“The only one weak here is you,” Diego said. “Your time is up, Angelo. The Boss knows everything. We know what you were planning.”
“You’re really willing to risk your girlfriend? Maybe I should keep her alive. Make her suck my dick over your dead body.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Diego said.
“No, you’re right. I’ve got my guy trained on her right now.” Angelo put the phone to his ear. “She’s wearing a sexy little bikini and sitting relaxing, reading a book. She looks sexy as fuck.”
“Who is with her?”
“Your girl is on her own.”
Diego was done playing games. He fired the gun, shooting Angelo in the fucking head. He watched his cousin go down.
“What the fuck? What about Belle? You’ve got to get some guys over there.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Were your feelings for her a fucking lie?”
“No. Belle is safe. Angelo didn’t have eyes on her.”
“How the fuck could you know?”
“Three reasons. One, my woman would never wear a bikini, believe me. Two, she listens to books because she doesn’t like reading braille. She says it gives her a headache.” He lifted up the audio CD of one of her books for Richard to see. “And third, Charlotte’s with her. She’s not alone, and I doubt she’s even sunbathing. She wouldn’t do something like that with Charlotte until she felt comfortable with her. At the moment, it’s still weird.”
“Yeah, Charlotte is your fiancée?”
“No, she’s not. Not for much longer. I’ve got a plan I’m working on.” He walked back to Richard, spreading open the guy’s shirt. “This looks bad. We’re going to need to get you to the hospital.”
“I’ll be fine. Let me bleed out. Leave me with the asshole.”
“Not going to happen,” Diego said, helping Richard to his feet.
“And why is that not going to happen?”
“You’re my not-friend.”
Richard laughed and groaned. “Shit, I shouldn’t laugh. This is going to fucking kill me.”
Diego called his men to come and take care of the body. He also texted The Boss to say it had been taken care of. Now, he had to get Richard to the hospital so he didn’t die on him.
He didn’t consider him a friend, but he also didn’t see him as his enemy either, and he wasn’t going to allow him to bleed out on Belle’s carpet.
****
After taking Richard to the hospital, and staying to make sure he’d survive, Diego had another stop to make to Durante. After dealing with Angelo, he didn’t want to wait around for Belle to take a pregnancy test. All of his problems he wanted to be dealt with now, so he could focus all of his energies on his woman.
One of Durante’s men opened the door, showing him to a sitting room. He knew he wasn’t welcome. As capo, they rarely had unscheduled visits so this was breaking rules and code, but for now, he didn’t see a reason why he couldn’t.
“Diego, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard the news. Angelo is no longer a threat.”
“Yes, The Boss is already planning an attack on the Russians. It’s going to be a bloodbath but one we can win now that our secrets are safe.”
“Speaking of secrets, I have a proposition for you.”
“You do?”
“I don’t want to marry your daughter. I have no intention of doing so, but I have a feeling we could negotiate a compromise that will bind us together better than marriage. With a marriage, betrayals can still happen. Enemies still grow stronger, but in business, our only focus is bringing in the wealth and allowing our clubs to thrive.”
“Clubs?”
“I’ve been made aware that your nightclubs are costing you money. They haven’t been bringing home a profit for some time.”
“Charlotte,” Durante said, through gritted teeth.
“She has no wish to marry either, Durante. You told me you were a good man. I’m hoping that you’re willing to go into business with me, as partners, not as a son-in-law.”
“You think you have what it takes to help my clubs to thrive? All of them?”
“Yes. With an expansion within my city, it will spread for us, and we’ll be able to rule out the competition. People want fun. They want excitement. That’s everything I give them and more.”
“And in return, you don’t want to marry Charlotte?”
“Correct. I don’t want to make you my enemy. I want to make you my business partner.”
“That is … compelling.”
“We’d have to go to The Boss to change the arrangements.”
“There is where our problems lie, Diego. I want to go into business with you. I never liked Angelo. He was too much of a hothead, but you’ve got a firm head on your shoulders. You know how to do business, and that’s what we need.”
“Then we come up with a good enough plan and business model to prove to The Boss that a wedding is not what is needed. There is also something else.”