Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 118

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

Matteo smiled down at the photo Gen sent him. It was a group shot taken inside the dress store. The Palladino’s stood to one side, smiling and holding their hands in the air in excitement while Gen’s friends, Jada, and Lucy mirrored them on the other. Then, in the center, stood his fiance, gripping her dad tightly with a smile so big it made it look like she was squinting at the camera. His heart burned in his chest as he read the lengthy text in which she thanked him for bringing her family here. He hoped it would lessen the pain when he left.

A piece of paper hit him in the face. Matteo glanced up and found Frankie waving flirtatiously at him. Matteo flicked him off and sat back in his chair while pushing his phone in his pocket. They were just waiting on Conor. They’d met up under the Palladino mansion. Like a bat cave, it served as the Palladino’s setting for the darker side of their business. At one point it was where they funneled drugs and women from one location to their final destination. Now, it was a place reserved for questioning, imprisonment and covert meetings such as this one. Leo sat to Matteo’s right, Louis to his left and Frankie sat on the other side of the table. Alessio and Raphael were speaking in hushed tones beside Frankie who was doing a poor job in trying not to listen in.

The doors leading into the conference room groaned on their hinges. Alessio’s men stood straighter until everyone realized it was only Conor. He looked better in that he’d taken a shower, shaved and combed his hair. He looked worse, however, in the way his clothes hung off his bones showed how much weight he’d lost and the shadows under his eyes seemed to illustrate the darkness of his depression.

“Glad you could join us,” Alessio growled, always the sensitive one.

“Hey Leo, Frank, Louis,” Conor said with a nod, ignoring his cousin.

“Been a while since we saw you at the club,” Frankie said, shaking Conor’s hand as he sat beside him. “You should bring that firecracker back by. She can take a run at the boss‘ woman. She might actually get a chance to make it past the first bell.”

“Frank,” Matteo warned with a shake of his head.

“What?”

“Mira’s gone,” Conor said, pulling a flask from the pocket of his hoodie and taking a hefty swig.

“Oh shit, Man. What happened?” Louis asked.

“My dad.”

“Oh,” Frankie said, clenching his jaw and tightening his neck as he looked at Matteo with wide eyes that showed he knew he’d crossed into dangerous

territory.

“Anyway,” Alessio said, knocking his knuckles a few times on the table. “We’re all here because Accardi has stepped into some shit and he needs help

scraping it off his shoes.”

Conor rolled his eyes while Louis chuckled. “Quite a metaphor,” Louis observed.

“He’s really into metaphors right now,” Conor said, taking another swig from his flask.

“This is serious,” Alessio hissed.

“Then talk straight,” Conor returned with another roll of his eyes.

“Look,” Matteo said with a sigh. “I have two people Ipeed to take care of. A man that goes by Guerra who is an undercover cop.” Matteo motioned for Leo to slide a few folders across the table for the others to look through. “His real name is Noah Bennett. He took out seven families in Los Angeles before he set his sights on New York. He’s FBI, connected with the Russo family and a major pain in my fucking ass. Before we left New York our Irish affiliate, O’Brien,

1/3

3:51 pm M

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen.

got intel from someone on the inside that Guerra intends to issue these any day,” Matteo explained, slapping down the manilla envelope O’Brien had sent.

“Cazzo,” Raphael breathed as he flipped through the pictures.

“Secondly, we have Galante…” Matteo said, eyeing his cousin carefully before he continued. “He wants my business. There are a lot of players wanting to get into drugs and strip clubs. He wants a shift into gambling. He thinks it’ll diversify his portfolio and keep him in business. I received word from someone I’d planted that he’s running out of money, fast. He’s tried a few different forms of attack, but he’s not stupid enough to go after my business partners or damage the tracks or casinos because he wants them intact when he takes over. A seamless transition.”

“What’s your plan?” Conor asked, looking down at the papers he’d been given with the keen eye of someone who had trained for their entire lives to handle these situations.

