Page 49 of Ruthless Touch
So we both have brothers who are unlike us. Good to know.
With a chuckle, I say, “I know I couldn’t work in the place my brother calls an office. He’s the king of chaos. Papers and nonsense everywhere. There’s no order in that room.”
Marcello smiles and nods in agreement. “Exactly. A place for everything and everything in its place. It’s the way a man keeps his thinking clear and straight.”
I silently admit that if this person hadn’t threatened my life and the life of everyone with the last name Rule, I could see myself admiring him. He’s not that different from me in many ways. I can appreciate that.
Unfortunately, that’s not possible.
“Well, we might as well get down to business. As the representative of my family on this coast, I’m hoping you’ve changed your mind about wanting all of us dead. As I told you before, no Rule is responsible for the death of your brother. You have no fight with us concerning that. However, I’m here to tell you if you can’t change your mind, the Rule family will not sit idly by waiting for you to follow through on your threat.”
He takes a deep breath in and lets it out slowly through his nose before responding. I sense he’s working hard to keep his calm. I plan to use that to my advantage.
Steepling his fingers in front of his face, he takes another deep breath and exhales before saying, “You see, Gideon, I have proof your family was behind my brother’s murder. Your cousin was there at the villa the night of his killing. Lucius was planning on marrying your cousin’s girlfriend, so you see, I simply cannot change my mind on what’s going to have to happen to avenge my brother’s death.”
As I suspected, he didn’t come here to actually talk about anything. Fine. If that’s the way he wants to play this game, the time for being a gentleman is over.
“I know all of that, but I can tell you Alaric had nothing to do with what happened. Not that he didn’t benefit from your brother’s death, but he didn’t kill Lucius. However, I see we’re not going to be able to reconcile our differences on that point, so let’s move on to something else.”
Marcello shakes his head, clearly confused about what I mean. “Something else? What else is there to talk about? If you give up your cousin, I’m happy to let the rest of you Rules live in peace. That’s my only offer.”
It takes everything in me to not laugh in his face. Give up Alaric so this fuck can kill him? No, that’s not going to happen. Not even if he was responsible for killing an Angeloni. Hell, not even if he was responsible for killing every fucking Angeloni but the one sitting in front of me.
I slide the manila envelope in front of me as I smile. “That’s not going to happen. Alaric, like every other Rule, will not be paying the price for your brother’s death. However, I have some things you might be interested in here today, so let’s move on to those.”
His gaze travels to the envelope in front of me, and as I slowly slide the pictures out, I see his eyes widen. Perhaps Cesare was wrong. Maybe he does know about his girlfriend’s nocturnal visits to her older lover. Having to face that truth in front of a man he’s vowed to kill isn’t exactly something anyone wants to deal with.
I push the pictures across my desk toward him. “I believe you know this woman. You may even know what she does when you’re not around. Now I’m happy to keep these pictures between us, assuming you come off your position regarding your threat against my family.”
As he lifts them up and begins looking through them, I add, “But if you can’t see your way to moving on and leaving my family alone, you should assume these will become public. I’d like you to consider how that’s going to affect your ability to head your family’s business on this coast.”
His hands shake as he moves from picture to picture, but he doesn’t say a word. When he finally gets through them all, he tosses them back onto my desk in clear disgust. This man has no ability to conceal his true feelings.
“That means nothing to me. If that’s all you have, I’m afraid you underestimated me, Gideon Rule.”
With a smile, I take out the smaller envelope from my coat pocket and set it down on the desk in front of me. So he doesn’t mind being cuckolded and having the entire world know about it. Let’s see how he feels about the other bit of dirt I possess on him.
“I would never underestimate you, Marcello. I make it a point to know everything there is to know about my enemies. The cheating girlfriend, while embarrassing for you, might not make it impossible for you to continue as the head of the Angeloni family. What I have in this envelope will, however. So this is your last chance. Forget about that threat of yours and agree with me that our two families can live in peace, or what I have here will be public by day’s end and your time as the new head of your family and its business has an expiration date on it.”
His face twists into an ugly grimace as he shakes his head far too fast to pretend like he has any control now. “What the fuck does that mean? I’m the head of my family because I’m the only Angeloni son left, thanks to your fucking cousin. Be careful, Rule. You’re playing with fire here.”
I take the papers out of the envelope and smooth the creases out before turning them toward him. As he begins to read the words, I say, “It’s interesting the way our father’s generation saw paternity, don’t you think? I mean, I say I have only one brother and one sister, but the truth is my father has children scattered all around the world. That generation certainly liked to sow their wild oats. And then there’s the idea of exactly what makes us who we are. Is it blood? Or is it simply calling two people our parents?”
I watch as Marcello’s right hand closes into a fist so tight his knuckles turn white. I can only imagine how unsettling it is to find out your position in the world isn’t what you’ve always believed it was.
He remains silent as he reads through what Cesare found out about his parentage and his illegitimate brother’s that gives that man, not Marcello, the right to head the Angeloni family. When he finally lifts his gaze from the paper, his eyes are filled with rage enough that if I didn’t know my security had already confiscated his gun on the way in, I’d be reaching for my own at this moment.
“This is bullshit. I don’t know what you think this does, but it doesn’t change anything. I will kill every Rule I can find to avenge my brother’s death,” he says through gritted teeth.
“I’m telling you right now, Marcello, walk away from this fight. Not only will I make sure your father’s bastard ruins your plans and possibly does what he has to in order to get you out of the picture, but the other members of my family are chomping at the bit to get their hands on you. A promise to live and let live on this coast is all you need give me, and I keep your secret forever and I make sure they find someone else to bother with. If not, then you’re about to enter a world you won’t survive. Trust me.”
He stands up abruptly, throwing the papers across the desk at me. “Fuck you! The next time you see me, Rule, expect me to carry out my threat. The same goes for the rest of your fucking family. Marcello Angeloni will not be forced to take your deal out of fear.”
I watch him storm out of my office and smile at how well that went. I hadn’t expected to be able to unnerve him that easily. Reaching for my phone, I dial Cesare’s number to set my plan in motion.
“Hey, boss. I just saw Angeloni walk out of your hotel, and he looks like someone just ruined his fucking day.”
“Try his entire life. He doesn’t want to play ball, so I don’t have any choice. Make the photos of the girlfriend public, and find me the illegitimate brother.”