Cruel Betrayals (Savannah Sharks Hockey and Mafia #3)

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

JOSEPH

The sweet smell of coffee cake floats downstairs and into the gym where I’m currently running on the treadmill, trying to escape from my problems. My stomach betrays me and growls like a beast.

It’s been years since I’ve smelt fresh coffee cake baking in our house. Mom used to make one every Saturday morning, and the four of us would sit around the table and eat and talk. Mom and Dad would sip on their coffees while Francesca and I would chug our hot cocoas and beg for a second cup.

Dad tried to keep up the tradition after Mom’s death, but it just wasn’t the same without her. By the time we moved to Savannah, it was a long forgotten tradition, never to happen again.

So, who’s baking a coffee cake upstairs right now? And why this late in the day?

My stomach lets out another growl, like it’s begging for a piece of cake and a cup of cocoa. Well, now, I’d drink a cup of coffee, but my stomach can’t distinguish the age difference.

With another growl, I stop the treadmill. I guess my workout is over. Grabbing my bottle of water and towel, I jog upstairs to see who is responsible for my shortened workout.

Francesca is dancing around the kitchen while singing along to the upbeat pop song that’s playing on the local radio station. There are mixing bowls and spatulas piled high in the sink. One coffee cake is cooling on the stove as another one bakes in the oven.

Dad is sitting at the counter reading the newspaper, like he used to when Mom was alive. Well, before her first death.

“What’s the meaning of the coffee cake? Are you trying to bring back happier memories or something?”

Francesca spins around and slams her hand over her chest. “Joey, oh my God, why don’t you give me a heart attack?”

I chuckle and take a seat next to Dad. He hands me the sports section, like he did when I was a kid and just getting into sports. “It’s not like it’s quiet here. You have the radio playing and you’re singing.”

She scowls. “But I wasn’t expecting you to come upstairs for another fifteen minutes.”

“Well, tell that to my stomach because he decided my workout was over and it was time to grab a mid-afternoon snack.”

“This one will be done in five minutes. I just need to get plates and forks and put the dishes in the dishwasher.”

I get off my stool and head to the dishes. “I’ll load the dishwasher.”

“This is just like old times.” She says as she reaches around me to rinse off her hands.

“Speaking of old times, why are you baking coffee cakes at four thirty in the afternoon?”

“Because it’s time to bring back some of our traditions. Even though Mom is dead, for real this time, we are still a family and should act like one.”

I narrow my eyes at her before loading the dishes into the dishwasher. There has to be another reason. Why would she wake up today and feel the urge to bake?

“Are you sure there isn’t another reason?” I ask as I sit back down on the stool next to Dad.

“Like what?” She sets three plates down on the table in our normal spots and lays a fork on each plate.

We stare at each other as we try to gauge who has a bigger secret. Growing up, she always had the bigger secrets, but she would find a way to turn the questioning around to me. I’d end up confessing to something else just to keep Mom and Dad from finding out what I was really hiding.

“Maybe you and Rhett have something to share with the rest of us?”

Dad lays down his section of the newspaper to listen to our conversation.

Francesca rolls her eyes. “Well, Rhett and I do want a family. Everyone knows that.”

Dad looks at Francesca, like he’s about to scold her. “But not until you two are married, right?”

Francesca laughs. “We are getting married this summer. Even if I got pregnant right away, I wouldn’t have a baby before then.”

She glares at me before taking the coffee cake out of the oven and placing it on the stove next to the other one.

“Fran, you know how I feel about having babies out of wedlock.”

She interrupts him. “Daddy, I’m not pregnant, but yeah, let’s discuss having a baby out of wedlock. It’s not like anyone will really know. Uncle Tony, AJ, and Angelica are the only ones that keep in touch, and they won’t judge me.”

Dad pinches the bridge of his nose. “After all the trouble of you dating the Rossi heir, the last thing I need to worry about is you bringing a child into the middle of this war.”

Francesca leans across the bar and kisses his cheek. “Relax, Daddy. I am not pregnant. Rhett would be here if I were, and as you can see, he’s not.”

Her gaze lingers on me for a second too long before she cuts the coffee cake and brings it over to the table. “Come on and eat before it gets cold.”

I grab a cup of coffee and refill Dad’s cup before joining them at the table.

When the cake is plated, Francesca bounces in her chair like a child.

“So?” she asks as I take a bite.

I nod as the cinnamon flavor explodes in my mouth. “This is really good, Franny. Thanks for baking it.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Dad glances from me to her and back to me. “What’s going on?”

I shrug. “I’d like to know as well because this is awkward as hell.”

Francesca grins and blurts out. “You’re going to be a dad!”

