Breathless & Bloodstained (The Chicago War #4) (18 page)

“So we know
nothing.”

“No. But we’re
going to work on finding something out. Tommas is hiding his involvement with a
woman, for whatever reason, I don’t know.”

Abriella’s heart
started beating again at that statement. She hadn’t even thought about the fact
that she might have left something behind that night at the club, some kind of
evidence of her presence.

 “But if he cares about
her, I want to use her. Get him where it hurts, after all. He’s always been
private and quiet about females, and that sort of thing,” Joel finished.

“I can ask
around,” Darryl said.

“Do that. Now, get
out of my office. I need a drink and a smoke. Maybe I’ll give Chloe a call,
too.”

Abriella cringed.

“Still fucking
with her, boss?” the enforcer asked.

Joel laughed. “She
fucks like a pro. You’re still here, Darryl. Don’t you have something to do,
now? Like get me some info on Tommas Rossi and whatever female he’s dipping his
dick into?”

“I guess.”

“Then do it.” 

That was enough
for Abriella. She tiptoed down the hall and slipped into a spare bedroom that
was only used for guests. Closing the door just enough to leave an inch crack
for her to peek through, she listened as the office door opened and shut.
Squeaks of footsteps echoed down the hallway and then traveled over the
staircase before quieting completely.

With her back
pressed to the door, Abriella took in the information she had learned. She
needed to tell Tommas and soon. Especially about the club and Joel’s plans.

Hours ago,
Abriella had been sure she wanted the war to end. She didn’t want to see more
bloodshed and people hurting because of others’ selfishness and power-hungry
ways. Now, she was ready to do whatever she had to so that her brother wouldn’t
get what he wanted.

Joel wasn’t ready
for Abriella.

But she was still
coming for him.

Abriella caught
the cordless phone charging on the bedside table. She quickly crossed the room
and picked up the phone to turn it on. She never called Tommas from a phone
inside the mansion just in case someone overheard her conversation or picked up
another line and listened in.

This time, she
didn’t have a choice.

Joel’s office had
a different number from the rest of the wing. He’d said he was going to make
his own phone call, and Abriella was positive her brother was distracted with
that. Hopefully, he would be for a few minutes.

Dialing a familiar
number, Abriella watched the door she’d left cracked open and waited when she
put the phone to her ear. Tommas would likely recognize the number as a
Trentini one, considering their home phone for the wing wasn’t a private
number. She wondered if he would even answer.

Her cell phone?
Absolutely.

A Trentini number?
Maybe not.

Abriella also
wondered if Tommas was pissed off about her earlier disappearing act. Her time
had run out, and she woke up with little to spare as it was. Had she woke him
up to say goodbye, the man would have dragged her back to bed and she wouldn’t
have been able to refuse him.

How else would she
get ahold of Tommas?

Pick up, Tommy.

He didn’t
disappoint.

“Tommas speaking.”

Abriella let out
the breath she’d been holding. “Tommas, we’ve got a problem.”

“Ella?”

“Yeah. Sorry I
left earlier without saying goodbye. I couldn’t stay.”

“It doesn’t
matter. I love you, crazy girl. Now, what’s the problem?”

“What else?”

Tommas sighed.
“Joel.”

“Joel,” Abriella
confirmed.

CHAPTER NINE

T
ommas hung up
Abriella’s call, a heaviness settling in his chest.

“What was that
about?” Damian asked.

Turning on his
heel, Tommas faced his cousin. He’d met Damian for dinner at one of his downtown
restaurants before they went to Damian’s club that was closed for business
during the daylight hours. They had needed to talk over whatever problem had
come up. Privately.

“Abriella called,”
Tommas explained.

“So?”

“She just gave me
the same news you did an hour ago.”

Damian frowned.
“About the police?”

“Yeah. Seems like
someone is poking their noses into my business, and they shouldn’t be.”

“How did Abriella
find out?”

“Joel,” Tommas
said.

Damian cocked a
brow. “Huh.”

“That’s not good,
D. It’s one thing for you to be able to get information because you’ve got a
couple of contacts, but for Joel to find out that the police suspect there was
another person with me the night my car got blown up—a woman, for that
matter—is a bad thing. It means he’s got someone inside, too.”

