Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War (62 page)

“Watch yourself, Bonaducci,” Mickey warned.

Niko continued as if Mickey had said nothing. “You know, I went to high school with your Nathan.” He rested his hands behind his head and eyed Carter intently. “There was actually a time when he and I were friends, back when our fathers were friends.”

“Before your father got too greedy and killed Angelo’s men,” Mickey said.

Once again, Niko continued as if Mickey hadn’t spoken. “Even though he and I were friends, I always hated the very air that gave him life. For the longest time I wanted him to die. I still do.”

Okay, now Carter was offended. “Excuse me?”

“Every day I hoped that the tragic death of his mother would push him over the edge and make him end his life, but every day he’d just walk into school and look at everyone as if they were no better than the dirt on the bottom of his expensive Italian leather shoes.” Niko laughed and looked up at the ceiling. “I hoped he would grow up to be shit, but boy was I wrong. Just like when we were kids, Nathan Salerno gets everything he wants. The life of the privileged. I long for the day when I will take everything he has and sentence him to a painful, agonizing death …”

“Nathan worked hard for what he has you whinny, little bitch!” Carter snapped. “Maybe if you spent less time fucking whores, and snorting all of that shit you would be better off than you are!” Carter was about to go full-blown mafia princess on him. She did not tolerate anyone talking about her husband. “You think I give a fuck what you or any of those other motherfuckers want? None of you know who the fuck I am! And if you did, I guarantee you’d be afraid to be in a room with me. You say one more thing about my husband and I swear to God I’ll kill you, and every motherfucker here with you,
brutally
. I’ll torture every one of you sons of bitches until I get sick of hearing you
scream,
” she shouted. “Fuck the consequences!”

Niko shot up from his seat. “Woo!” he howled and laughed, clapping his hands. “
That’s
what the fuck I’m talking about.” He hit his chest with a closed fist. “A woman with some fight in her for change. Yes! I bet you like to be fucked hard, too, don’t you?
Damn
you’re so fucking sexy ...”

Carter shot forward. Had Mickey not have gripped her shoulders, stopping her from advancing forward, she would’ve jumped over the table and killed Niko Bonaducci. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Wait for your husband, Carterina. Trust me. Niko will get what’s coming to him.”

Niko shot a glare at Mickey, as if angry with him for stopping Carter’s attack. “Let her come to me, boy!” Niko shouted.

Mickey cocked his head to the side. “Who the fuck are you calling
boy
, Niko? You better watch your fucking mouth before you lose your tongue.”

“Watch your fucking mouth, Valente! You are nothing but an errand boy. I’m an underboss.”

“An underboss that’s about to meet his death very soon if he doesn’t shut his fucking mouth!”

“Let the woman come to me,” Niko shouted, staring at Carter. “I’ve been waiting to touch her since the moment I first—”

“Touch who, exactly?”

When Carter heard his voice, her head snapped toward the door, and a sadistic excitement rushed through her body. Nathan, Lucca, and Kyle entered the executive suit with Nathan’s men following behind them.

“I know you aren’t talking about my wife, Bonaducci,” Nathan said, a look of deadly intent in his eyes. He stopped walking when he stood a small distance away from Niko and clasped his hands together in front of him. “Would you like to finish your statement?” Niko said nothing. “Nothing? Come on, Niko. Don’t be a bitch in front of your men. Finish your statement…” Niko still said nothing. “Would you like to ask my wife how she likes to be fucked again?” When he didn’t, Nathan released an exaggerated sigh and nodded. “I thought you wouldn’t. It was disrespectful the first time you did it. Apologize.”

Niko’s nostrils flared and his jaw tightened as he looked over to Carter with a nod. “I apologize,” he said tightly.

Carter said nothing and Nathan nodded.

“What are you doing in my city?” Nathan asked, but Niko refused to answer. “I said,” Nathan took one more step forward, “what the fuck are you doing in my city?”

“Minding my own fucking business, that’s what!” he snapped.

