Cruel Betrayals (Savannah Sharks Hockey and Mafia #3)

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

ALEXANDRA

It’s been a couple of days since the disastrous grand opening of the club. The police chalked it up to a bunch of teenagers pulling a prank on us, but I know otherwise.

It was either Rossi or the Reapers, and my bet is on Giuseppe Rossi. I think he did it to let us know he intends to make good on his promise.

And to remind me of the promise I made to gather information for him.

Swiping on a coat of mascara, I rush into my bedroom and throw on my favorite white blouse and jacket.

“Ugh.” I groan in frustration as the button pops off my jacket. “Fuck it. No jacket today.”

I throw the piece of clothing on my bed and stomp my way to the kitchen. I hate being late. It throws my entire day off, and stresses me out more than I normally am.

I hurriedly chug my coffee, groaning when the hot liquid burns my mouth. “Damn, that’s hot.”

Leaving my coffee cup in the sink, I rush downstairs to my car, freezing in my tracks when I spot a note on my windshield bearing Giuseppe Rossi’s seal. I avoid making eye contact with the players who are heading across the street to the arena for morning practice.

What if someone saw the note on my windshield? What if they think I’m working for Giuseppe Rossi to take down the Marino family?

I grab the note and climb into my car. When I’m sure no one is looking at me, I rip the envelope open.

In perfect calligraphy, it reads:

You can move, and you can hide, but in the end, I will get what I want.

My breathing comes out in short pants, and my hands tremble as I throw the letter in the passenger seat and start my car. He knows I live here. He knows what car I drive and where to find me.

I have no escape.

I have to tell Joseph and Arturo what’s going on or pack my car and run away. Since Joseph is at the arena, I drive straight to Arturo’s house.

He’s on the phone when I lightly knock on his office door. One glance at me and he says, “I’ll have to call you back.”

He tosses his phone on his desk and motions for me to come in. “Alexandra, come in and tell me what’s wrong.”

I shakily walk to the chair in front of his desk. Sitting down, I place my bag on the floor and let out a shaky breath.

Where do I start? How do I tell him I’m being blackmailed by the man who is holding my father hostage?

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. My vision blurs as tears sting my eyes. They fall like a cascading waterfall.

Arturo jumps out of his seat and makes his way over to me, as if I’m injured. He probably thinks I am.

“Alexandra, what’s going on? You can tell me anything. I’ll listen and won’t interrupt. I won’t get angry or jump to conclusions.”

I meet his gaze and sob.

I can’t tell him what happened Friday afternoon. I can’t be the one that breaks the trust between us.

This time when I open my mouth, I confess to everything, and true to his word, he doesn’t interrupt.

“This morning I found a letter on my windshield with Giuseppe Rossi’s seal. I don’t know how long it was there or who all saw it, but it was noticeable to me.”

I dig in my bag and pull out the letter and hand the paper to him. He quickly reads it before placing it on his desk.

“When I was loading boxes into my car to move into my new apartment, I was kidnapped by Giuseppe Rossi’s men. He has my dad locked up in his house. He put me in a windowless room. He hasn’t been paying off his gambling debt.”

I try to string my thoughts into coherent sentences, but it all comes out in a jumbled mess.

“Giuseppe knew my true identity. He knew I ran from my past and changed my name. He was going to kill my dad if I didn’t agree to work with him. He wouldn’t let me leave and the smell was turning my stomach.”

I pause to grab a tissue off Arturo’s desk and dab my eyes. So much for wearing mascara.

I whisper, “I was so scared.”

A ball of emotion forms in my throat, preventing me from swallowing my saliva. I hang my head in shame as I let the tears fall for several moments.

This is it. Arturo is going to hate me forever. He’s going to tell me to pack my shit and get the hell out.

I’m going to be homeless, family-less, and jobless.

When the tears subside, I look up and say, “I would never betray you like that because I think of you as a father figure. You let me spend every holiday with your family, here in your house. You three have been my family for two years, and I would never turn my back on family.”

Without speaking, Arturo walks back to his chair and gently sits down. He leans forward, resting his elbows on the desk and his chin on his fists.

This can’t be good, right?

I slowly move my gaze over his face. His lips are set in a hard line, but his hands are balled into tight fists. His eyes are closed, but his eyebrows are furrowed in concentration. His breathing is normal, but it could be the calm before the storm.

When his eyes open, I don’t see any ounce of anger or hatred. He’s looking at me like a father would look at his daughter when he asks for his help and advice.

My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for him to speak.

Will he be angry that I didn’t confess earlier? Will he be angry that I agreed to work with Giuseppe?

“First, are you alright? Did they hurt you? Do you need medical attention?”

When I shake my head, he continues.

“Second, I want to say thank you for telling me. I know sometimes I come off as irrational and intimidating, so I know it took a lot of courage to come here this morning.”

He’s not mad? Or is that part coming up next?