“I’m aware of what
it means, Tommas.”

Shit.

Tommas could feel
the panic rising in his gut, threatening to close off his throat. If the police
had information that there was a second person with Tommas that night, then
they were just a few steps from finding out who that person was.

Worse yet, if Joel
had access to someone on the inside of the police department, and the police
found out that Abriella was the mystery woman, then Joel would know, too.

It screamed bad in
ten different ways.

“I had enough
attention from the cops before the bomb,” Tommas said, rubbing at the headache
beginning to form at the base of his skull. “Now, it’s even worse. A little
digging, maybe going back on the security cameras if they get a warrant beyond
the day of the bomb, and they could find out it’s her, D. They would
know
.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

“What in the fuck
am I going to do?” Tommas asked.

“Chill out.” Damian
pushed an unopened bottle of beer toward Tommas. “Have a drink, we’ll chat it
out.”

Tommas eyed the
beer with as much disgust as he could manage. “You know, I bet that’s exactly
how my mother and father started out by thinking like that, too. Just a drink
to take the edge off, nothing too serious. Before they knew it, they were knee
deep in addiction with four kids they couldn’t take care of.”

“Whoa. This is …
new.”

“Not new, D. I
don’t want the beer. I want to figure out how to keep Joel from getting any
more info from the police.”

“Well, you can
start by keeping a distance from Abriella.”

Tommas scowled.
“That’s your grand fucking plan?”

“It’s a start,
Tommy. It’s like this, man, she’s dangerous for you right now. There’s too much
attention, like you said. And frankly, you’re not very goddamn safe for her.
Let some of this settle down. Maybe the cops will question you again, maybe
they won’t. What I do know is that if you keep taking risks with Abriella for
the sake of dipping your dick and feeding your heart, then you’re both going to
end up killed.”

Easier said than
done.

It was more than
sex.

More than love.

Tommas needed
Abriella like he needed air to breathe.

“Joel took away
her stuff,” Tommas said quietly.

“Abriella’s?”

“Yes. Her phone,
the Hummer, and whatnot. She uh …” Tommas trailed off, cringing. His cousin
wasn’t going to like the fact that Tommas spent the day shacked up in bed with
Abriella, especially not after this. Damian was all about protecting family,
after all. “She came over today after she lost her enforcer. I guess the guy
found her car using the GPS app Joel had the phone company install on her cell
during a routine update.”

Damian’s face grew
stony. “Where was her Hummer parked?”

“I don’t know.
Nowhere near my house. She never parks it close. She always takes a cab and
comes in through the back.”

“You’re a fool,”
Damian grumbled.

“I didn’t know she
was coming over.”

“You knew. After
the hospital incident, you knew she wouldn’t stay away for long. You get off on
that shit, Tommas. You love it that she’s crazy in the head over you, just the
same as you are for her. Sometimes, I wonder if your relationship with that
girl is even a little bit healthy, or if you’re both just fucked up beyond
repair.”

“Wouldn’t that
mean we’re the perfect pair either way?”

“Keep looking at
it like that,” Damian said as he tipped his beer up for a drink.

“My point is, how
am I supposed to look after her or do anything for her if she has no way of
contacting me or even driving herself around?”

“No, the better
point is that you need to stay away until shit dies down a bit. I guess you can
thank Joel for making it easier on you. Take the break from Abriella Trentini.
You could use it to get your head back where it needs to be.”

Tommas was seriously
beginning to dislike his cousin.

But … Damian could
be right.

“A week, two
tops,” Tommas said, “but then I’m going after her.”

“Don’t get
yourself killed over that girl, Tommy.”

“You’re one to
talk.”

Damian’s mouth
snapped shut audibly.

Tommas took that
as a battle won.

The next two
weeks, however, were sure to be hell.

“We’ve got a
problem, man.”

Tommas sighed
harshly, more frustrated than he had been in a long time. Those were the last
words he wanted to hear from his cousin. After two weeks of being quiet,
staying under the radar of police, and dodging the asshole detectives requests
for interviews, Tommas didn’t need more problems.

It was bad enough
that he hadn’t spoken to Abriella in thirteen damn days.

