Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 54

The ringing of Leo’s distress signal pierced through Matteo’s mind. It eroded his sanity and froze his muscles. The panic button was something his father had instituted when he’d taken over the business. He wanted to make sure those guarding his wife and children were able to get help at a moment’s notice if otherwise detained. The device sent out a mass signal to the higher–ranked officials in the family complete with a pinged location. It looked like a Life- Alert device he’d seen his friend’s grandparents wear. Matteo and Tony had mocked their guards mercilessly when they would have the device on the outside of their shirt. He couldn’t recall how many times he’d asked Leo when his next grandchild was due.

Out of the corner of his eye Matteo could see Louis yelling at him, but he couldn’t hear anything. The ringing drowned out everything, all that was left was the knowledge that something was happening… and he wasn’t there to help.

Two gun shots sounded in the club below. Louis immediately ducked but the shots helped to break Matteo’s trance. He stood up sharply, pulled the handgun from his waistband and his phone from the desk. He glanced out the window as he strode for the door, looking for the source of the shots though he already had a feeling.

“Get the fuck out of my way or the next one goes through you!” Frankie yelled over the people crouched low to the ground.

Matteo jogged down the stairs while Frankie waded through the crowd of people now giving him a wide berth. As Matteo’s number two, he had received the signal too.

“What’s going on, Accardi?” Louis asked, right on his heels.

“It’s Leo’s distress call,” Matteo said. “Move!” Matteo ordered the people crowded at the bottom of the stairs hoping to get up to the VIP booths. The people immediately scattered and an opening formed in the crowd as if he were Moses: no gunshots needed.

“Is he here in the club? I haven’t seen him,” Louis said.

“I have him on Genevieve,” Matteo said, meeting up with Frankie at the lower entrance of the club.

“What?!” Louis yelled. “She’s with Jada!”

“I’m aware,” Matteo said, his voice calm and collected while his insides were tied in so many knots he’d have to hack through them to get them untangled.

“Jesus fuck!” Louis exclaimed, pushing past them.

“I’ve tracked the device,” Frankie said as they reached the upper street level.

“Where are they?” Matteo asked.

“A club on Bowery,” Frankie said as Matteo pushed the door open.

“What the fuck are they doing there?” Matteo growled.

An engine roared to life on the sidewalk. “Hey! Louis, what the fuck? That’s my bike!” Frankie yelled as the tires squealed and Louis took off.

Matteo racked the slide on his gun and pressed the barrel to the temple of the valet. “Keys to the closest car. Now.”

The valet’s face paled and his entire body trembled as he handed Matteo the keys to the Porsche that had pulled up only moments ago. Matteo took the keys and threw them to Frankie who was already at the driver’s side. The car peeled off from the curb before Matteo had even closed the door. Frankie swerved through traffic as they hurried toward the club. Up ahead, Matteo could see Louis making impressive time as he maneuvered onto the sidewalk and through pedestrians on Frankie’s motorcycle. He put his phone to his ear and waited for Leo to answer. Instead, the phone went straight to voicemail.

1/4

1:09 am

Chapter Fifty–Four

“Fuck,” Matteo cursed, slamming his fist into the dashboard.

He swiped through his contacts and tried Genevieve. The phone rang over and over before going to voicemail. He cursed again and tried fada.

“Hey, it’s Frankie,” Frankie said, on a phone call of his own. “Yeah, shut the fuck up, I don’t care. Shut the club down. No one in or out.” There was a pause. “Close the club Junior or I swear to Christ I’ll fuck up your pretty daughter til she’s unrecognizable.” Frankie ended the call and threw his phone in the back.

“She’s going to be fine.”

“Shut the hell up.”

Frankie slammed on the brakes. His eyes swiveled over the road, his face illuminated by the red taillights surrounding them. “Fuck it,” he said. He turned the steering wheel sharply and hopped the curb before gunning it down the sidewalk.

Matteo’s phone rang in his hand. He glanced down and felt his heart stutter two beats. “Gen?!”

“Mat–Matteo, Leo’s hurt!” Her voice was raw and he knew she was crying.

“Where are you? Are you hurt?”

“We’re in the bathroom,” she whispered. “There are men at the door.”

“Give the phone to Leo.”

“Matteo… I’m scared.”

