With My Breath (Lose My Breath #1)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SLATE

The vast walls of the library in Slate Hall swallow my vexed roars as I quarrel with Victor Mandrake. “How much money do you owe Victor?”

The question booms with irritation as I post my arm atop one of the cherry wood paneled bookshelves.

Victor crosses the library, his worried eyes stretching through the Victorian windows as he studies the sunset. The evening glow expands through the library, and a look of regret is present on Victor’s slender face as he summons the courage to answer me.

“I told you, Casimir, I will pay you back.”

A rigid huff breaks from my chest as I run my hands through my hair. “Victor, you have absolutely no money. You have squandered through all your family fortune, and you’re only standing here by my mercy. The mob family you owe is about two shots from killing you and tossing you in the Atlantic, and I can’t deny that I’m tempted to do the same. But your marriage to my sister and being my niece's father prompt me otherwise.”

Victor’s face scrunches with disappointment as he swallows every word I say.

“This addiction you can’t seem to shake will be the death of you, Victor. I can’t imagine how hard it was losing your family fortune to bad investments, but is gambling really the answer?”

I look Victor dead in the eyes, hoping I’m able to break through to him somehow.

“Man, I hate that I must come to you whenever I’m in a bind. Allison is the sole breadwinner, and as bad as that sounds, I figured the fastest way to retrieve at least a portion of what I lost was by winning it back. I thought if I kept going back, maybe, just maybe, one day, I would get lucky.”

Victor swipes a shaky hand through his blonde hair as his eyes leave mine, and his complexion pales with desperation as he awaits my response.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I swear on,”

“Don’t you dare put anything on my niece’s life, Victor,”

I snap as heat floods my chest.

Victor swallows, my death stare making him swarm as he opens his mouth. “On my life, it will not happen again,”

He finishes.

“And I’m just supposed to take your word for it after the- shit. I don’t even know how many times it’s been that I’ve gotten you out of this.”

I make my way to the other side of the room, sliding my hands in my pockets as my mind ventures into deep thought.

Should I help him out of this mess or let him drown in it? But If I don’t help, my nieces could suffer, and I can’t have that.

“This is the last time I pay your way, Victor. How much?”

Victor inhales a deep breath as the digits fumble out. “Two million dollars.”

I drop onto one of the opulent sofa chairs as Greta brings me a glass of rum, the liquor swirling down my throat as I swallow the sum given to me. “I will ensure the Rossi’s receive the money directly.”

Victor suspires a breath as he studies the flames of the fireplace. “This wouldn’t happen if you would just give me a job at Slate Enterprises. Allison has asked you numerous times, yet you still refuse.”

“And that surprises you, Victor?”

I laugh with a deep swallow of rum, crossing my legs while leaning back against the velvet of the chair. “I don’t trust you, Victor. In fact, I’ve never trusted you. More so, you couldn’t even sustain your own family business. I won’t give you the ability to destroy mines.”

Victor nods his head in understanding, and I can see the guilt in his eyes as he rips them from me. “I may not say much about you cheating on my sister, and that’s primarily due to her and I exchanging words regarding your infidelity. But one thing I will not stand for is you endangering the lives of my nieces. Victor, if you gamble again and my family is put in danger AGAIN, I will kill you myself and ensure that no one remembers who you are.”

My threat strikes Victor in the heart like a knife as renowned horror flourishes in his eyes. My brother-in-law turns and leaves the library without even attempting to come up with some bland excuse as to why he will not do it again. By now, he knows I’m tired of them, and the seriousness of my threat has settled deep within his soul.

“Did you have to be that hard on him,”

Allison queries as she enters the library. “He is technically your brother.”

“That fool is no brother of mine,”

I jut out while sitting the glass of rum on the small table before me. “Allison, why are you still with him?”

My question pursues Allison to the fireplace, the cerise flames highlighting her pallid glow and royal blue ball gown as she stares into them.

“Victor may not be the best husband, but he is a damn good father,”

She defends.

“Forgive me if I find myself questioning how diving into gambling every weekend and endangering your own wife and children makes you a good father.”

My legs bound me to my feet, bringing me from the chair and over to my sister as the two of us lock eyes.

“Not only will I arrive late at a charity event I’m the benefactor of, but I’m going to have to deal with the Rossi’s, and well, you know how agreeable they can be.”

Allison graces me with a rictus smile while her hands smooth out her gown, her feet circling her around my parked body as she speaks. “We all have our addictions, Casimir.”

“Not all our addictions endanger the lives of the people we care about. I don’t understand why you can’t seem to comprehend that being with Victor is dangerous.”

“Being a Slate is dangerous, and you’re no better than Victor, bringing an innocent girl into your world, into our world where the sharks devour the fish!”

