Arranged Mafia Marriage

Michael puffs on his cigar and blows out a cloud of smoke, “What do you think?” His lips twitch.

“I think that you already knew that our brother was an undercover cop,” Seb offers.

“Che cazzo!” Luca glances from Michael to me, then back to Michael. “I’ll be damned,” he shakes his head, “you knew, fratellone?”

“Fuck me,” Massimo says softly, “why am I not surprised?”

Michael glances around the room, “I made enquiries. I had to find out why it was that a brother we never knew we had, had chosen this moment in time to turn up in our lives.”

“So, you knew all along?” I move around in my chair trying to find a more comfortable position.

“I had enough information to deduce that you were undercover. However, you had covered your tracks well enough that I couldn’t fit all of the pieces together,” Michael retorts.

“I’m guessing, then, that the only reason you offered me your seat on the board of Trinity is because you knew I would eventually turn it down?”

“What?” Luca straightens, “You don’t want to be involved with Trinity?”

“I may have left the force, but I am a cop at heart. I doubt the heads of the Kane Company and Bratva would be comfortable doing business with me. Besides, I am setting up my own security agency. I won’t be able to do justice to Trinity.”

Luca gapes at me, then he turns on Michael. “You knew this would happen,” he says in an accusing tone. “You knew Axel would choose to distance himself from Trinity. That’s why you chose to offer it to him?”

“I had an inkling.” Michael leans back in his seat, a pleased look on his face, “The profit sharing among us would never have been affected, regardless of who sat on the board, but it was about trust. By giving Axel a seat at the table, I was extending a gesture of trust.”

“You knew it would go a long way in binding him to the family?” Seb speculates.

“I had hoped,” Michael confesses.

“And here I am,” I chuckle.

“Stacazzo,” Luca rubs the back of his neck, “so what now? Who’s going to take on the stake in Trinity?”

“That’s for the five of you to decide,” Michael addresses that remark to Luca, Seb, Christian, Massimo and Adrian.

“You’re leaving the decision to us?” Luca’s gaze widens. “Is this another of your tricks, Don?”

“No tricks,” Michael laughs, “I figure it’s time to delegate more so I have more time to spend with my wife.”

“Cazzo!” Luca reaches for his glass of whiskey and drains it. “I’ll be damned. Although I suspect this is another of your short-term moves for long-term gains.”

“Only time will tell.” Michael’s grin widens. “One thing I didn’t see coming? Freddie.” He turns to me, “What’s his gig? Why did you go undercover to work with him?”

“We had information that he partnered with your father, and on the crime that defined his career, so to speak. I wanted an in with his gang as a way of getting more information on you guys,” I reply.

Michael stills, his gaze narrows on me. “Are you saying he partnered with our father on the kidnapping of the Seven?”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

He is referring to the kidnapping of seven boys in England which had made waves many years ago.

Silence fills the space. The men watch me, their cigars forgotten. I puff on mine and wait for the ash to build before I finally tip up my chin. “Freddie Nielsen was the mastermind behind that incident. He approached your father with the idea, as he needed the manpower and the organization to pull it off-”

“All of which, our father had in excess,” Michael concedes.

“The two of them were involved in the crime that made headlines around the world,” I add.

“A crime which ensured that no one would dare challenge our father for a very long time,” Michael’s jaw tics.

“Not until you came along, that is,” Seb jerks his chin in Michael’s direction.

“And thank fuck for that,” Luca adds. “Not that I didn’t respect our father, but he would never have given up his position. I wager, he’d have killed all of us, if it would have guaranteed he could maintain control.”

“What Freddie and our father did… changed the lives of those seven boys forever,” Adrian cuts in.

“They were rescued, of course,” I point out. “Someone from within the organization squealed to the police, and the kids were rescued.”

“No telling how the incident could have scarred them for life,” Adrian muses.

“It was many years ago. The Seven are all grown up and now head up one of the most influential financial services firms in the UK. Of course, it helps that they came from highly-privileged backgrounds. Well, six of them did. The seventh? Well, he just worked harder and made his first million by the time he was eighteen.”

“You know a lot about the Seven?” Michael narrows his gaze on me.

“You could say that. I have worked closely with someone, an associate, who is now married to one of the Seven.”

“Interesting,” Michael blows out another cloud of smoke.

“Isn’t it?” I place my cigar on the ashtray without spilling the pileup of ash at the end. “She also happens to be Nikolai Solonik’s sister.”

“No fucking way,” Massimo sits up straight.

“Niko’s sister is married to one of the Seven?” Michael tills his head. There’s no change of expression on his face, but it’s clear he finds that information very interesting. No doubt, he will find a way to use it to his advantage. Which is what I intended. Nothing like showing the value addition you can bring to a relationship, even with your own family, for them to take you more seriously.

Michael raises his glass in my direction, “Good move, fratellino.” He smirks. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.”

“One thing I wonder about,” I place my fingertips together. “Our father gives up one of his eight sons, only to kidnap seven boys and hold them to ransom. Makes you wonder if it’s a coincidence?”

“You mean the fact that we are seven and so are the Seven?” Adrian muses.

Michael crosses his ankle over the knee of his other leg, “Who knows what he was thinking? There is no trying to find logic in the actions of a power-hungry ego-maniac, is there?”

I smirk, and am about to speak when he holds up his hand, “I know what you are going to say, and I don’t deny that much of my life has been dedicated to growing my own power base. Were it not for meeting Karma and realizing there’s more to life, I could have gone the same way.”

Just then, the doorbell rings, followed by a hammering on the front door.

“The fuck?” Seb scowls. “Who the hell could that be?” He places his glass on the table, then walks to the doorway. I spring up and follow him, with the rest of my brothers right behind me.

The doorbell peals again, then someone bangs on the door even more urgently. “Help,” a faint voice reaches us, “help me.”

Seb hastens his speed, until he reaches the door and pulls it open.

Elsa stumbles forward, and would have fallen, but Seb grips her shoulder and steadies her. The cold rushes in through the open doorway and she shivers.

“Help me, please,” she raises her tear-stained gaze to his, “they’re after me.”