Matteo shut his eyes hard and inhaled through his nose. He shoved his own emotions deep into his gut. He opened his eyes and cleared his throat. “I know, Weakness. Give Leo the phone, please.”

He heard the shuffle of the phone being moved and then the raspy, gargled breathing of a man who had been shot in the lung. “Accardi.”

Matteo put the phone on speaker so Frankie could listen. “What the fuck is going on, Leo?”

“Shot,” Leo said. “Four men. Masks.”

“Leo, stop moving!” Gen ordered in the background.

“They’re at the door,” Leo told him. “How far out?”

He looked at Frankie who held five fingers up. “Five minutes.”

There was a deep sigh on the other end. “Too late.”

Matteo’s jaw clenched to a painful degree. “What’s your status?”

“Fading… fast…”

“The men, are they Irish?”

“No… not… organized…”

“Leo?!” Gen yelled. Matteo heard the phone fall followed by a louder thud. “Oh my God, Leo, wake up!”

2/4

1:09 am

Chapter Fifty–Four

“Gen?!” Matteo yelled into the phone, unsure if it was on speaker.

“He… he passed out. There’s a pulse but it’s… it’s weakening, Matteo!”

“Cen, listen to me. Are there any windows?” he asked.

“… no, there isn’t. Just the one door,” she said, her voice breaking on a sob. He heard a small scream. “It’s okay, Jada, they’re coming. It’s okay,” she said, trying to reassure her sister. “They’re getting in,” she said softer, possibly to keep Jada from hearing.

“Is there anywhere you can hide?”

“No… just a vent we’re too small to fit into.”

“Okay…” Matteo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Don’t fight them.”

“What?”

“Don’t struggle. Go with them willingly, do you understand?”

“Why?!”

“They’re bigger than you. They took down my most experienced bodyguard. You are no match for them. The more you fight, the more they’ll hurt you.”

Matteo heard something splintering and a large crash followed by Gen’s scream. There was a small thunk: the sound of the phone falling again.

“Two minutes,” Frankie announced, his fists whitening against the steering wheel.

“Well, hello, hello,” a male voice said on the other end. Gen must have put the phone on speaker before she dropped it. Smart girl. “This the one? You sure

are a pretty thing.”

“Fuck you!” Gen yelled. Matteo heard a smack and Gen’s cry of pain.

“No, that’s not her. The one we want is the other one. Carmichael’s wife,” a second voice said.

Matteo looked at Frankie who returned the same expression of confusion.

“Yeah, well, that was before we found out this one was screwing the boss. Isn’t that right, honey? You like to fuck psychopaths?”

“Don’t fucking touch me or he’ll make you pay,” Gen warned. They’re already going to pay, Matteo thought.

“I’ve paid enough, Sweetheart. Now it’s his turn,”

Matteo pulled the phone further from his face as her screams echoed around the bathroom.

“Let go of me!”

“Stop struggling,” Matteo pleaded in a whisper while pulling at his hair. “Don’t fucking hurt her.”

“Let go! Jada! Jada! He’s coming!” Gen screamed, her voice fading as she was hauled out of the bathroom. “He’s almost here! Stay with Leo! Matteo!”

“Here,” Frankie said, shoving the door open without turning the car off.

3/4

Chapter Fifty–Four

Matteo launched himself from the car, his gun in hand. Frankie’s bike was discarded by the entrance, Louis was nowhere in sight. Frankie and Matteo walked side by side, guns held high, ready to face any threats they encountered. They waded through the crowd of confused people at the entrance of the club. The music had been shut off and the lights turned on, casting the club into a scene from an apocalyptic movie. He saw the sign for the bathrooms and his hurried pace turned into a sprint.

The hallway leading to the bathroom showed a trail of blood. Matteo’s heart pounded as he rounded the corner and saw the splintered wood of the bathroom door, hanging halfway off its hinges. He continued forward, toward the back exit. He shoved through the door and stepped into the back alleyway. His chest heaved as he glanced from one side to the other, hoping to see the glow of taillights or flash of metal from a car. Nothing.

Sirens wailed in the distance. The sound of a woman’s scream came from inside the club. Footfalls echoed as Frankie finally caught up to him and he began barking orders to the reinforcements that had finally arrived. None of it mattered. He’d failed to keep her safe. They were gone. He was too late.

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