“Third, the fact that you’re crying makes me believe you feel so strongly about me and my family. I wholeheartedly trust you. It’s part of why I hired you so long ago.”

I interrupt. “But I lied to you about my true identity and my past.”

He chuckles. “I already knew about that. I knew about it the second your fingerprint and background check came back.”

My mouth falls open. “You didn’t say anything.”

“I figured there was a reason you changed your name and if you wanted me to know, you would have told me yourself.”

“What should I do? What can I do?”

He crosses his arms, letting them rest on the desk in front of him as he thinks of our options.

“The two of us will work together to feed Giuseppe Rossi false information. You’re my assistant, so it makes sense that you would know plans before anyone else. From now on, you will sit in on every meeting and follow me around wherever I go.”

“Is that wise? I never join your solo meetings and rarely do I join your weekly meetings with Joseph.”

He sits up straighter in his chair. “To the outside world, it must look like you are betraying us. You need to be suspicious and raise flags.”

“I don’t want to hurt Joseph and Francesca.”

I can’t hurt Joseph more than I already have. I just can’t.

“Joseph and Francesca will know when they need to know.”

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Nothing. Say nothing. Do nothing. Just carry on about your day like normal, and when Giuseppe wants information, I’ll give you something to say. To give us more time to come up with lies, you can tell him about the shipment coming in next week.”

I narrow my eyes at Arturo. Has he lost his mind? “The furniture shipment?”

“Yes. Tell him I’m expecting a rush order shipment next week. Tell him you just overheard me on the phone and verified it with the shipyard.”

That is a really good tidbit of information.

“He’s going to be furious when he finds out the shipment is just furniture.”

“Don’t let him know. Let him find out when he steals it.”

I lean forward and scoff. “You’re going to let him steal your entire shipment?”

“Yes, and then I’m going to have a meeting with him. If he doesn’t comply with my demands, I’ll take the video footage to the police and have him arrested.”

It’s a risky plan, to leave Francesca and Joseph out of the loop like this, but I trust Arturo with my life. If he thinks this is the best plan, then I have no choice but to play my part and follow through with it.

“And what happens if I’m kidnapped again?”

“I will send in a rescue team to come get you. Now, take a few minutes to get yourself together and freshen up because we have a meeting at the arena in thirty minutes and you are going to be my plus one.”

He makes his way over to me and pulls me into his arms. The hug is warm, comforting, and safe. It gives me hope he will keep me safe and will always be in my corner.

“Thanks, Arturo.” I chuckle. “I needed that.”

I make my way into the hall bathroom and look at my reflection in the large oval mirror. The woman staring back at me isn’t the one I’ve strived to create. She’s weak and scared and nothing like the woman who fell in love with the man running a mafia empire.

I wash off the long black streaks of mascara that stain my cheeks and give myself a pep talk.

“Arturo believes in you. You are safe, and you are alive. Everything will work out. Now, pull yourself together and be the badass you’ve worked your ass off to become.”

I stand taller and smooth out my blouse before joining Arturo in the kitchen.

“Coffee?” He holds out a travel mug.

“Thank you.”

I follow him outside and head to my car when he stops me. “I’ll follow you to the arena to keep an eye on things.”

He rarely drives, so this might raise suspicions with Giuseppe.

“You don’t usually drive.”

He grins. “I gave my driver the day off. It’s a nice sunny day. I might put the top down.”

He opens the garage, disappears inside, and drives out in his luxurious convertible with the top down.

I laugh and get in my car. True to his word, he follows me the entire way to the arena, never letting anyone cut in between us, even though several cars tried.

He drives to the front of the parking lot to park in his front row parking spot with his name on a plaque. I park in my normal parking spot, grab my bag, and speed walk to the sidewalk to meet up with him.

“Today’s agenda is packed with meetings. First, we have a meeting with the mayor to go over potential housing developments, which we will go see in person. Later this afternoon, we have a meeting with John and Nicholas Valentino. They came up from Florida and want to go over future plans.”

“Did they close on the warehouse yet?”

Arturo looks surprised that I know about the Valentino’s and the plans for the two families to work together, but I’ve paid attention in the meetings.

“Yesterday. Since they bought the warehouse with a dock, we are going to plan a secret shipment down to them. A shipment that Giuseppe Rossi won’t find out about because he will be arrested or preoccupied with another fake shipment.”

“If we can pull that off, that plan is genius.”

We share a smile before heading toward the main arena doors.

Tires squeal through the parking lot behind us. Arturo pulls me through the front door and throws me to the ground just as gunshots shatter the glass doors.

“I think Giuseppe sent some of his men to take us out.” I say as more gunshots ricochet throughout the arena’s lobby.

“We need to take him out the first chance we get before he succeeds in getting the revenge he seeks.”

It’s life or death now, that much is clear. How the hell am I going to balance staying alive and feeding Giuseppe Rossi fake information, all the while keeping Francesca and Joseph out of the loop?