Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 139

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

“Who the fuck thought this would be a good location for a meetup?” Jada whispered under her breath as they walked toward the dilapidated laundromat in a rather shady part of town.

“I did,” Gen perked up.

Jada’s eyes swiveled. “You chose to have the meeting with the Russos at one of the underground casino halls?”

“Yep.”

“I told her not to do it,” Leo said from behind them. “She made a good point though.”

“And what’s that point?” Jada asked.

Gen shrugged one shoulder. “According to Matteo I don’t have much of a poker face.”

“According to everyone you don’t have a poker face,” Louis added helpfully.

Gen rolled her eyes. “Well, what better way to show a family that my word is my bond when they see I can’t keep a straight face with something as low

stakes as a deck of fucking cards?”

They walked into the laundromat. The dryers tumbled on the far wall while a few people sat on benches, absorbed in their phones, while they waited for

their laundry to be done. Leo walked ahead of her to show the way. The group continued between the rows of washing machines to a door with a sign that

read ‘private.’ Leo held the door open and nodded with his head for her to go first.

“Where’s Conor?” Gen whispered to Leo as she passed.

*On his way. Took longer at the prison than he thought.”

“Everything good?”

“As far as I know.”

The hallway was nondescript. Anyone walking through would guess the doors were for the bathroom, maybe an office, a supply closet, but the one at the far end had a guard on the other side and it was not the place for washing out stains. Gen knocked and waited. A slat opened up at eye-level and a pair of dark, narrowed eyes glared outward.

“Don, nice to see you again,” Gen said with a little wave.

Don’s eyes widened before he slammed the slat shut. The steel door opened with a groan. “Donna, nice to see you too. I heard you may be stopping by.”

“I hope no one else heard…” Leo replied reproachfully.

Don rolled his eyes. “Only the ones who needed to know.”

“Good,” Leo said, pushing past Gen to walk ahead.

“Are they here?” Gen asked.

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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

“Arrived five minutes ago. Got them set up at a private table in the back.”

“Thank you, Don,” Gen said, her eyes moving around the room looking for the notorious family.

“Th there,” Jada said, pointing toward the back corner where a waitress was busy passing out drinks,

Louis’ hands slid up and down Jada’s arms in reassurance, Gen had never known her sister to be nervous. When Dane had knocked her senseless and she’d ended up in the hospital, she cracked jokes and mocked the rude nurses. Even for her wedding she was more concerned with Gen’s personal life than the fear of committing to someone for eternity. But here, with her husband at her back, Jada was shaking in fear.

“You don’t have to do this, Jada,” Gen assured her.

Jada looked up to Louis, for comfort or agreement, she couldn’t tell. She and Louis held a silent council. Jada shook her head and looked at Gen. “We’re

ready. It’s time to bury the hatchet, It’s time to stop running and looking over our shoulders.”

Gen nodded. “Okay, let me go up first. You stay back for a minute. Leo?”

“Ready,” her guard answered.

Gen led the way as any Donna would do. She made sure to sway her hips, make eye contact with every curious gambler, and nod to each of her guards

stationed around the room. Rows of round tables were stationed in the center of the room along with more private booths near the back. To her left, Gen

could see a few slot machines and to her right were roulette tables. There was a lot of money and power in this room. It was one of the only locations

within the Accardi operation that hadn’t been raided. Because of that, membership applications had risen and profits were soaring. As they grew closer to

the table, the Russo family members picked up on her advance.

There were four of them. She could tell by the resemblance to the man who had accompanied Bennett to the Royale that one or two of them were Dane’s

siblings. There was a third gentleman who looked to be an attorney or book keeper. Gen’s eyes immediately found and held the woman sitting in the center,

looking grave and thoroughly pissed off. Her hair was pulled back tight, her makeup minimal and her collar high. She wasn’t here to mess around. Gen

stopped in front of the table and placed her hands on the back of the chair she intended to sit in.

“Good afternoon. My name is Genevieve Accardi. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me,” Gen said, nodding her head in greeting at each of the

four Russos.

“Are you going to invite the scum over or not?” the woman asked with a bob of her head in the direction of Louis and Jada.

Gen smiled tightly. “Once we get introductions out of the way. I’ve given you mine…”

The woman narrowed her eyes further and pursed her lips. “Dina Russo. These are the two sons I have left: Dominic and Daniello. The man on the end is our family attorney, Jeff. He’s here to listen.”