Allison stops in front of me, her eyes desperately searching mine as if wondering what the hell I’m thinking. “Jasmine has no idea what you have brought her into. Not only have you made her Tianna’s victim, but countless others will seek her out to destroy you.”

I swallow the frankness of her statement as she continues to speak. “Things are different now, Casimir.”

“Nothing has changed,”

I growl while crossing the library.

“Oh yes, they’ve changed, baby brother. You have made the mistake of falling in love. You won’t let Jasmine go. You have a weakness now; and once word gets out, they will be after her. After her child,”

“DON’T bring her into this. No one will find out about Jasmine. Unless you find a reason to tell them yourself.”

Allison scoffs at the accusation, her hand grabbing her chest like it has become impossible for her to breathe.

“I would never, regardless of what you may think of me. I would never intentionally hurt you or anyone else.”

Silence looms between us as I glare out the window. Suddenly, the incandescent waterfall is more befitting than this conversation. “I will do anything to protect Jasmine. She’s the love of my life, and I will never allow anyone to hurt her.”

“She doesn’t know your secret. She doesn’t know our secret,”

Allison whispers as she nears me, her hand reaching out as she places it firmly atop my shoulder. “No one knows, Casimir. Not even Victor.”

A deep breath escapes me as I rear around to look at Allison, and my body stiffens as I give my throat permission to work, “Tianna knows.”

Allison removes her hand and slams it against her mouth, being careful not to smudge her perfectly placed red lip stain.

My hands line the inside of my pockets as I wait for my sister to inspire my revelation.

“How?”Fear tinges on my sister’s voice, but I cannot keep Allison in the dark. I must tell her everything, mainly because she and I are in this together.

“I have no idea. Tianna threatened me the night I ended our engagement. She assumed that would force me to go through with the wedding, but I walked away. When nothing came of it, I thought maybe she had gotten over the breakup and moved on with her life, but once she saw Jasmine. The threat was released all over again. The worst part is I think she is serious.”

“Casimir, if Tianna tells anyone, that will destroy us.”

Allison wails as she rushes over to me.

“I know Allison.”

“So, then we fix it. I’ll talk to Tianna myself. See if I can reason with her.”

“You can’t reason with a lunatic, Allison. Besides, she wants me; nothing else will make her keep our secret.”

Allison takes in a rigid breath as she sits down on one of the sofa chairs, her ball gown puffing her upward as she thinks.

“Tianna is still in love with me. She won’t outright destroy me. But she feels that revealing my secret to Jasmine will make her leave me. But If I tell Jasmine myself, then the backlash won’t be detrimental.”

“Casimir, I can’t believe you are even considering this. You mustn’t tell Jasmine anything. We can’t risk it. It could destroy us.”

Allison bites her tongue at the thought, and I question just how detrimental things will be if Jasmine ever found out.

“End things with Jasmine, Casimir. End them now before it’s too late.”

My sister’s sanction sends waves of thunder through my heart. There is absolutely no way I would end things with Jasmine now, and I know that’s selfish of me. A good man would let her go, but I’m not a good man.

“For heaven’s sake, she’s married Casimir. What kind of life do you think you can have with a married woman and two of her kids!”

Allison’s tone is enraged, but I don’t hesitate to reply: “She’s legally separated, Allison. A divorce is inevitable with the amount of misery she is experiencing in her marriage.”

“And then what Casimir? You’re going to be there to pick up the pieces? Bring them into this hellish life of ours?”

“I love her, Allison.”

I shift my eyes to Allison, and her heart dives deep into her stomach as my confession sinks in.

“Then you are screwed. We are all screwed.”

“The car is ready, Casimir.”

Don’s voice hauls Allison and me from our conversation as he enters the library. I glance at the bald German.

“Is everything alright,”

Don asks, walking further into the room.

I fish my phone from the pocket of my slacks and call my bank. “Be sure to take care of Jasmine for me. Security will guard you both to the Gala.”

Allison nods her head. A banker picks up the phone, and I motion for Don to lead the way as I exit the library.

The ride from the bank to the Rossi’s is a prolonged one. I promptly informed Don of the details while we were at the bank gathering the money, and both Don and I armed ourselves with guns before arriving at the mob boss’s mansion. Antonioni Rossi isn’t always a reasonable man. He trusts no one and, therefore, instructed us to come to his premises without security.

“Does Allison know this will be the last time you bail her husband out of this mess?”

Don asks while snatching a look at me through the rearview mirror.

I lean back, the metal briefcase full of the two million dollars resting atop my legs as I speak, “She received the message the moment Victor got it.”

“Do you need me to handle it, sir?”

Don’s tone reminds me of his assassin days. The Slates have employed the German for two decades, and I can still remember the secret meetings my father held with Don in his office. They would exchange covert messages, and all my father’s enemies would oddly experience a deadly accident shortly after the meetings.

