Page 93 of Dare To Free Us
What were the fucking odds? However, it didn’t matter how he got the pictures or that he knew Luca was alive, but what he meant to do with the information.
I stared him down. “I’m not stupid enough to believe you held onto that information all this time because you like our conversations. What do you want, O’Connell?”
“I know when to play a hand and when to hold it close to my chest. Patience never came easy to me but I had a feeling that it would bare fruit in this case. Which I was right. So, what do I want? I want to help you,” he stated simply. “For my own benefit of course.”
“Help me in what way?” I asked cautiously.
“Early retirement, so to speak.”
My smile was vicious. “You plan to kill me, O’Connell?” I sat perfectly still and let the cold seep into my voice.
He didn’t flinch. “You want out. You want to leave all this behind and join your wife that is no doubt hiding out with Luca and his wife.” He paused, pulling in a deep breath through his nose. “Fuck she was gorgeous, wasn’t she? If Becka had belonged to anyone but Luca I would have made it my mission to seduce that sexy creature into my bed, permanently.”
“She was quite beautiful, yes. Now would you like to continue or stroke one out in the bathroom first?”
“Don’t tempt me,” he chuckled. “The thought of her still gets me hard.”
“Nice to know,” I answered dryly.
“Here is the thing, Matteo,” he said, leaning froward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I’m willing to vouch for you that what knowledge you have goes to your grave. Let you simply walk away and disappear like you want. Also to keep Luca’s secret. And anyone who ever comes asking I willstrongly discouragetheir want to find you. For a price.”
I shook my head, unable to hide my bewilderment. “Why? Why would you risk your word on my behalf at any price?” He would have to hold to that promise against the Yakuza, street gangs, his own people, and dozens of politicians that would expect him to do the dirty work of taking me out to protect all their secrets.
“Because I know why you want to leave.” O’Connell breathed deep, looking to search for the right words. “I loved my wife. If it wasn’t for the cancer taking her from me I would still be a monogamous man. She was perfectly ok with this life, and not in the twisted way Vasilisa was. So I got lucky. But can’t deny that if she had asked to leave, it would have been the hardest decision of my life.”
“Your point?”
“It’s clear Arianna means everything to you and you won’t jeopardize the future with loose lips. Also, I trust your word, something I can say about very few people in this life.”
“And what about the Russians?” Word was Shura’s uncles had lost too many men and too much money in supporting Shura’s revenge. They even went as far and pulling any remaining operations out of the city. But information tends to change along the lines of communication. I needed to know if O’Connell had heard the same.
“They are done. Done with this shit-hole city, their words, not mine. Done with the Victor and Shura bullshit. They don’t seem all that heartbroken and have moved on to focusing on business in the motherland. There hasn’t been a single mention of retaliation against you. My guess is they find you more trouble than revenge is worth.”
For a moment I just sat and took a moment to look around the room, trying to stifle the utter relief coursing through my veins from showing.
“So, what do you think of my offer?” O’Connell asked.
I stayed quiet and O’Connell let the silence stretch. The situation was too good to be true. I wouldn’t have to come up with some elaborate scheme to duck out in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder— well, not obsessively anyway— but did I really trust O’Connell to keep his word? Also, what would it cost me?
“What do you get out of this, O’Connell? What do you want?”
“Everything.”
I glared at him. This was no time to be cryptic.
“I want you to sign over everything you own to me. You properties. Businesses. I want your money and for you to grease the wheels with your connections. You agree to walk away with nothing but the clothes on your back and I will stand by my word, and guarantee my son will carry it on when he succeeds me.”
“You have to be fucking shitting me?” I snarled. He knew I had a baby on the way, a wife to care for and he was blackmailing me for everything I possessed. O’Connell always was a shrewd businessman, something I should have seen coming.
“Retirement only lets you step to the side while still very much being connected to everything that happens in the future. To completely separate yourself means telling everyone you no longer have their best interest in mind, and therefore puts a target on your back. Such is the cost of being free. You are not retiring, Matteo. I told you that only costs you power, to disappear costs you everything.”
If I took his offer I’d have no way to give my men enough money to make the choice of moving on or finding another crime boss to work for. It never escaped my attention that some men craved this life while others fell into it. Either way, all of them had expressed a loyalty that my conscience would not allow me to put aside.
What the hell would I do for Arianna and I to survive? Her parents had more money than they knew what to do with, and Luca had gotten away with millions, but it still twisted my stomach to think of groveling to them for money. Arianna was my wife, my responsibility. I would be coming out of this with empty hands. Not a single cent to show for all the years of my life, blood, sweat and pain that it cost me to gain it.
Even though I never wanted it, it was all that wasme. The only thing in this world that said I’d been alive. It was more than just a part of me, the mafiawasme.
The Italian mafia would basically cease to exit in the city, until someone came to challenge O’Connell and the remaining syndicates. I felt a loss that I hadn’t anticipated. My name would be whispered in memory around town but there would be no more power in it. I would no longer be feared, revered, or respected, and without those things I didn’t know if I could even say I was still breathing. In short, I truly would disappear.