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Left with no choice, I got in the car, and when Aurelio shut the door to make his way to the other side, I wondered which was worse: marrying Ashton or having an audience with Nero Sartori. Though I’d been gone for three years, I hadn’t left Maryland, so news of the entire Schulz organization disappearing had reached even my ears. Granted, it could have been the Russians or the Irish that had wiped them out, but the Italian’s numbers had always been higher than any of the other families in the city.
No words were spoken as Aurelio drove us to where I was expected to meet Nero, and I was actually grateful for the silence. I needed to think, and since I was being summoned to one of the most powerful men in the state-if not the most-then maybe it was time to come clean about everything. After all, if anyone could help me, it’d be him, right? Of course, he might not have any interest in helping me, but what did I have to lose at this point? I’d left whatever had been left of my pride at the house on Rattenberger Street, so what did it matter if I humiliated myself in front of Nero?
I wasn’t sure how long I stared out the window, the scenery a familiar one, though so foreign after being gone for so long, but when we finally came upon a ten-story brick building, my hands started to sweat. I had no idea why Nero Sartori had asked to meet here, but I knew enough to know that this was not where the Sartori heir lived. Though the building looked sound, Nero would never live here. Before I’d left to go find myself, Nero had lived on the outskirts of town, his home protected like Fort Knox.
As Aurelio parked in the underground parking garage, it finally dawned on me that I was here to be questioned about the Olivers. I had opened that door when I’d gone looking for Aurelio, and now Nero Sartori was making me walk through it.
Chapter 19
Aurelio~
Savina hadn’t uttered a word during the entire ride to my place, and she was still quiet as a church mouse as we rode the elevator up to the top floor. I had purposely kept it from her that we were meeting Nero at my place because I hadn’t wanted her parents to know more than they already did.
When I had questioned Paolo Valentine yesterday about his daughter, he had admitted to Savina coming to them last year, asking for help, and I’d never been so livid when I’d heard how he had turned her away, telling her to go back and sleep in the bed that she’d made for herself. I’d been so fucking pissed that I had lifted the man off the floor by his neck, almost killing him. She had come to him for help, and his pride had been more important to him than his own child, making me want to murder him with my bare hands whenever I thought about it.
Nonetheless, once he’d realized how displeased I’d been, he’d been quick to make the phone call to get Savina here. When I had shown up at their place tonight, Paolo had been wise enough to remain in the kitchen while Carla had kept me company, answering the door when Savina had finally shown up.
With nothing really to say, neither of us said anything, and even when the elevator doors had slid open, Savina had still kept her mouth shut. I couldn’t imagine what all she had going on in that brain of hers right now, but being summoned by Nero Sartori would play hell on anyone’s nerves.
As we walked into my home, I led Savina straight to my office, Nero waiting for us like he’d said he would be. The woman immediately started to fidget, messing with her cuticles again, and she really was going to have to get over her unreasonable fear of Nero. While a lot of people had legitimate reasons to fear the man, she wasn’t one of those people.
“Have a seat,” Nero instructed, gesturing towards the couch.
Savina obediently sat down, murmuring, “Thank you.”
I went to lean against the desk as Nero remained standing in front of her, his sigh loud enough to make her flinch. The room also smelled like nicotine, but you’d never guess that he was stressing out about his wife by just looking at him.
“Okay, Savina,” he started, his eyes regarding her seriously. “My wife is about to give birth any second, so I’m not overly pleased whenever I’m pulled away from my home.” Savina’s eyes widened a bit. “That being said, I’m going to ask you some questions, and so help you God, you’d better answer them quickly and honestly. I don’t have the time to be fucking around with any shit that doesn’t directly involve my wife at this time.” He pinned her to the couch with a stare. “Understood?”
Savina nodded. “Ye…yes, of course…”
“Why in the fuck are you letting Ashton Oliver beat you like you hadn’t been raised better?” he asked, cutting to the chase.
Her face immediately paled, but she was also smart enough to recognize that Nero wasn’t fucking around. “Be…because of…of the video that he has on Aurelio.”
My entire body froze.
What the fuck?
Even Nero seemed taken aback. “What video?”
Refusing to look at me, she said, “Ashton has a video of Aurelio killing Jorge Bustamante.”
Nero shook his head as I remained frozen where I stood. “What…hold on…” Nero let out another deep breath. “You’re telling me that Ashton Oliver has a video of Aurelio killing the city councilman?”
She nodded. “It’s kind of grainy, but there’s no mistaking that it’s Aurelio.”
“That’s impossible, Savina,” Nero told her.
She started frantically shaking her head. “No, no…it’s true,” she insisted. “I’d never lie to you about something like that. I mean…Christ, why else would I let Ashton treat me the way that he does?”
Though I’d been certain that there’d been nothing left of my heart after what Savina had done to me, I’d been wrong. My chest felt like it was bleeding out onto the floor, her words destroying me in a way that nothing else ever could.
“Savina, Ashton Oliver cannot have a video of Aurelio killing Jorge Bustamente,” Nero repeated, his voice even, probably trying to keep her from getting hysterical. “It’s impossible.”
She shook her head again. “It’s not,” she cried. “He showed it to me a few months after we started dating. He said…he said that he’d show it to the police if I didn’t….” Her voice got caught in her throat, and there wasn’t going to be anything on this earth that was going to stop me from killing Ashton Oliver with my bare hands. “He said…he said that he’d show it to the police.”
Nero turned to look at me, giving me permission to take over. So, doing my best to rein in my rage, I walked over towards the couch, then dropped on my haunches to look into her worried face. Her eyes looked wild, and there was no doubt that I was going to make that sonofabitch suffer. I was going to take him back in time, to an era when kings drank the blood of their enemies.