It wasn’t until I was twenty-one years old that I discovered the truth about Don. It was during that time that I forced him to teach me how to become a lethal assassin without ever getting caught. In case I ever needed to protect myself or my family.

Good times, I say inaudibly while bringing my mind back to the question at hand.

“No, Don. I’m convinced he understands the message.”

The Bentley arrives outside the iron gate of Rossi’s Mediterranean mansion, and white light beams into our faces as security shines a flashlight on the vehicle.

“They are good to go,”

The security confirms into the microphone as the gates swing open.

Numerous expensive cars line the driveway, and guests barricade their way inside the mansion to attend whatever party the Rossi’s are throwing. The Bentley drives past the vehicle and rears around the back. Just as it does each time I arrive at the Rossi’s mansion, parking in the designated spot.

I slip the gun inside the back of my slacks, gripping the metal suitcase as Don and I step out of the car. Several security men dressed in all black stand outside the back door of the mansion, and both Don and I lift our hands in the air as the security run their eyes across us.

I established a while ago that Rossi’s security could not touch me, and out of respect, Rossi agreed. But it doesn’t stop his security from ensuring that Don and I didn’t bring any weapons. Fortunately, the German taught me how to hide my gun so that no one would see it upon scan.

The security men escort us through the back door and down a narrow hall where Antonioni Rossi and two of his closest men are receiving lap dances from erotically dressed women.

The door slams behind us, and Antonioni rises instantly, his hand stretched out as he greets me with a solid handshake.

“How long has it been,”

he asks, a cigar hanging from his mouth as the smoke smothers the room.

I watch the mob boss as he crosses back to the spacious white sofa, two of the strippers pouncing onto him the moment he sits down.

Don transfers his eyes across the room. Two security guards stand behind us—two next to Antonioni and two more on the far end. The music is blaring, and I can hardly hear my own voice as I speak.

“Here’s your two million.”I lift the suitcase outward with one hand, and Antonioni snaps at one of his security guards.

The thin man moves towards me to retrieve the case, but I draw it back just before he can grab it, my eyes bleeding into Antonioni’s as he studies me.

“I will give you the money under one condition,”

I begin, my voice raw with irritation.

Antonioni sits forward, his stomach bunching into rolls as he inhales deep puffs from his cigar. “You’re paying a debt with condition? A debt that is owed to me?”

Mirthfulness paints the syllabus of his question, but I don’t find a damn thing amusing.

I cock my head while taking a step forward, and two of Antonioni’s security move with me.

“Okay, what is your condition?”

The mob boss raps.

“You are not to allow Victor Mandrake into any of your casinos.”

A disappointed look spreads Antonioni’s face, and his hands shoot away the stripper who is kissing his neck. “Let me make sure I heard you correctly. Because your brother-in-law can’t control his addictions, you want me to agree to lose money in my casinos?”

There is a sarcastic ring to his tone, but I don’t flinch. Instead, my glare intensifies.

“Oh shit, Casimir, you’re being serious. I assume you’ve spoken to your brother-in-law?”

I lean forward, ensuring I have the mob boss completely in my sight. Don pushes his way between Antonioni’s security and me, the erotic stripers bounding to their feet and hurling from the room as things heat up.

“Let me make myself clear,”

I rap a bit slower this time around. “If I find out you have allowed my brother-in-law back into one of your casinos, I will not only pull the investments my father partook in your God-forsaken casinos. I will destroy you and everything you stand for.”

My threat flares truth into the mob boss’s chest as he leans back, his fingers grabbing at another cigar as he lights it.

“You’re just like your father,”

Antonioni begins between puffs. “The powerful billionaire. Destroyer of dreams. That is what drove him to an early grave, I assure you.”

“If any harm comes to my sister or nieces Antonioni, I swear-”

The mob boss lifts a thick hand.“Keep your threats. I’m not your enemy, Casimir.”

I give the weighty suitcase to one of his security guards and step back.

“Despite what you may think of me, Casimir Slate, I do not murder women or children. Only the debtor answers to me. I don’t wish to make an enemy out of you just as you don’t want to make one out of me. Your father and I go way back. He saved my life, and for that, I am forever in the Slate’s debt.”

Antonioni sits up once again, his eyes commanding his security to back down as he extends his hand. “If Victor tries to sneak his way into one of my casinos, you will be the first to know. Although I cannot keep him from someone else’s casino.”

I grip Antonioni’s hand and give a firm shake before letting go, spinning on my toes to leave, but before Don and I exit, Antonioni’s throat is working, “Tianna Ricci is hungry for blood. She wants to destroy you. She has even come to me for assistance. Of course, I turned her away.”

I pause at the threshold, my eyes racing across the blue-washed floors. “As I’ve mentioned before, I am forever in your debt. If you need me to handle it.”

“I have it under control,”

I interject just before Don, and I leave.