Protecting The Principessa (Complete)

~ Chapter 54 ~

"Bait?" Izzy questioned, her hand squeezing his tightly. She didn't like using him like that, but she couldn't fault that the idea had merit. Sometimes, you had to be sneaky to catch a snake, and this man seemed to be the king of them all. "Do you have an idea?" Adriano glanced at Carlo, and she saw a look that passed between them that made shivers run down her spine. She didn't need to know what was said, she could read the coldness in their eyes enough to gather it wouldn't be pleasant.

"I think we do, Ignazia," Carlo said as his gaze locked on her, his lips lifted in a vile sneer. She never wanted to be on the wrong side of her father, not if that look meant business. "I need you to be at my house, I'm calling a meeting with my heads. It's about time they all got the news. That should push Cesare, or anyone if they are with him, to do what we need to do."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" she asked, looking between the men again.

"Non c'è più scelta (there's no choice anymore)," Adriano said. "We have got to flush these men out and now that we know they're more after me for reasons unknown, it's prime time to get them where we want them. I will need you though, you're going to be my binding agent in this, Izzy." She sighed but nodded, not wanting to agree to anything, but knowing not agreeing was even more dangerous.

"I'll be at the house, Dad, when you need me to be."

"Thank you," he told her, brushing his lips against her forehead before he left.

"It'll be okay," Adriano told her, squeezing her hand. "Trust us. Just make sure you hurry your ass back to the hospital once he's done with that meeting."

"You think this is going to work?"

"No choice for it not to. When Carlo drops the official bomb, it's going to set every wheel in motion, and no man is going to like what's going to be said and therefore should do everything in their power to stop the new power play." She understood, she really did, but she sure as fuck didn't agree with it.

-----

"Now then," Carlo said to the heads of the families gathered in his small office a little later on. He looked over each one, wondering how anyone could betray him. He had given his men the world if they asked for it, if they fought for it, and he hated thinking that they would repay that bytaking out those he loved, those he held dear. He wasn't a fool to trust anyone, very few gained that regard, but he still thought more than a few of these men held loyalty to him. His gaze drifted to Izzy who nodded her head at him. He gave her a small nod, the men not seeing it. "Now then," he repeated, "I want you all to know what's been going on. Adriano had an attack on his life, which is why he's not here. He's currently in ICU, stable and I'm thankful for that. Ignazia, why don't you come up here?"

"Thank you," she told him, walking over to his side and slipping her arm around his waist.

"His fiancé here has been by his side through it all, but I asked her to come with me today to talk to you guys. I'm not sure who tried to take the man out and they were close, but they didn't quite get the job done. In fact," he paused and looked down at his daughter who returned his grin, "he's on the road to recovery. And once he's out, I'm going to be stepping down. Rather than have a vote, like it's been done elsewhere, or like others assumed how it would be, I'm naming the next in line, and that's Adriano. He's smart, cunning, ruthless, and will lead the families strongly."

"I think it's a good choice, Dad," she told him, her eyes scanning over the room. She clocked the shock on many faces, but she also clocked the angry ones, the ones who thought they had a chance. In all actually, the truth was always in their face about who would be next, they just never bothered to pay attention, and that was their own fault. Many thought it would be a vote that Carlo would be fair because he gave them jobs, gave them wealth, but that wasn't the case. Carlo wasn't dense.

He might not have had the formal training from birth on how to lead and control a family, but that doesn't mean he was reckless or stupid about it, because he wasn't. Everyone respected him but they also feared him. And what he said went, no matter how hard they fought against it. And from what she saw in a lot of eyes, they wanted to fight it.

It was easy to say that a few men had anger in those depths, but none were over the top, none would commit murder. It wasn't the eyes that gave him away, it was the way his jaw ticked, the way his stance had changed like he was getting ready to charge a bull, and maybe in his mind, he was. She was about to find out just how true her assumptions were or weren't.

-----

She watched from a safe distance as the man looked around the area, noting how quiet the floor was, something she had made sure happened. If they were to catch Cesare, she had wanted him to believe he was in the clear, that he was safe to try whatever bullshit he was going to do. And it seemed he had. He opened the door, and glanced around again before he entered it. She crept down the hallway and peeked through the window, watching him as he grabbed a pillow. As quietly as she could, she opened the door, making sure that the man's focus was on Adriano and not on noises.

"You should have fucking died, you prick," Cesare said, walking over to the bed, the pillow held in his hands. "But no, you and that damn bitch seem to want to stay around, making my life fucking hard. But this time, Adriano, there won't be any mistakes. Carlo never should have told us you lived." With that, Cesare stepped right up to the bed, getting ready to put the pillow over his head but Izzy cleared her throat, causing the man to turn around.

"When you're talking about the bitch, was that me?" He sneered, dropping the pillow, and lunged for her. But she was faster, anticipating what he was going to do.

"You're God damn right it's you, you've been a pain in my side for fucking ages. I tried so damn hard to get rid of you, but like him, you didn't fucking stay down." He swung when he thought he was in distance of her and she ducked, lifting her own hand to land a fist in his stomach. It knocked the wind out of him, but it didn't bring him to his knees. He was obviously made from sterner stuff than she thought.

"Why?" She had nothing on her to record this, but maybe she could get something out of him, something more that would give her clues.

"I'm not telling you shit, little girl. Besides, what are you going to do? Nothing. You have no power, no strength, you're nothing. So, I'm just going to kill you, like I'm going to kill that man in the bed and I'm going to laugh the whole time doing it. I only wish I could have taken pride in stealing your mother's last breath, but that disease got her. She should have died ages ago too." Izzy clenched her jaw with fury. No one talked about her mom, especially not in such a manner. She used that fury, that anguish, to swing again, catching him unguarded, and connecting her right fist with his jaw, while her left one did a strong uppercut, knocking him back on his ass.

"Don't think I don't know how to fight, asshole. And don't you ever fucking talk about my mother like that. She stood up to men like you, lame ass, cock suckers who thought they knew a thing or two." With his dazed eyes staring up at her from the floor, the heel of her boot landed on the side of his head, rendering him unconscious.

-----

She kept her arms crossed as she looked at the man currently tied with a rope to the metal poles in the basement of her father's house. Everyone had left, gone on a weekend getaway thanks to Carlo. And when he was done here, he was going to join his family, leaving Izzy to help mend Adriano, especially after this episode, because she was certain no one was going to go light on Cesare. Who was now groaning as he started to come to. She smirked as she squatted down before him.

"Wakey, wakey, Cesare," she said, slapping him a little more in the face. She enjoyed seeing the marks on his face thanks to her hands. He woke up a little more, his head tilting back to see the poles and his tied hands. Slowly, his head came down and he stared at Carlo.

"You were brought down by a girl, Cesare," Carlo said, copying the move of his daughter. "By my own daughter. She's a feisty one, been fighting for many years, never should have underestimated her."

"It's...n...not....wh...at...you....th..ink...," Cesare croaked out, causing Adriano to laugh, moving to stand between the duo.

"Oh, it's very much what we think," Adriano told him. "And before we kill you, and make no mistake Cesare, unlike you, we will get the job done, you're going to fucking explain how the hell you managed to do it all, and why you even fucking did it." Adriano slapped the lead pipe in his hand, enjoying the look of terror in Cesare's eyes.