Rising from ashes

Chapter 38

Sky

Manuele Marino walked into the VIP room with his consigliere Marcello Moretti, his enforcer Cosimo, his two soldiers Francesco and Alessandro and his daughter Catalina Marino. Judging by how Alessandro stays closer to Catalina that his boss, I guessed  Alessandro was Catalina's personal bodyguard. They all took a seat opposite me, Dom, Marcos, Veronica, and Leonardo.

Most people in our world believed women couldn't be Capos and I knew they had that kind of mindset. Marcello's disapproval could be seen a mile away. If I didn't need their help, I would have dealt with him there and then. But instead, I kept my cool and tried to reduce the tension in the room.

"Did you like blowing things up?" I asked referring to the Caruso properties I directed them to.

Manuele smiled in my direction showing his gratitude before saying, "Very much so. I only wish I could have seen Federico's smug face. It would have been very satisfying"

"Agreed." I replied with my own smile.

"I will let you kill him on your own as I promised. All I want are the Nicolis."

"Does that mean I get the Caruso territories and you get the Nicoli territories?"

"That would be rather unfair seeing as the Carusos have more territories."

"And that's a problem how?"

I was struck by his audacity at trying to cheat me out of those territories. We hadn't talked about how we would split things but I assumed we would split them fairly. Turning to my left, I watched as Dom clinched his jaw into place. I brought my focus back to Manuele and plastered a sweet smile on my face.

"Just to jog your memory, you wouldn't have been able to torch the Carusos without my help. Don't think you are somehow entitled to more spoils than me because you are focusing on them more. Those territories, will be split evenly." The words sounded forcefully nice even to my ears.

Manuele rubbed his chin viciously before looking at me and agreeing to an official alliance. He motioned for his daughter and she approached him. The fear she held in her eyes reminded me of Camillo's little sisters. This girl was terrified of her father.

"I will give my daughter Catalina for an arranged marriage to solidify the alliance." His voice conveyed excitement and relief. As if getting rid of his daughter was everything he could ask for. 

Anger coursed through my veins at his indifference to his daughter. That anger multiplied when Manuele moved his eyes to Dom behind me. I glared at him and I know he got the message because his eyes shifted away from Dom. Unfortunately, they settled on Marcos.

"We can marry her to him, Marcos right?"

I turned to Marcos and saw a hint of annoyance in his eyes. It vanished in a matter of seconds and turned to indifference. Veronica's hand moved closer to her waist band where she kept all her daggers. I sent her a warning look and she relaxed her hand and stood still.

"He is taken."  I replied, bringing my attention back to Manuele.

"I don't see a ring," his defiant tone as well as the challenging smirk on his face made me want to let Veronica dissect them.

I leaned forward in my seat bringing my face closer to the man in question. "He. Is. Taken." I muttered slowly as if I was talking to a baby. My tone was meant to be provocative and it worked.

The veins in Manuele's head tightened and his smirk turned to a frown. Frustration flooded his expression and satisfaction filled mine.

"You're the Capo aren't you, you could easily make him available."

My fading anger erupted once more. I was on the brink of my control. If this man didn't shut up, I would choke him.

"Marcos?"

"Yes Boss?"

"Would you like to marry the Marino princess?"

"No boss"

Manuele looked between the two of us in shock. His nose turned red and steam came out of his ears.

"It doesn't matter what your soldiers want. Your word is law!" He swung his hands in frustration and then pinched his nose. "This is why women are not meant to lead."

Dom pulled out his gun in an instant and pointed it directly at Manuele. Before I knew it, everyone had their guns out and was pointing it at someone. Catalina stood behind Alessandro using him as a shield. I lifted my hand for my soldiers to lower their guns and they did. Slowly, the Marinos did the same.

"My word is law yes. That doesn't mean I will subject my soldiers to a life they don't want. I give them a choice and they give me loyalty. I will find a husband for your princess but it won't be anyone in this room because, they are taken." The last words were spoken with slow and steady pace just to emphasize the venom in my bones.

Manuele reluctantly agreed to wait for my call. Once I decided on a groom, we would meet up again and make the necessary arrangements.

As we departed, Cosimo slipped a note in my pocket and walked off with his Capo. Once they left, I took out the note and saw a number written on it. I heard a growl coming from behind me and watched as Dom's eye twitched with jealousy. I resisted the urge to laugh and saved the number on my phone for future use.

Cosimo didn't seem like he was interested in me so I assumed he wanted to talk about something else. I would deal with it later, for now, I had somewhere to be.