Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 125

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Five

Genevieve sat on a stone ledge overlooking the large flower garden behind Alessio’s vast estate. It had been eight hours since Matteo left. The plane had landed two hours ago. She glared down at her phone, her toes bouncing as she waited for the call he should be allowed, by law, to have. Behind her she could barely make out the muffled voices crowded around the tv. There were at least a dozen people riveted to the screen, watching the news from New York City which replayed the video of her husband being offloaded from his jet in handcuffs.

Gen heard the tinkling of a glass and glanced to her right. Matteo’s cousin, Conor, held down a glass of ice water for her. She took it with a nod of thanks, knowing full–well Matteo had instructed both of his cousins to look out for her while she was there. He sat down beside her with a sigh.

“Has the news moved on to the squirrel who can water ski yet?” she asked.

“Afraid not. They’ll be running the story for a few days at least. A business tycoon getting accused of running a mafia organization is a pretty big scoop,” Conor responded. His grey eyes turned to her and for the umpteenth time since she’d met him she wondered how on earth he could be related to the other two Italian men. “How are you holding up?” he asked.

Gen let out a long breath. “I just need to hear his voice,” she whispered. “I need to know he’s not hurt.”

Conor stared out at the expansive lawns. His eyes, filled with sorrow, reminded her of the night she’d first met Matteo and the grief he’d been experiencing

at the time. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Conor… I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward but… Are you okay?” Gen asked, resisting the urge to reach a hand out in comfort.

Conor sighed again. “No. I’m not.”

“Is it what we have planned? What we intend to do with your father?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a dry chuckle. “The plan is a solid one. I’ll help you see it through.”

“Why? Why are you okay with this? He’s your father,” she reasoned, losing her battle and settling her hand on his shoulder.

Conor’s jaw ticked and he smiled. “Matteo said you were good at breaking people down.”

Gen gave him a shy smile in answer.

“I met the love of my life when I was fourteen,” he whispered, staring down at his hands. “My Tesoro.” Conor shook his head. “A few months ago my father

made a decision that forced me to push her away. To make her think I no longer loved her… that I never did.” His fists tightened in his lap. “He ripped my

heart out of my chest all in the name of what was best for the family. His family.” Conor scoffed. “There’s nothing I can do about it now except take what he

wants to give me…” He looked over at her, his grey eyes turning silver with his malicious intent. “And fucking destroy it.”

Genevieve’s phone began to ring. She jolted up and nearly fell off the stone ledge. She held her hand up, signaling to Conor that she was okay before she answered her phone.

“H–Hello?” Gen stammered.

“Hello,” an automated female voice spoke. “This is a collect call from inmate… ‘Accardi‘” Matteo’s voice added. “Do you accept? Hit one to accept. If you do not accept, hit two or simply hang up.”

Genevieve fumbled with her phone to bring up the keypad and hit one.

“Thank you. Please be aware that all phone calls may be monitored or recorded,” the automated message finished.

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3:54 pm M

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Five

Gen heard a click, a beep and then background noise.

“Hello?” Gen called.

“Hello, Weakness,” Matteo answered.

Gen put her hand to her mouth to keep her sob from going through the receiver.

“Matteo. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?” Gen asked quickly.

“No, I’m okay. They’re about to take me to my room.”

“You mean your cell?” she corrected.

Matteo chuckled. “Yes, I mean my cell. I’ve already spoken with Roman. He met us at the tarmac.”

“Is Frankie okay too?”

“Yeah, he’s pissed but he’s okay. Don’t worry.”

“Fat chance.”

“What have you been up to today?” he asked, the casualness of his tone making her bust out laughing.

“Well, let’s see, I dropped you off at the airport, had some calamari for breakfast, went on a sailing trip with Alessio for lunch and had a mani, pedi at a luxury spa with Jada and Lucy to cap off the day.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Matteo. I did none of those things. I’ve just been sitting here waiting for your call.”

“Weakness… it’s going to be okay. We have a plan.”

“I know we do, I just… I miss my husband,” she whispered.

