Page 135 of The Don’s Omega

He hesitates and the hesitation terrifies me. “There are three families who worry me,” he says quietly. “The Moretti, Ferrante, and DiMaggio syndicates.”

My stomach rolls with stress. I recognize those names as the ones Carlo warned Marcello about.

He continues. “I don’t believe the DiMaggio or Moretti syndicates would make a move on their own.” He sighs. “But I know for a fact that the Ferrante syndicate has been talking to a large Russian syndicate out of town. The Russians have wanted to make a move into this area for over a decade. If they see a crack, they’ll do their best to exploit it.”

“The Ferrante syndicate would turn on Marcello?” I’m sure he hears the fear in my voice.

“You have to understand, Elio, to them, Marcello drew first blood against the Luccheses. They’re scared that he’ll do the same thing to them.”

“But he didn’t draw first blood,” I growl. “They did. They… they tried to kill me, Salvatore.”

He widens his eyes. “What?”

I let out a harsh breath. “They attacked me first. Marcello actually showed mercy by only taking the ports.”

He looks shaken. “Well, that changes everything. If they came after you, of course he had to punish them severely.”

I’m relieved he sees it the same way as Marcello. “The problem is Marcello won’t tell anyone the reason he took over the ports. He doesn’t want to look weak.”

“Hmmm.” Salvatore nods. “I can see why he’d be reticent to do that.”

“I don’t know what to do.” My voice comes out rough-edged. “The other syndicates might understand why he did what he did if they knew his reasons. But Marcello won’t tell anyone for fear of looking vulnerable.”

“It’s quite a problem,” he muses. “By not telling anyone his motivation, he looks arrogant. By ignoring their paranoia, he’s actually feeding into it.”

“I agree.”

He falls silent, a deep line between his brows. When he looks up, there’s a stubborn set to his jaw. “Elio, I think I can help.”

I lean forward. “You do?”

He nods. “I happen to be very close to the head of the Ferrante syndicate, Naldo Ferrante. I helped his family out when they went through some hard times long ago. We’ve stayed close. I have dinner with Naldo once a month.”

“Okay,” I say breathlessly.

“In fact, I’m seeing him tomorrow night. I could talk to him if you’d like.”

“Do you think it would help?”

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt.” He narrows his eyes. “As I said, I don’t think you have to worry about the DiMaggio or Moretti syndicates making a move against Marcello.”

“But Naldo is different?”

“Yes. Naldo is a very pious man. If he has it in his head that Marcello was being greedy when he took the ports, that could make talking to the Russians more appealing. He might think he has to do something to stop Marcello from overstepping.”

“But remember,” I say with some urgency, “no one can know why Marcello took the ports from the Lucchese syndicate.”

He nods. “I understand. Naldo won’t need to know. I don’t mean to brag, but if I tell Naldo that Marcello had a good reason, and that he did not draw first blood, Naldo will believe me. No questions asked.”

“Really?” I narrow my eyes. “You hold that sort of sway with him?”

“I do.” He shrugs. “I may not be the most powerful man, but the Marchetti syndicate still holds a lot of influence. Some of the younger bosses discount me and the other older alphas, but men like Naldo will listen to me, and he won’t ask questions. If I say Marcello had to act, Naldo will trust me.”

“Jesus, why didn’t Marcello just ask you to speak to Naldo earlier?”

He winces. “Marcello doesn’t respect me. He thinks the older alphas are antiquated and useless. But the truth is, we still have a role to play. We have decades of relationships within all of the syndicates. In a situation such as this one, those close relationships are what can make the difference.”

“If you’re willing to use your friendship with Naldo to intervene on Marcello’s behalf, that… that would be an answer to my prayers, Salvatore,” I say breathlessly. “I’ve been so worried for Marcello.”