Married to the Mafia Boss

Frankie

I have guards everywhere I can possibly think to place them, and Amelia is by my side. I wait patiently with a file on Andres in front of me. Alessandro confirmed he is an outcast from the family, that there are problems within the family and that everything Andres said is true. He’s given me the go-ahead to negotiate as needed.

I keep a calm, cold disposition as the young man walks in. He’s tall and does bear a resemblance to Dave, but I don’t let any emotion cross my face.

I glance down at the file. People within The Catalans are dissatisfied with how Jose’s handling things. Some are greedy, while others are previously loyal members he’s mistreated and betrayed or whose loved ones he’s murdered.

I stand and hold out my hand, giving Andres a firm handshake, “Andres, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Francesco. I believe you have a proposition for me.”

We both sit down as he says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Francesco. May I call you Frankie? It’s how I know you.”

I give a slight nod, and he continues, “Thank you for meeting with me. I know you have no reason to trust me. I respect that you are still hearing me out.”

I don’t let emotion cross my face, this is purely business, and I don’t want to give him any ammunition against me. “Amelia says that you have a solution for my problem. My problem is that your uncle wants me dead. Am I to believe you want your uncle dead?”

Andres nods. “He murdered my father and one of my brothers in cold blood before we were banished from Columbia. I say banished, but we fled with what few things we could to get to the States and away from him. He hasn’t hunted us since, but we’re not welcome back. But first, let me apologize for my brother.”

He shuffles in his seat. “We’re not raised to treat women like he does, but he has always been the black sheep of our family. Mollycoddled more than anyone else, and he thinks he can do as he pleases. I am nothing like my brother. I am about business. I have logic and understand that some things happen, and you must let them go. There won’t be a repeat of this behavior from me.”

I incline my head. “It’s good to know, though I’d prefer your actions to show me that, but thank you for your words.”

“I will show you everything I am capable of, and I will have no doubt you’ll see my intentions are as I speak. Like with most families, the Catalans have subsidiaries, and they are not happy with what Jose is doing with the family. That expands outside of the family to other territories in other countries. Jose is currently holed up in Mexico with an extended family that protects him like guard dogs in a yard, so infiltrating Mexico will be my final step. What I need is a way into Argentina. There is a lot of unrest there. Many people are unhappy with Jose, and I know I can get them to form an alliance with me and with your family to overthrow Jose.”

I lean back slightly. “Argentina, you say?”

“Yes, it’s far enough away from Jose that I can operate right under his nose. I will work my way in from there.”

“It’s a good plan,” I say. “And you plan to use our name in this? To say you have the backing of the Sorvino family?”

“It will sway many people by knowing a powerful family is on their side,” Andres says.

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while,” I say. “You clearly know what it is you have to do.”

Andres nods. “I’ve been dreaming of knocking Jose off his pedestal ever since we fled to America. The man has no loyalty to his followers and doesn’t know how to treat those that work for him. I’ve seen the traditional Irish and Italian families in America and how they work, and I want to bring that into my family.”

“So, you’re going to get your alliances and then play your move on, Jose? That could take some time,” I say.

“I know it’s not an immediate solution to your problem, but it will be permanent once it’s done. Once we make our first move, Jose’s attention will be withdrawn from the States and back to South America and the various families he’s scorned. He’ll want to regain control, and I’m hoping to attack from enough sides that he won’t know where to move first.”

“And once this is done? What then?” I ask.

“What do you mean?” Andres asks back.

“Say I do this for you, I give you what you need and throw my family into this war. What happens once Jose is gone and you reign as Don Catalan?”

Andres looks straight into my eyes. “The alliance won’t wane because I win. I remember those that are loyal to me.”

“I want more than that.” I sit forward. “I want a formal alliance between our families and you to withdraw all Catalan influence in New York. Leave my territory. I don’t care where else you go.”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Andres falls silent. New York is a big bargaining chip, but I need to place our family in power. “Do we have a deal?”

“Yes,” Andres says, reaching out his hand. I shake it.

“I’ll get you into Argentina, and you can have access to my contacts that can move you around without Jose being aware, but if you cross me…there is nowhere you can hide that I won’t find you.”

Andres nods. “Understood.”

I stand, and he also stands. “I’ll have my family contact you about the arrangements. For now, I also expect that if you hear of any plots against my family from the Catalans that we will be warned in advance?”

“Of course, if my family here in America needs protection, they will be provided for?”

“Of course,” I say. “A man by the name of Joel will contact you. He will help you get what you need.”

Andres nods and turns to leave. I watch him exit and sit back down. Amelia, who has not said one word, steps forward. “And? Do you trust him?”

“I think we can, for now. Though I never throw all my trust at a person until their actions have spoken for themselves.”

“This could work, though, right?” she asks hopefully.

“It could. He seems to know what he’s doing, so it’s not just a power play from a jealous kid. Revenge is an excellent motivator for many circumstances. If it gets them to leave New York as well, that will be a big bonus.”

“Can you really get him to Argentina without detection?”

“His uncle’s men haven’t found us yet, have they?” I ask. “Despite your best efforts.”

She blushes slightly and nods. “You’re right. They haven’t.”

“Though we should leave now, we’ve lingered here too long.” I stand. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him there; hopefully, he keeps his word.”

Amelia beams at me. “Thank you for listening to me and trusting me.”

I smile down at her. “I’ll try my best to listen to you in the future. Now I need to call the key player in all of this.”

Amelia looks at me confused, and I smile mischievously. “Oh, you don’t know, do you? There’s only one person suited to get him in, around, and out of South America?”

“Joel?” she asks hesitantly.

“No, Dom,” I say, taking out my phone and dialing his number.