Sinful Secrets (Savannah Sharks Hockey and Mafia #2)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

SPENCER

My phone vibrates off the mattress, landing on the end table with a loud thump. Without opening my tired eyes, I reach over and grab my phone off the wooden table.

Message after message comes through. Annoyance grows with each new vibration.

What the hell is going on?

I look at my phone’s screen to see who’s about to get an earful for waking me up so damn early. It’s the team chat, and there are over a dozen messages from the guys and they keep sending more.

Great practice guys for the ones that actually showed up.

Yeah, keep up the good work.

Don’t forget we have conditioning practice tomorrow.

We also have the season ticket member meet and greet coming up this weekend.

Will someone let the absentees know?

They’re in this chat. They will see it sooner or later.

I doubt that. They are too busy doing whatever it is they are doing.

Knock it off, guys.

The more I read, the angrier I get. Coach Bobby knows why we miss or leave practice early, and it’s usually because Arturo needs us for a job. I doubt Coach would say anything to Arturo, but I’d love to be a fly on the wall if that ever happened.

Why should we? It’s the truth and you know it.

Yeah, we are tired of the double standards with the team.

If they miss practice, nothing happens, but if one of us misses, then we are labeled as a healthy scratch and have to miss the game.

Things need to change. Team morale is the lowest it’s ever been.

Don’t be a dick. The team is fine and we are winning, so whatever changed, it must be good.

All these keyboard warriors and not one of you will say it to their faces.

Bullshit. I’d say it to their faces, but they are never here.

I scroll up to see what and who started this chain of ranting. I roll my eyes when I get to the culprit. It’s none other than rookie Chase Williams.

“Williams, what the fuck are you trying to accomplish?” I whisper to myself as I glance to the other side of the bed.

It’s empty. Savannah must have gone to class already.

What time is it?

I continue reading the group messages, going all the way back to when I was in New York with Rhett and Francesca.

Williams started as soon as word got out that we were headed to New York. Gage responded a few times, but he never said anything to piss anyone off.

Chase, on the other hand, is going to piss off the wrong people and nothing I say will be able to help him. He’s already started shit with Rhett over Francesca. He doesn’t want to piss Joey off.

Joey might seem like the quiet kind at practice, but he’s as deadly as his father.

My phone pings with another message. This time it’s a group text from Arturo.

Clear your schedule for the day. Everyone.

As I’m trying to decipher Arturo’s message, my phone rings.

It’s Rhett.

Skipping the niceties, I ask, “What the hell is going on? It’s like eight in the morning and the team chat has been blowing up, and now we need to clear our schedules for Arturo.”

Rhett chuckles. “It’s ten, and you have officially missed this morning’s practice.”

“Shit, man. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” I jump out of Savannah’s bed and pull on yesterday’s clothing.

“Actually, that’s why I am calling. We are all meeting at Arturo’s.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure if I knew, I couldn’t say it over the phone. I do know that it’s going to take pretty much all day.”

Great. Not only is he being mysterious, but we have to walk into Arturo’s house completely in the dark.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” I say, before ending the call.

Of course, I’d much rather spend my afternoon with Savannah, but this sounds important.

Before leaving, I head to the opposite side of her room and admire the bouquet I bought. Savannah has them on her desk in front of the window.

Something sticking out from under the vase gets my attention.

Did she accidentally place the vase on the note card?

I lift up the vase and pick up the business card before placing the vase back down on the desk.

Savannah Police Department

Jacob Carter, Detective

(912) 555-0117

It’s a cop’s card.

Why does Savannah have a detective’s business card under the vase of flowers I bought?

I take several deep breaths to calm the anger building in my chest.

Is this who tipped her off about Arturo and the Sharks?

Is that why she wanted to know more about the mafia?

Grabbing my phone, I call Savannah.

It rings and rings, but she doesn’t answer.

I end the call and quickly type a message.

Where are you?

My free hand tightens into a fist as heat floods my body.

“I can’t believe this. How could she do this to me? And to the team?” I huff.

Savannah immediately responds.

I’m in class. I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up. You were snoozing hard.

I know I should leave and calm down before having this conversation with Savannah, especially since my presence has been requested at Arturo’s, but I unleash all of my anger, disappointment, and outrage on her.

Did you join the ice girls to spy on me and the team?

Is that why you wanted to know more about the team and the mafia last night?

Don’t bother trying to deny it. I found the detective’s card under the vase.

I send message after message. My anger builds with each text I send until all I can think about is blocking her number and never seeing her again.

I don’t want to hear any excuses, nor do I want to see you anymore.

We’re done.

Lose my number.

Have a nice life.

I turn the detective’s card over and see an FBI agent’s name and phone number. After taking a picture of both sides of the card, I shove my phone in my back pocket and leave without looking back.

My phone rings as I jog down the stairs and exit her dorm building.

Savannah.