“I’m right here,” he said, his voice low. “You can visit me when you get back in town. Alessio should have his plane ready for you by now. You’ll get home tomorrow, start getting things situated and then, when you have a few minutes to spare, you can come see me. It won’t be like this for long.”

Gen sighed. “I know,”

“You’ll have to be strong. I need you,” he continued.

“I will.”

“Good, girl. Now, don’t panic, I have to go.”

Her heart hammered in her chest and she clutched a hand to it. “Matteo…”

“I love you, Weakness… my beautiful wife. I will talk to you soon, this buffoon is telling me to get off the phone.”

“One of the guards?”

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3:54 pm M

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Five

“No, Frankie.”

Gen laughed and swiped a tear. “I love you, Matteo.”

“I love you too, Genevieve. Be careful,” he whispered and then the line went dead.

Gen stared down at the phone and fought the urge to hurl it with all of her strength. She turned around to find Conor watching her while Alessio walked up

to join them.

“You okay?” Conor asked.

Gen shook her head, her throat too clogged to be able to speak.

“The plane is ready,” Alessio announced, stepping beside Conor while holding a glass of wine by the tips of his fingers. “Sei pronto, Conor?”

“Are you ready, Conor?” Gen translated, her eyes flicking to the young blond. “What is he talking about?”

“Les and I are coming with you,” Conor said with a shrug.

“That… That wasn’t in the plan,” Gen argued. The warning Matteo gave to stick to the plan ricocheted through her mind.

Alessio shrugged. “Your original plan included Frankie, did it not? Matteo is too proud to ask for his family’s help. Are you?”

Both Alessio and Conor raised a brow at her and it was there, in that defiant, ‘try to tell me not to‘ expression where she saw the resemblance between the

two vastly different men in front of her.

“But… you only know bits and pieces of the plan,” Gen argued, her mind whirling.

“It’ll be okay, Mrs. Accardi,” Leo said, coming up behind Alessio and smacking him on the shoulder, earning a hateful scowl. “I’ve filled them in.”

“Without Accardi knowing?” Gen asked doubtfully.

Leo smiled a devilish sort. “It’s my job to protect you, Mrs. Accardi. The best chance I have of doing that is to keep these two men in the picture. So, yes, the moment Accardi took off, I made a few phone calls. The plan doesn’t change, we just have a few new players to work in, is all.”

“You need us,” Alessio agreed smugly.

Gen huffed and turned away from them. The moment she stepped back on US soil, she would be Donna to the Accardi empire. There were pages of written instructions she’d gone over with Matteo ad nauseum, But here, in this moment, standing on foreign soil after getting a phone call from her husband in jail, she was terrified… terrified that she would fail him, his family, herself. She sat down on the nearest step and sighed. She watched the gardeners pruning the various flowering bushes nearby.

“This garden,” Gen began, gesturing outward. “Is it where Matteo’s great grandfather got the starters for his greenhouses?”

“Yeah,” Conor answered. “This garden was started by the Palladinos when they first bought the property. Matteo’s great grandfather took cuttings from everything he could and took them across the ocean to America.”

“A symbolic gesture for starting anew while having the same roots,” Alessio said with a yawn.

Conor lazily flicked off Alessio while his back was turned. “Se non puoi prenderti cura di una pianta, come puoi prenderti cura della tua famiglia. He passed that wisdom down to his son. His son passed it on to his son, so on and so forth,” Conor added.

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Chapter One Hundred and Twenty–Five

“If you can’t take care of a plant, how can you take care of your family?” Gen translated.

“Stupid fool. They’re just plants,” Alessio said behind her.

“Just plants… just people… just family… just love, loyalty, honor. A way to remember what’s important,” Gen whispered to herself. She stood up and glanced back at the three men. “Are Jada, Lucy and Louis ready?” she asked.

Leo nodded. “Yes, ma’am. We’re all ready when you are.”

Genevieve looked one last time at the expansive paradise surrounding her. She gave one sharp nod. “Let’s go save my family.”