Her statement catches me off guard. I drop my fork with a loud clang and growl out, “How the hell do you know about that?”

She waves me off. “I was with Alexandra when she bought you the present.”

Dad grins with a bite of cake a mere inch from his mouth. “Alexandra is pregnant with my first grandchild? I’m going to be a Nonno?”

I glare at Francesca before turning my attention to Dad. “No, you’re not.”

He places his bite of cake back on his plate and scratches his head. “What do you mean? If she’s pregnant with your child, why won’t I be a Nonno? Or is the baby not yours?”

“All you have to know is that I took care of it, and I’d like to stop talking about it now.” I stab another bite of the cake with my fork and shove it in my mouth. I should have known Francesca had ulterior motives for baking the coffee cakes. She’s never baked before.

Dad places his hands in his lap and speaks slowly, like he’s trying hard not to show his anger. “What do you mean you took care of it? Where is Alexandra? Are you the reason I no longer have an executive assistant working for me?”

I turn to face him. “Alexandra lied to me. She lied to all three of us. Hell, she even lied about her name. She’s been working with Giuseppe Rossi for God knows how long. There are pages upon pages of text messages and calls between the two of them.”

Francesca huffs and drops her fork on her plate. “What did you do?”

“I fired her and then gave her a bag of cash to make her disappear. I told her I didn’t want anything to do with her or the baby. I can’t be with someone like her. Someone who can betray me like that without a second thought.”

Dad clenches his jaw and Francesca glares at me. They are pissed. Francesca jumps out of her seat and yanks her purse off the counter.

“I’ve got to go check on her. I’ll call you later, Dad.” She slams the door behind her.

Dad sighs. “Joey, I wish you came to me sooner. Actually, I wish I put two and two together because all of this could have been avoided.”

“What’s going on?”

“I need to tell you the truth about what’s been going on. Alexandra came to me a while ago and told me Giuseppe Rossi had kidnapped her and her father. He gave her no choice but to spy on us and leak information to him.”

Anger and guilt build inside me. What did I do? “You knew?”

“It was my idea to leak fake information to Giuseppe Rossi every few days. It was his idea for the two of them to meet in person.”

“The furniture shipment was your idea too, wasn’t it?”

“It was. She didn’t want you to get hurt and now I know why, but I told her to leave you and Francesca in the dark about our plan. The fewer people that knew, the more convincing it would be to Rossi and his men.”

I stare down at the cake on my plate, feeling like the worst person in the world. “I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

Dad lets out a deep breath. “That depends on what happened to Alexandra and how you plan on making it up to her and your child.”

His phone goes off with a text message. He opens the message and stares at his screen with a frown. I watch, frozen in my spot, as his frown turns to pure, unadulterated anger.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I finally ask.

He spins his phone around, showing me his screen. I take the phone to get a closer look at the picture he was just sent. My heart drops into my stomach.

It’s a picture of Alexandra sitting on a thin as shit mattress on the floor. She has tucked herself into the corner of the room with her knees pressed as close to her chest as she can get them. Her eyes are red and puffy, like she’s been crying for days.

“You need to fix this, and you need to fix this now.” Dad takes his phone back as it chimes with another message.

“I will figure out a way to get her out of there and to make things right.”

I have to. This is all my fault. I’m responsible for the tears in her eyes and the ache in her chest.

Dad spins the phone around to show me the message.

If you want to live to see your heir, come to the fort at six tonight. Come alone or else.

There’s no way I’m letting Dad go to the fort tonight, let alone by himself.

“You’re not going. I’m going to put an end to this once and for all.”

“This is a risky plan, Joseph. Alexandra isn’t going to be with him and you know it. There’s a reason he wants to meet alone at the fort, and I should be the one to find out why.”

“We all know why. He’s going to kill you. He’s been trying to kill you, and he isn’t going to stop just because Alexandra is pregnant with my child. If anything, he will want to kill her and the baby to put an end to our family line.”

My hand slams down on the table, causing our forks to clang against the glass plates.

Dad’s voice is much calmer than mine. “That’s exactly why I need to be the one to go to the fort. He wants me there. You can assemble a team and go get Alexandra tonight.”

“And just let you walk to your death? Over my dead fucking body, will that happen.”

“Alexandra and your baby need you.”

“And the family needs you. I know I’ll take over one day when you retire, but that day is not tomorrow. And it sure as fuck isn’t going to be because you died.”

I have to clench my jaw and gnash my teeth to keep from telling Dad what I really think of his decision-making skills right now. He’s not thinking clearly. He’s not thinking about the future.

“You are more than capable of running things. Sure, it might be harder on you when you have away games, but that’s why you will have a right-hand man.”

