Chapter 12: Chapter 12: The Help

CADEN

A few days later, after dropping off Nate at school, Tank, Frankie, Niko, Tony, Fernando, Eva, and I all meet with Terrance in a conference room.

I also have Mitch, who is the head of my building security, come up so we can discuss our plans. Terrance brings along a guy named Lorenzo. I have never met the guy before, but the moment he walks in, Fernando jumps up and walks over.

“Lorenzo, man, it’s been a long time, son! How’s your old man doing?”

“Fernando, Dad passed away a few years ago.”

“Shit, son, I’m so sorry! He was a good fucking man. Could count on him for anything!”

“That he was! Always there to help and give you the shirt off his back.”

“Let’s have a seat, so I can explain what’s going on,” I say.

As everyone takes their seats, they look at me with anticipation.

“So, what has happened for me to have to pull everyone back in? I killed Eva’s ex-boyfriend, who just so happened to work for Ortiz. Now Ortiz is wanting something from me since I took something from him.

“He wants Eva and so far, has attacked my mansion and cornered us at my son’s school. Now, since he is getting bolder, I know that if I kill him, I take over his empire.

“I had no plans to ever get involved with this kind of business. So now that we are heading down this road, we need to be prepared. That’s where you come in, Terrance.”

“So we are going after Ortiz? Man, that’s a big target.”

“I’m very much aware. I want to get him first before he gets Eva. We have someone on the inside feeding us info, and he hasn’t been caught yet.

“We know where most of his safe houses are, but I’m sure there’s ones our informant can’t even get info on.”

While we continue to talk, Connie walks in with stacks of packets. She hands them out to everyone so they can see all the info we have been fed from our informant.

“Holy shit, man, you got floor plans and hidden rooms. Who the fuck is your informant? The home builder?”

“Nope. The cleaning staff.”

Everyone lets out a chuckle and continues poring over the pages while I start talking again.

“So, like I said, my plan is to get to him first. If, by chance, somehow he gets Eva, we have trackers in her ring and necklace. Then we will go in with everything we have to get her out if she is taken.

“Niko and Frankie, your job is to get to Nate’s school and pull him out and get him to a safe house and stay with him. Protect him at all costs! On your way, call the women and have them evacuate to the safe houses.

“All the guards will come also, so you will have backup. Terrance, if things go down beforehand, I will call you, and then we need to get everyone together here at the building parking lot.

“Downstairs in the basement, I have weapons to stock up if needed. We will then find the exact location we need to hit. Once we hit it, the main objectives are to find Ortiz and Eva. I want Ortiz.”

We all continue talking into the afternoon, so Frankie and Tank go to the school to get Nate and bring him back to my office.

As we're discussing among us and making plans on how we will breach and enter the house, I hear the elevator door ding and a little voice saying hi to Connie.

Tank opens the door as Nate runs to his mom, giving her a hug, then climbs into my lap. Everyone stares as he snuggles against my chest, and I feel a sense of pride that he is ~my~ son.

"Terrance and Lorenzo, how many soldiers do we have now?"

"We have almost three fifty now. All have been verified by their parents' names and so on. These are all descendants from your original soldiers.

"Once their parents got the call, if they themselves could not come, they swore their oath and called their sons who then called us, gave us their father's name, and swore their oath."

"Seriously?"

"Well, you know us Italian families. We even had the women calling up with their father's name and swearing their oath."

We all just stop and think about how these people are putting their lives on the line for us by coming out of hiding to get back in. The chatting continues about our reserves when Fernando's phone rings.

"Hello? You're on speakerphone now. Vinny, man, it's been a long time!"

"It sure has, man. How have you been?"

"Great, and you? What can I do for you?"

"Oh, dear cousin, it's more like I may be able to do something for you."

"So you have heard then?"

"I had heard that you finally found Eva. Cousin, I am so happy for you! But I also heard that you have a little problem with Ortiz."

"Yeah, we do. You remember Caden? Frankie's little friend."

"I do! Caden, my boy, how has it been? Heard you have a little issue by the name of Ortiz?"

"Yes, we do! I have plans to take him out, and we are here brainstorming on making entry and gathering forces."

"Well, I have my men available, and you know who we are, right?"

"Yes, I do. So with being part of the Italian Mafia, how many men can you spare if needed?"

"I will have a hundred men that I can spare if needed."

"All right. We are waiting for more info before we strike. Unless something should happen earlier, we are looking at taking action in two weeks. Does that sound good?"

"What could possibly happen before then?"

"If he gets Eva somehow. We have trackers on her, but would it be enough?"

"If that should happen, we already have a girl on the inside since we were planning on making a move. But since we now have a common enemy, I help you take over, and we make an alliance."

"Who do you have?"

"Her name is Mara. You saw her at the charity event."

“Oh, okay. Yeah, we saw her. Okay, I will let you know if anything happens before then.”

“Sounds good. I will get weapons together and be on standby. Talk to you soon. Save my number and, Fernando, give Gracie a hug for me!”

When the call ends, I sit back and look at Eva. She looks at me, concerned, so I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze to reassure her we will be okay.

Nate has fallen asleep on my lap, so we just let him be as we continue chatting, discussing where we can put people to make the biggest impact without having casualties.

We need photo intel of the guards outside and where we can place the snipers. We keep chatting well into dinnertime, and we decide to deal with it again after we get more info.

Everyone parts ways, and I head upstairs with Eva carrying Nate. When we enter the apartment, Nate wakes up to eat some dinner and then goes to get ready for bed.

I sit at the kitchen table, looking out the window with a glass of whiskey, thinking about what I’m about to take on.

What will our future be like? What if Ortiz does get his hands on Eva? What if I don’t get her out? What if something goes wrong? I have all these what-ifs plaguing my mind when I feel hands start massaging my shoulders.

I reach up and grab her hand, planting a kiss on it while pulling her around to my front. She sits down on my lap and just looks at me. When I place my hand on her belly, she slowly lowers her face and kisses me softly on the lips.

I cannot wait to see what our little bundle of joy will be. I move my arms around her waist as I slowly lay my head on her chest.

“Eva, I admit I’m scared. This will be a big change, and I don’t know what our future holds.

“I will promise this, though—once this shit is all done, we are getting married and going on a honeymoon. Then grabbing everyone and taking a much-needed vacation! How does Magictown sound?”

“Caden, I’m scared also, but I have been trained and know how to take care of myself. I cannot wait to get married, and I think a vacation sounds great.”

I cup her face and give her a deep kiss. I put all my emotions into it because, frankly, I can never get enough of this woman.

We slowly stand up and head toward bed to hopefully get some sleep.