“Galante will make his move after Guerra does. I have O’Brien and his men ready to take him on when that happens. My men along with O’Briens won’t fall in line easily. Especially after I make Gen my Donna. If I fall, the Accardis fall. But with Gen able to take the helm…”

“Is she prepared for that?” Alessio asked.

“Yes,” Leo answered for Matteo. “She’s shown great strength under pressure. She may not fully understand the business but she’s smart. Unbelievably smart. She’s dedicated, loyal, and, most importantly, she listens to those who know more than her. Louis, Frankie and I will stay behind to help her. Once we get the all clear we’ll head back to the states and immediately take over operations.”

“So, you’re giving in?” Conor asked.

Matteo shook his head. “No, Cugino. Guerra will be easy enough to take down. All we have to do is expose his work with the Russo family. It’ll be enough to make the FBI question his loyalty. O’Brien’s man is already pushing the rumors forward and is opening an investigation. Gen will be able to help find dirt through her computer work or his family. The one I’m most worried about is your father. He won’t hear a threat or be easy to expose. He runs one of the largest crime syndicates in New York. Broke or not he has quite the loyal following.” This earned a scoff from Conor. “He wants an apology,” Matteo said. Conor’s eyes rose slowly.

“He couldn’t be that much of a coward.”

“He’s desperate. He’s running out of money and while most of his men will stay, the ones he can’t pay will start looking for employment elsewhere. We’ve already had five defectors reach out to the Accardi family. He needs to move quickly before he loses too many men. I need to eliminate him,” Matteo said, hoping his cousin would understand. “I could go ahead with an apology but, let’s face it. He wants one for a reason. Chances are high he walks away with me dead on the ground and my family in his hands. So… I’m taking a page out of Guerra’s book. I’m going undercover, I need someone who knows your father more than you do. I need to know his weaknesses, his pitfalls. I need to know every speck of dirt he’s swept under the rug, every skeleton in his closet, every hooker he’s ever fucked.”

Conor laughed through his nose. “You know he doesn’t keep a fucking diary like Palladino,” Conor said, jabbing his thumb in Alessio’s direction.

Matteo smirked. “It’s not a diary I’m after,”

It took Conor approximately fifteen seconds to catch on. “No. Leave him out of this.”

“It can’t be avoided.”

“Do you have any idea what Michele has put him through? What he’s lost?”

“Don’t you know what he’s gained?” Alessio supplied.

Conor slammed his fist down on the table as he stood. “I’m saying no! Leave Ricardo out of this.”

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

This is my family we’re talking about,” Matteo told him, his voice firm, his decision final.

Conor shook his head. “It’s my family too. Leave Mira’s dad alone, Matteo. I’m warning you.”

Matteo placed his palms on the table and slowly stood to his full height. He glared across the wooden space at his cousin. “Do not threaten me, Cugino,” Matteo growled. “I’d been running my family for six years by the time I was your age. I’ve lost everyone. The second I get a gift from God, the world threatens to take it all away. I will protect my wife and my child until my dying breath and if you think I’ll let you stand in my way of doing so because we’re blood, you’re very sorely mistaken. Are we clear?”

Leo, Louis and Frankie all withdrew their firearms from where they kept them pinned to their bodies and placed them on the table within easy reach. The implication was clear. They’d die in a shootout in this room if their Don commanded it. They’d lay down their own lives if it meant saving Genevieve’s.

“Accardi,” Raphael said with a finger raised, drawing Matteo’s glare from Conor to Alessio’s second. “This man you’re referring to. He’s in prison, no?”

Matteo let out a breath and sat back down in his chair. “That’s correct.”

“So when you said you wish to go ‘undercover‘…” Raphael surmised.

Matteo looked back at Conor who shook his head in warning. “The day after Gen becomes my wife and Donna, I’ll return to the states. I will let Guerra have

1. me. I’ll let him take me in.”