“Look, Dad, I don’t want to argue. I respect the hell out of you, but how could I live with myself if something happened to you at the fort? How will Franny react to losing both parents so close together?”

Dad closes his eyes for a moment. “I want you to bring a tracking device in case Giuseppe has other plans in mind. I’ll have Alvin pull it up on the television, and we will track you the entire time until you are back home.”

I nod. “That’s a reasonable request that I can comply with.”

“I’ll call Alvin and see if he can come over. You can grab a tracker out of the security room and message your sister and let her know you are going to meet Giuseppe.”

I start to protest, but Dad holds up his hand. “She’s probably worried she can’t find Alexandra. The least you can do is let your sister know Rossi has Alexandra.”

I pull out my phone and send a quick message to Francesca.

Dad wants me to let you know I’m going to the fort to meet up with Giuseppe. He also has Alexandra at his house.

She immediately replies.

Are you a fucking idiot? Please tell me you aren’t serious. Don’t go to the fort. That’s where he brings men to die.

Giuseppe wants Dad to come. I volunteered to go in his place. It’s better this way. I’m bringing a tracker, so all is well.

Don’t do this, Joey. Don’t go. Let’s think of another plan.

I can hear the desperation in her voice.

Bring Rhett over to the house. You can watch my every move on the television and keep Dad company. I’ll have my guns.

I tuck my phone into my pocket and head to the other side of the house where the security wing is. Grabbing two of the trackers, I tuck one into my sock and one into my pocket.

If, for some reason, Giuseppe gets ahold of me and searches my belongings, they will find the one tracker in my pocket and not look for a second one.

I make my way to the living room where Dad is talking to Alvin on the phone and trying to get the television input changed.

My phone chimes with a message.

We are on our way. Rhett is going to ride with you. Drop him off a couple of blocks away so it will look like you are alone. Don’t argue about this, please.

I don’t bother messaging her back. They will be here in a few minutes.

“Do you need help, Dad?”

He shakes his head before banging the remote on the table. “Dead batteries. I’ll have to get new ones.”

He listens to what Alvin says while getting two new batteries out of the television stand drawer. He quickly changes the batteries before ending the call. “Alvin is pulling in now. He was already on his way here to do an update on the system.”

“Francesca and Rhett should be here in a few minutes.”

Dad doesn’t say anything. He sits down on the couch as if he’s carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

A few minutes later, the back door opens. Alvin, Francesca, and Rhett walk in.

“Let’s go.” I say, looking at Rhett. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can eat dinner.”

“No complaints from me.”

Francesca wraps her arms around his waist. I leave the two alone to have their moment and head over to Alvin and Dad.

“I have two trackers, so don’t be alarmed when you get it up and running.”

Rhett and I get in my car and head to the fort. I circle the parking lot before parking along the tree edge and letting him out.

He leans through the open window. “I’ll keep to the edges and look out for any of his men. I’ll make sure I have eyes on you at all times. If shit hits the fan, just give the signal.”

When I first met him and the team, the signal they used to alert one another was always a loud whistle. The whistle always drew attention, so we switched to a bird call.

“Will do. Don’t get caught.”

He dips behind a row of trees as I drive off. I park next to Giuseppe’s car and slowly walk along the paved path to the footbridge that goes over the moat that’s surrounding the fort.

Giuseppe is standing on the bridge alone. “So the great Arturo Marino sends his son?”

“No. I came on my own. Why did you want to meet with my father?”

“I wanted to hash things out with him, man to man.”

“It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?”

We stare at one another for a few moments before he turns away and walks deeper into the fort.

“It’s never too late to forgive. That’s a lesson you can take with you for the rest of your life.”

He seems weird and not like his usual self. Did something happen to Alexandra? Is regret sinking in?

“Would you like a glass of wine?” He picks up a picnic basket from one of the benches along the walkway.

“No, thank you. I need to stay in peak performance. I have back-to-back games coming up.”

That, and I don’t trust him not to poison me.

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you have a career besides the criminal lifestyle. Your mother was proud of you. She talked about you and Francesca all the time.”

“What the fuck is going on?” I ask bluntly.

He glances my way. His expression is softer, almost kinder. “I told you, I came here to hash out old problems. It’s a stepping stone, so to speak.”

Is he sick? Is he really trying to make amends? I feel like I stepped into an alternate dimension.

“Well, if you really want to hash out old problems and make things right, you can start by releasing the mother of my child.”

A smirk forms on his face. “I’m not done with her just yet. She still has a purpose to fulfill.”

My fists clench as anger fills my veins. I will get Alexandra out of his house, and there will be hell to pay for anyone involved in her kidnapping.