.”

“Listen, Joel. I don’t give a fuck who takes the seat as boss in this damn family. It can be you or any other man, but it better not be Riley Conti. If you don’t start cleaning out his dirt, I will.”

“What in the hell is that supposed to mean, Theo?” Joel asked.

“Take it however you want to.”

“Talk to me, Lissa.”

Adriano’s voice was a soothing, deep melody in Alessa’s ear. He couldn’t possibly know how much she needed to just talk to him, but she didn’t know what to say.

There was the pregnancy, of course, but she didn’t want to tell him that over the phone. She wanted to be face to face with Adriano when he got the news. He deserved that. It wouldn’t be fair to just blurt the information out over a hushed, quick phone call.

“Theo was here yesterday,” Alessa said.

“Oh?”

“Someone saw your car and someone else said they noticed you in the area the night Dean and Theo’s guy went missing.”

Adriano hummed dismissively. “I’m not concerned about it and you shouldn’t be either.”

How could she not?

“That sounds a little like playing with fire, Adriano.”

“I’m clear, don’t worry.”

“Easier said than done,” Alessa whispered.

“Stop,” he murmured calmly. “Let’s move onto something different. You said Joel has a party coming up and he mentioned opening the books again?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“This week. Thursday, I think,” she replied.

“We’d heard some talk but nothing was for sure,” Adriano said more to himself than Alessa. “I need a favor from you.”

“Anything.”

Whatever he needed, she would give.

“He’s not kicking you out for the night of his party, right?” Adriano asked.

Alessa laughed. “Well, we’re being sent over to Mom and Dad’s wing.”

“But you’ll still be there?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to unlock the back entrances and turn off the security cameras for the house that night,” Adriano said. “Can you do that?”

Alessa didn’t even hesitate. “I can do that.”

“Good.”

“What are you planning?” she asked.

“Me? Very little. My father? Something interesting. But just in case Joel goes crazy, it’d be nice to not to have it all on camera.”

Alessa didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Yikes.”

“Stop worrying. Tell me something beautiful, Lissa.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, anything.”

Alessa smiled. “I miss you.”

“That’s kind of sad.”

“And I love you.”

Adriano chuckled. “Now that’s something beautiful.”

“Anything yet?” Abriella asked.

Alessa shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Damn.”

Abriella went back to stirring the homemade chicken soup that Alessa had convinced her to make them for supper. Their parents had gone out for the evening, despite telling Joel they would stay in with Alessa and Abriella while the party was happening in the other wing of the mansion.

Alessa didn’t mind their lack of presence, although her mother had been a great support for her over the last few days. She felt terrible about the judgement and hate she’d given her mother when she found out the truth of her own paternity. And not because Alessa was caught in a mess of her own making, but because she was finally understanding how difficult it must have been for her mother to carry a child for a man she loved, but not be able to give him the baby.

Not in a way that he could claim it as his.

“Did Mom get you those vitamins?” Abriella asked. “The pregnancy ones or whatever?”

“Yes, and they’re like freaking horse pills.”

Abriella made a face. “That big?”

“That big.”

“Any puke spells today?” Abriella asked.

Alessa laughed. “No, but the night isn’t over. Morning sickness is a myth, okay? It’s whenever-the-hell-the-mood-strikes sickness.”

Abriella grinned over her shoulder. “I’ll remember that.”

Something in the lilt of her sister’s tone caught Alessa’s attention.

“Are you planning on babies anytime soon?” Alessa asked.

“God, no. But someday, maybe.”

“Don’t you worry about who you’re going to be stuck raising them with?”

Abriella stilled, her stirring stopping. “You mean, like who Joel might marry me off to?”

“Yeah.”

“No, I’m not worried.”

“He did it to me,” Alessa pointed out. “Or tried.”

Joel could still pick a new husband for Alessa. Her future was uncertain. A variable that was tossed in the air, waiting for Joel to point and decide.

She knew where she wanted to go. Straight to Adriano.

The little life growing within couldn’t be ignored, either. It was Adriano’s baby—his child. He should raise the child, not another man. And what kind of man would want to marry Alessa if she was pregnant with another man’s baby, anyway?