I ignore the call and turn my phone off. Anyone that will need to talk to me will be at Arturo’s. I get into my car and speed across town to Arturo’s house.

As soon as I walk through the back basement door, I pull Joey and Rhett to the side.

“What’s going on?” Joey asks.

“I don’t know if Rhett told you, but I’ve been seeing someone. Hell, I love her and told her as much.”

Joey claps me on my back. “Congrats, man, but your face is saying everything except love.”

“Yeah, it’s funny how things can change in an instant.”

Rhett glances around the room before lowering his voice. “What’s going on?”

“She is working on the side with the police, or they have singled her out to be a mole for them.”

“How do you know? Did she tell you this?”

I shake my head. “I found the detective’s card under the vase of flowers I bought for her. The kicker is that an FBI agent’s contact information was written on the back, so the police are working with the feds.”

Both men glance around and swear. “Son of a bitch.”

Joey adds, “This is the last thing Dad needs right now.”

“We can keep it between the three of us for now, but he needs to know if they are investigating him.”

“They are always investigating him. He keeps the illegal stuff to just a few of his guys. You two included.”

“She doesn’t know much, at least I didn’t think she did, but now I’m not so sure.” I run my hand through my hair and blow out a breath. “Shit. I just remembered Arturo has her on the permanent delivery schedule.”

“We can take her off the list, especially if she’s relaying information to the feds.”

I slowly nod. “That would probably be for the best.”

She might be pissed, but we can’t take a chance. It’s better to have a clean cut from her rather than dragging it out.

If only there was a way to keep her from being an ice girl.

Rhett glances at his phone before saying, “The Emerald City Reapers have disappeared. No one has seen or heard from them since they confronted you and slashed your tire.”

How is that possible? We have hundreds of contacts all over the city.

“What? How? Where would they go?”

Rhett shrugs and tucks his phone back into his pants. “Somewhere underground. No one knows anything and you know word travels fast. Everyone knows there’s a new vigilante gang in town, but no one knows their true identities.”

The back door opens and Francesca and Arturo walk in.

“If this is going to take all day, whatever this is, what are we going to do about the game tonight?”

Francesca walks over to our little group. Rhett wraps his arm around her waist. “We are meeting the team at the arena in time for warmups.”

“Isn’t that cutting it close?”

Joey chimes in. “This is more important.”

Maybe for them. Being in the mafia is their past, present, and future. It’s their life, and while it’s currently my life, I don’t expect to be a major player in operations for the rest of my life.

I want kids and a family.

Well, I did want kids and a family with Savannah.

On the other hand, showing up late will keep me from running into Savannah, so that’s a plus.

Arturo clears his throat and all conversation stops. There’s only one non Savannah Sharks employee here right now, and that’s Lorenzo, Arturo’s right-hand security man.

“What I am about to say does not leave this room.”

We all nod our heads in agreement, and he continues.

“My ex-wife Elizabeth Marino and Giuseppe Rossi are in town. We have accepted their invitation for a civil sit down meeting.”

Francesca scoffs. “What? Why would we want to meet with her?”

“Because we aren’t the only ones The Emerald City Reapers are going after. I have already agreed to a temporary partnership with them until we can stop the vigilantes.”

“Mom lied to you. To us. For most of my life. She chose them, and now you want to work with them?”

Arturo clenches his jaw as his gaze wanders around the room. “So now you have something against their family? You wanted to attend their heir’s funeral while being engaged to his killer.”

I have to clamp my mouth shut, so it doesn’t fall open. I know there are no secrets in the family, but I’ve never heard Arturo speak to either of his children this way.

Francesca crosses her but doesn’t say anything else.

Arturo tells everyone their jobs and what he expects from each of us during this meeting.

It’s common sense. Be respectful but not a pushover. Don’t speak unless directly asked a question. And last but not least, protect Francesca.

Rhett, Francesca, Joey, and I load up in Rhett’s truck while Arturo and Lorenzo take another vehicle.

Francesca sings along to the radio as Rhett drives to the Rossi estate.

“This is becoming too much of a habit.” Rhett grunts out as he turns down the long driveway.

“What is?” I ask from the seat behind him.

“Driving to the Rossi estate, having a friendly conversation with them, and pretending everything is hunky-dory.”

Joey chuckles. “Hunky-dory? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah, hunky-dory. You know, rainbows and sunshine, or nice and pleasant?”

“I don’t particularly like them, but if we can stop the gang, then I’m all for the temporary partnership.”

Rhett parks behind Arturo, and we all climb out and head toward the newly renovated front door.

Giuseppe opens the door. “Welcome. Thank you for coming. Please come in.”

He’s a little too eager for us to come inside. It’s raising all sorts of red flags.

But we file inside the mansion as if this is just an ordinary meeting between friends.

Giuseppe leads us to the living room, where an older woman is already sitting on the couch.