“Nice to meet you all. This is my guard, Leo. Leo, sit,” Gen instructed.

Leo took the chair beside her while she turned to motion for Jada and Louis to join them. As they walked closer, Jada’s head tilted down harshly toward the floor, one of the sons reached for his gun. Dina’s hand came out and touched his forearm, stalling his actions… for now.

“Mrs. Russo, I…” Jada began, her voice swimming with emotion.

“Save it,” Dina hissed. Dina stood up and Gen realized just how short the woman was. She barely came to Gen’s chest. “I was weeks away from retiring, you worthless whore. You took my son, the man who was meant to replace me and left me with these idiots,” Dina continued, gesturing to her two sons beside her. Her eyes turned to Louis. “You were the one who took his life, no?” Louis nodded. Dina spit in his direction before turning back to Jada. “He beat you? Threw you around a little bit? Yell at you?” She scoffed. “Welcome to life in the mafia, Honey. All men are like that. You don’t thrive in this life, you endure

it.”

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Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

“I thought so too,” Jada argued. She took Louis’ hand. “Until I learned otherwise.”

Dina’s nose wrinkled as she watched Jada’s public display of affection. “I thought you were special. I gave Dane my blessing. You made me a fool. Did you

kill Dario too?”

“No, that was me,” Leo interjected, raising his finger. Dina’s dark eyes cut to him. “Ite intended to harm my Donna. I had no choice but to step in.”

Gen patted Leo’s hand. “My husband and I take responsibility for the death of both of your sons. He sent me here in his stead to try to arrange a deal for us to move on, to better our circumstances and make amends,” Gen explained as she took her seat and motioned for Jada and Louis to do the same.

*Amends?” Dina scoffed again. “The Accardi’s are wealthy but they don’t hold a candle to the wealth they stripped from us, an entire future. These two know fuck-all about running an empire. Dane… he was my star,” she said, back to glaring at Jada. “He would have this whole city under his thumb by now if this

bitch hadn’t…”

Jada made an unnatural sound in her throat somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. “I’m sorry, but come on Dina. We both know Dane was more brawn

than brain. All of his strategic moves were gleaned from what I told him.”

“Look at me,” Dina hissed. “Do you see my boys speaking? No. Because in our family the power goes to the woman, you fucking twat. I thought I explained this to you.”

“We both know Dane would have never given over power to me. No matter tradition. He wanted it all for himself. Your husband and all the men before him may have been fine with the women secretly claiming the throne but Dane wanted it all for himself. I would have been a scuff mark on his boot, that’s all.”

“I suppose we’ve lost the chance to find out, now haven’t we?” Dina asked. Her eyes went back to Gen. “That’s the problem Mrs. Accardi. We have no idea the scope of wealth my Dane could have brought this family. It could have been billions. Money aside even, how do you presume to make up for the loss of territory? The men who defected? The money we have lost from broken deals his death caused? Hm?”

A dealer appeared then and sat down, his bright smile a sharp contrast to the dark discussion under way. He gave Gen a look that she tried to ignore. He wasn’t just any card dealer. He was the man Matteo had tailing Paul and Bennett for weeks.

“Good afternoon, folks, the game is Seven Card Stud. My name is Thomas and I’ll be dealing for you.”

Everyone around the table ignored Thomas as he dealt the cards. The rules were simple at any Accardi casino operation. The dealer kept their fucking ears and mouths shut. Gen would need to be the one to prove that to the Russos.

“We understand that what has happened between our families can seem insurmountable. I don’t know what I would do if my own child were harmed,” Gen mused, settling her hand on her stomach, drawing Dina’s eyes down.

Dina leaned forward. “You would find your revenge through any means necessary.”

“By calling your contact in the FBI?” Gen asked.

Dina smirked as if she were the smartest person in the room. “He wasn’t FBI until I got my hands on him.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t make his undercover name David or Donatello.”

Dina glanced up from her cards to attempt to kill Gen with her eyes. “You mock me now. While your husband is in prison.”

Gen shrugged and lifted up the four overturned cards so that only she could see them. The right corner of her lip tilted up at what looked to be the beginnings of a Royal Flush. “He needed information from someone inside. You did us a favor if I’m to be honest.”

“Happy to help,” Dina spat out between ground teeth.

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8:57 pm

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine

Gen’s eyes flicked up. “Now it’s our turn to help you.”

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Accardi