Page 55 of Traitor
Then, he stood to his feet. “Thank you all for meeting me on such short notice. I believe you all understand how imperative it is that we meet sooner rather than later.”
The sea of heads bobbed while the boy in the back frantically scribbled down notes.
“Very quickly, though, I want to introduce Miss Charlotte Pettigrew. She’s the newest installation to our happy little family, and she will be attending these quarterly meetings with me from now on,” he said.
I am?
A plump man in the corner spoke. “Nice to see someone in that chair for once.”
A spindly man sitting across from him cleared his throat. “That wife of yours really wasn’t one to care about anything you did in the first place.”
Wait, I’m sitting in Rosana’s chair!?
Teo lifted his hand. “We shall not speak of my soon-to-be-ex-wife because she is no longer of importance. This is Char’s chair now, and you will respect her as such. Understood?”
The sea of heads nodded, but I was too flabbergasted to nod back. I was sitting in Rosana’s chair. Well, what should have been her chair, anyway. I was sitting at the head of a formal table with Teo at my side and all eyes on me.
This is my world now.
Teo sat down next to me. “I open the floor for free discussion on what to do regarding the impending war with the Luccheses.”
An older man with a very wrinkly face stood. “I think we should strike while the iron’s hot.”
A younger man beside him shook his head. “I think the fact that you haven’t seen or heard of any sort of counter from Lorenzo after rescuing Miss Pettigrew means we need to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row before we proceed.”
The older man hovered over him. “Which is exactly why we need to--.”
I pointed. “My apologies, but what is your name?”
The elderly man looked up at me. “Giuseppe Rocco, ma’am.”
I pointed at his chair. “We don’t loom over people to intimidate them. Not while I’m around, anyway. You can sit and your voice will still be heard, I’ll make sure of it.”
I saw Teo grinning at me from the corner of my eye as Giuseppe finally took a seat. Then, I looked at the younger man off to his side.
“I think he has a fair point. I’ve been worried about the lack of response from Lorenzo since I know first-hand how hot-headed he can be,” I said.
Teo drew in a curt breath through his nose. “We need the Lucchese’s men off the streets. We need to cripple them not where it hurts monetarily, but where it hurts personally. If we can destroy their feeling of security, like I did with Char’s kidnappers, then they’ll make mistakes trying to scramble to get other men together to do their dirty work.”
My head whipped in his direction. “My kidnappers? You found them?”
The room fell silent as his eyes met mine. “I did.”
I swallowed hard. “And?”
He took my hand in front of the whole room. “I gave them what they deserved.”
Yes, this is where I belong now.“So,” I said as I gazed back out over the table, “how does everyone feel about taking out the Lucchese Family security instead of the family as a whole? I have to admit, it’s a clever idea.”
Another man dressed in a white suit jacket raised his finger in the air. “It might be clever, until we start killing more than necessary. If they have enough people at their disposal, they could keep us occupied with killing while they strike where necessary.”
I looked over at Teo. “He’s got a good point, too. We’ll need a contingency for something like that.”
He nodded. “So, you agree with Mr. Bianchi?”
I drew in a deep breath. “I think it’s an angle worth considering. Though, I think I might have a way around it.”
He ushered his hand over the expansive table. “The floor is yours, Char.”