“He can try,” Abriella muttered. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Alessa asked.

“Yeah, and I don’t care what it takes for me to get there. Joel isn’t the only one in this family who will play dirty to get what they want. He’s not ready for me yet, Alessa. Trust that.”

What was that supposed to mean?

Alessa didn’t get the chance to ask.

Her phone buzzed on the table with an incoming text.

Now
, it read.

She had finally changed the contact on the phone so that it showcased Adriano’s name. With Dean out of the picture, she wasn’t concerned about getting into trouble if it was caught. Even Joel was liable to brush off a contact as long as there was no messages between her and Adriano to find.

Alessa glanced up at her waiting sister. “You ready?”

Abriella smiled. “Soup later?”

“Sounds good.”

“Then yeah. I’ll get the security turned off. You let them in.”

Alessa and Abriella parted ways at the doors that separated the two wings.

“Don’t let Joel see you,” Alessa said, only half joking.

Abriella snorted. “Right. He’s stuck so far up his own ass, he can’t even smell the shit right now.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Alessa made her way to the back of the house as quickly and quietly as she could. Joel had every made man from the Outfit that he could inside the Trentini mansion. Well, all the made men from the Trentini, DeLuca, and Rossi families. As far as Alessa understood, and overheard over the last few days, Joel hadn’t openly invited the Conti people.

Which made sense, since he didn’t want to give Riley the chance at the seat.

Nonetheless, the guests were supposed to be on the bottom floor between the dining and entertaining area, but that didn’t mean a few might not break off into their own corners. The back of the Trentini mansion had always been off-limits to guests during events and celebrations, but people, especially Outfit people, didn’t particularly like to follow the rules.

Luckily, no one happened to be wandering the halls as Alessa came to the back doors leading out to the deck and property.

She waited a good five minutes to make sure her sister had lots of time to turn off the security. That way, when she unlocked the back door, it wouldn’t send off the alarms when it was opened.

Alessa glanced out the window into the dark backyard, noting the enforcer her brother had set out there for the night. The man was smoking a cigarette and staring up at the sky like he was bored as hell.

She supposed that job probably was.

Knowing the man was far enough away that he wouldn’t hear the door being unlocked, Alessa turned the deadbolts and waited. She didn’t have to wait for very long. Almost immediately, figures began to emerge on the pathways throughout the back property. Faceless men, as Alessa couldn’t exactly make out who they were.

But there was a lot.

Fifteen, she counted at first.

Then she noted three more.

They all wore black suits and each held a gun in their hand.

As the enforcer noticed the men coming toward him, he turned to bolt toward the house with a phone in his hand.

Alessa should have turned away. She should have closed her eyes.

She didn’t.

The closest man, one Alessa did recognize, raised his gun with a long silencer attached, and fired one single shot. It didn’t even look like he had aimed, but he didn’t miss his mark. Alessa jumped as the bullet entered at the back of the enforcer’s head, sending blood and matter flying. His body lurched forward before he slammed into the ground. Riley Conti walked on past his victim like nothing had even happened. Like he hadn’t just killed a man.

Alessa moved back down the hallway, knowing she shouldn’t be seen by the Conti men as they came into the house. Adriano had warned her to stay out of sight, be safe, and let whatever happened, happen.

She slipped into the closest bathroom and closed the door, leaving only a crack open, as she heard the back door open and men file in. Their footsteps were quiet—practiced. Their voices were hushed murmurs whispering down the hall to her spot, but she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

Then, their sounds got closer.

“All the doors on this wing only,” Riley said.

“Not the other, boss?” came a man’s question.

“No,” Riley said. “He’s only entertaining on this side. I want all the doors handled. Drop his men if you have to. Someone needs to be out front at the gates. I want that man gone, too.”

“Trentinis will take a mighty hit, boss.”

“So be it.”

“Anything else?” another man asked.

“No, just keep the guns up,” Riley said quietly. “If Joel doesn’t want to step down to me willingly, then I will strong-arm him into it. I am done playing games with a child. And that is all Joel Trentini is to me. It’s the Conti time now. We’ve always had the upper hand here, so let’s show him that we’re willing to raise it a little higher.”