By the way Francesca and Joey freeze and tense up, I assume this is their mother. Several men enter the room and move to stand around Giuseppe and Elizabeth.

I stare at her as everyone moves to take a seat on a couch. She looks like a grade A bitch.

From the tight-fitted name brand clothing to the scowl on her face all the way down to the highest fucking heels I’ve ever seen.

Giuseppe sits down next to her and places his hand on her thigh in a possessive manner.

Joey growls as Francesca makes a move toward him, but Rhett pulls her back.

I grab Joey and pull him over to the furthest couch. Rhett does the same with Francesca.

Arturo and Lorenzo take a seat on the couch closest to them. He doesn’t even look at Elizabeth.

Giuseppe glances over at our couch. “First, I need to apologize for the outburst at the funeral. I have taken care of it and I promise it will never happen again.”

Francesca nods. “What did he mean? What did my family do?”

She glares at her mother.

Giuseppe takes a deep breath. “Jax was a good kid, but he didn’t know how to process death and trauma. It’s why he wasn’t higher up in the organization. He might have been the heir, but he wasn’t taking over for my family.”

I sit still, not moving an inch, but beside me, I can feel Joey shaking with anger.

Giuseppe glances at Arturo before continuing. “Jax concocted this idea that the Marinos killed his mother, and no matter how many times I’ve told him that wasn’t true, he still believed it.”

Francesca leans forward in her seat. “How did his mother die?”

Elizabeth answers for him with a sneer. “It was a tragic car accident. No survivors.”

There is no emotion in her voice, as if she’s known about it since it happened. As if it wasn’t really an accident.

Son of a bitch. Did Giuseppe kill his wife to steal Arturo’s?

Giuseppe clears his throat. “We also have matters to discuss regarding the local gang, but Arturo and I can do that in my office. I believe there are conversations that need to be had.”

Arturo stands and follows Giuseppe out of the living room, leaving us in an awkward silence.

Elizabeth uncrosses her legs and stands before walking over to the bar cart. “I suppose you want to know why I faked my death all those years ago?”

Joey huffs and stands. “Honestly, I don’t give a flying fuck what your reasoning for faking your death was. I’m going to find Dad and see what we can do about the gang.”

He disappears down the hallway.

Francesca leans back, resting her body tightly against Rhett’s. “Well, go on.”

Elizabeth purses her lips. It’s identical to the way Francesca looks at Rhett when she’s annoyed at him.

“Wow.” I murmur to myself.

Rhett gives me a knowing glance, like he sees the same thing I do.

“A long time ago, before I met your father, I was in love with Giuseppe, but my parents didn’t approve. Back then, his family was poor and barely a functioning mafia. My father had big dreams, and they all depended on me marrying into a rich family.”

She downs her drink before making another one.

“My father made me marry Arturo. We never got along, but it was a business transaction. One that required me to produce an heir.”

Francesca stands. “You gave Dad an heir when you had Joey. Why did you stick around and have me if you were so miserable?”

Elizabeth clinks her nails on the crystal wineglass. “Don’t ask questions you aren’t ready to hear the answers to.”

“Tell me.” Francesca growls out.

“You weren’t planned. It just sort of happened one night after I was with Giuseppe. I was tipsy and horny and your father was a willing participant.”

“So you slept with Giuseppe, then came home and slept with Dad?”

Why is she even asking this? Does she really want to know about her mother’s sex life?

Elizabeth shrugs as she sits back down. “Don’t think you’re any better than me. You were sleeping with my boyfriend’s son. You are just like me, going after your family’s rival.”

“I’m nothing like you. I’m in love with an outsider, someone who didn’t know about the mafia, and things were going great for us until you came back to life.”

Elizabeth fakes a yawn. “I’m sorry to put a halt to your plans.”

This is a weird interaction that seems to serve absolutely no purpose.

Francesca moves to stand next to the couch. Right next to Rhett. Her hand rests on his shoulder. “The plans are still on. I will marry him one day. If he will still have me.”

Has something happened to them since the funeral?

Elizabeth finishes her wine and sets her glass on the end table. “Francesca, don’t beg or grovel. It’s beneath you.”

“So what was the point of the visit? You just needed to tell me how in love with a Rossi you are? Did you want to rub it in our faces that you were living your best life while we were mourning you?”

A tear falls down her cheek, but she swipes it away before more can fall.

“I wanted to meet with you and to get some supplies from the basement. Clearly, our operations here need work because no one wants to go into business with us.”

“Maybe it’s because they know not to mix business with a lying, conniving bitch like you.”

Elizabeth gasps as her face contorts. She stands, like she’s ready to go a couple of rounds with Francesca.

The doorbell rings, breaking up some of the tension in the room.

Are they expecting someone else?

A couple of men leave the living room to check to see who it is. Their voices drift away a few seconds later as the blast of a shotgun rings throughout the house.