Nothing was doing
it for him when he woke up from dreams, and smelled her on his sheets. Not his
hand, a cold shower, or the most mundane thoughts he could think of. He was
like an addict without a fix.

Just her voice,
her sarcasm and humor, would be enough.

Tommas wasn’t even
getting those things.

It drove him crazy
that he had to wonder and worry about his girl. Was Joel being his usual
asshole self? It was enough to make Tommas insane with anxiety and anger, but
Damian was never far behind. Damian liked to point out that the cops were still
trying to find out who the mystery woman was, and someone was feeding Joel
information.

The asshole.

“Can’t I enjoy my
breakfast in peace?” Tommas asked.

The eggs, toast, and
bacon on his plate were hot, fresh, and begging to be eaten.

“Eat while I
talk,” Damian said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

“You didn’t tell
me there was a problem when you said that you wanted to meet up this morning.”

“You wouldn’t have
met me if I did.”

Tommas didn’t even
bother denying it. “I’ve got enough stress without adding to it.”

“You’re about to
get more.”

Great.

Tommas shoved a
mouthful of eggs in and waved the fork at his cousin.

Damian took the
hint and said, “Adriano gave me a call this morning and gave me a head’s up
about something. I think what he was really looking to do was get some kind of
guarantee on his side, you know what I mean?”

Swallowing back
the food, Tommas said, “Not really.”

“The kid wants
someone backing him. He doesn’t want to run into problems with Joel.”

“Over what?”

Damian cleared his
throat and rubbed his hands together. The actions spoke clearly of Damian’s
nervousness, which was abnormal for the former hitman turned Capo.

“Well …”

“What did I miss?”
Tommas demanded.  

“Nothing. Even I
didn’t know. Theo gave Adriano a call to let him know it would be happening
today, and nothing more. There wasn’t even an option involved, although I don’t
think Adriano cares. He’s happy for his sister.”

“Are you purposely
being vague? Because if you are, I’m going to shove my foot up your—”

“Theo and Eve got
married at town hall as soon as it opened this morning,” Damian interrupted.

Tommas dropped his
fork on the table with a loud clatter. Several patrons of the restaurant turned
to look in the direction of his table, but he didn’t give a shit. He owned the
place, did a heck of a lot of work in it for the Outfit, and if people didn’t
like him making a bit of noise, they could take their business elsewhere.

“Seriously?”

Silently, Tommas
praised Theo for breaking the rules and taking what he wanted. But he was also
concerned for what that could mean for Adriano. The young Capo was the man
heading the Conti family, and Joel fancied himself the boss of the operation.
No marriage should happen without Joel giving some kind of approval.

Especially one
between families as influential as the Contis and DeLucas.

“Theo hasn’t kept
his relationship with Evelina a secret,” Damian said.

“No, I guess not.”

“Joel hasn’t kept
secret his dislike for the fact that Adriano is letting his sister run wild
with a man of her choosing, either.”

Tommas leaned back
in the chair, tapping his finger to his mouth as he considered his cousin’s
statements. “Adriano wants someone backing him here, you said?”

“Yeah. You,
likely. He knows Joel is going to throw a fit that he told Theo to go for it.
Did you hear anything about Joel putting pressure on Adriano to marry Evelina
off to him?”

“To Joel?” Tommas
asked.

Damian shrugged.
“I guess so. Adriano refused. He’s been making nice with Joel, or as much as he
could before this, but he wouldn’t do that.”

“Making nice for
Alessa’s sake. Family. Nothing more.”

“This could be
bad,” Damian said.

“But it could be
really good for us,” Tommas pointed out quietly. “Or for me, I suppose. DeLuca
sways to my opinion even if Theo won’t actively put a hand into the war.
Adriano is outright saying he needs an ally right now. Who does that leave Joel
with?”

“No one.”

“He’s got a decent
sized crew, but this could be exactly what I need to force him into a situation
where he goes crazy and messes up in a bad way.”

Damian cringed.
“Be careful doing that, Tommas. Joel is unstable.”

“I know, I just
wonder if he’s unstable enough to turn on himself.”

Pushing up from
the table, Tommas dropped a few bills down for the waitress and his unfinished
meal.

“You’re done
eating?” Damian asked.