Page 11 of Meet Odin
He made a clicking noise in the back of his throat. Looking down at the cop’s picture, he drummed his fingers against the desk.
“We can use this to remove Giuseppe. He’s too old and losing touch with reality. Even without the cop, Giuseppe will eventually destroy them. His son needs to take over. Lorenzo is more level-headed and groomed for the business.”
I didn’t like where this was going. If this didn’t end with the cop’s head on a platter, I didn’t know how I would react. I buried my sudden rage.
“No, I think we’ll let this play out for a little bit longer, and if it gets worst, we’ll step in.”
“And Serena?” Fuck! I let that slip.
“What about her?”
“She’s in the line of fire”
“So?”
I wouldn’t betray her confidences, even if she hadn’t known she was confiding in me. An idea sprung forward.
“They’re old world. What if we made an arranged marriage with them for Serena? It would strengthen our connections so that you could exert control from the outside. You’d also have a man on the inside to get a read on things.”
“You’d be the inside man? Marry Serena?”
Fuck yes, I would! She belonged to me, and only me.
On the outside, I was the epitome of calm. “You can introduce me as your personal physician. I already have a reputation for being discreet and servicing the community. No disguise. I’ll be introduced to them as me. I’ll cut off my outside work and only run assignments for you as a Syndicate. It’ll cut down on my time away from her, and no one will suspect anything. I can also feed her more documents that we control to the cop.” I left out the part where she’d be my wife, and I would protect her.
This was a good plan. I just needed Mr. De Angelis to sign off on it, but I knew he hadn’t bought my line of bullshit.
“You’re agreeable to this, right?” I asked.
“No, my boy. We’ll arrange the marriage, but this is what we’re going to do.”
He proceeded to devise a new plan, but Serena was still mine. I’d just have to wait a little longer than I wanted to.
Chapter 6
Ipulledintotheparking garage underneath De Angelis Inc. For someone who actively avoided this place, I'd seen my fair share of the inside recently. I'd received an email last night, letting me know that my presence was requested at eight in the morning. There was no further instructions, but I could only imagine today was the meeting with the Italians. I was one step closer to making Serena officially mine.
As I pulled into a parking spot, I noticed there was a black Mercedes idling near the entrance to the elevator. I wasn't in disguise, and although it didn't really matter, I still sat in my car, observing. The driver's side door opened, and, as soon as I saw his features clearly, I was transported to another time. Mr. De Angelis had employed the same driver all of these years.
I turned off my car and stepped out. With no way of knowing who might be watching, I decided to make a show of it. Opening the back door, I reached for my suit coat. Taking my sweet ass time, I ensured the buttons were done correctly, and the sleeves lay flat at my wrists.
I walked towards the elevator, but as I approached the Mercedes, the driver turned towards me.
"Dr. Nystrom," he said. "Your presence is requested."
He opened the back door and stood to the side, waiting for me to enter.
"Get in, my boy. We don't have all day."
I wasn't late, but Mr. De Angelis had been waiting for me.
***
Thisremindedmeofa long-ago car ride.
I was sitting in the back seat next to Mr. De Angelis. The only sounds in the car were the small outside road noises and the gentle hum of the engine. This wasn't a comfortable silence, but there also wasn't a need to fill it with chatter. The plan had previously been set, and if it went well, I would walk out an engaged man.
The Lombardo's had alerted the guards at the gate of our arrival, so we were waved through. The driver followed the road until it circled into an actual driveway. There would be eyes and cameras everywhere, so I sat in my seat until the driver opened my door first. Exiting the vehicle, I made sure that the driver had room to close the door, but I didn't drift any further. When Mr. De Angelis walked around the front of the vehicle, I waited for him to approach me. I let him walk in front of me, as we made our way up the front steps to the main door of the compound. This was all about presentation. Power. Control, and it wrapped around Mr. De Angelis like a second skin.