Chuckling, Nathan removed his suit jacket, revealing two chrome glocks and a hunting knife resting in his shoulder holster. One of his men came forward and took the jacket from his hands. “You’re not permitted to do that without permission. You’re not permitted to do anything in my city without permission, or have you forgotten that? You cannot kill cops in my city, and you damn sure can’t start a business. It’s rude.” Nathan took a step back. “Someone please escort Niko’s women out.” A few minutes later, when the women were gone, Nathan continued. “Now, where is this Mr. Clay? Come forward please.”

Clay hesitated, but eventually came forward.

Nathan turned his gaze to the man. “Well aren’t you quite the little nuisance. Shame on you for making my wife come back here after she already warned you.” He snapped his fingers and beckoned someone. Two men dressed in suits stepped forward with folders in their hands. As Nathan looked around the room his face twitched in disgust. “Find somewhere to sit in this mess.” Niko tried to speak, but Nathan silenced him with a look. “You can’t speak in my city without permission, Niko. And before you even ask the answer is no. I’ve already had to have the men you had downstairs beaten. And the men that you had watching the door to your suite—sadly—are dead. Don’t make me kill the four you have left standing behind you …”

“You did what?” Niko shouted.

Sighing in disappointment, he took his silenced gun from its holster, aimed, and killed one of the men standing behind Niko. The other three immediately drew their guns, but they were severely outnumbered.

“You may speak this once without consequence, Niko,” Nathan said. “Tell your men to put their guns away.”

“Do as he said!” Niko ordered angrily. “Put them away.”

“Very good.” Smiling, Nathan turned back to the men in the suits and instructed them to remove the documents from the folders. “Mr. Clay. These men are lawyers for the City of New York. I want you to put your signature wherever they instruct you to put it.” When Clay looked as if he wanted to argue, Nathan frowned and shook his head. “Do not test me, Mr. Clay. Just do as I said.”

Clay signed everything the lawyers told him to. “All done, Mr. Salerno,” one of the lawyers said.

Nathan clapped his hands. “Excellent,” he said with a smile. “Thank you, Mr. West, Mr. Peterson. You both are free to leave.”

“What did you do?” Clay asked. “What did I sign?”

Nathan motioned for one of his men to come forward, and he did so while slipping on a pair of black gloves. When they were on securely, he walked over to Clay and stood silently, awaiting Nathan’s further instructions.

“Your confession to the murder of a cop, Clay,” Nathan stated. He lifted his hand to stop whatever Clay was about to cry. “I have no time, Mr. Clay. You were warned and you chose to be disobedient. To maintain order in this city there must be balance. All factions must work together in peace. We took a vote and you lost. Some very powerful people want you and this hotel gone, so it must go.” He looked between Clay and Niko. “Where’s the client list? I need that as well.”

Neither Niko nor Clay answered.

Carter watched him silently before she remembered what she had seen on the table. Why would Niko have burned the numbers to a safe if there weren’t something in the safe that he didn’t want seen? Something like say … a client list.

“There’s a safe in the suite,” Carter said, capturing everyone’s attention. “He caught me looking at the security code to it and he burned it.”

Nathan arched a brow and nodded. He turned his gaze back to Niko. “Where is the safe?”

Of course Niko didn’t answer. Sighing, Carter glanced around the room.

“Check behind the big painting, over there on the far wall,” she instructed, pointing across the room. She smiled wickedly at Nathan’s questioning expression. “Nathan, in every episode of
Psych
we’ve ever watched, the safe was always behind the big painting.”

Nathan laughed and snapped his fingers at the gloved man. “Do as my wife said.” Just as she thought it would be, the safe was in the wall behind the large painting. He looked back at Carter with a smile. “Don’t tell me you—”

Carter nodded before he even finished the statement. “You know I do, my love.” A smug smile spread across her face as she pictured the small piece of paper in her head and recited every single number she’d seen in the few seconds she was able to look at it.

“I think we hit the jackpot, boss.”

The jackpot indeed. The safe was huge and stocked with money, the client list, as well as a flash drive containing incriminating footage of each prominent person on the client list. There were some big names on the list, too. Nathan looked over at her just as a slow, sexy smile spread across his face. Carter winked.

With a chuckle, he turned back to face a seething Niko Bonaducci. “I want you out of this city until I clean up this mess. My father expects an apology as well as an explanation for the actions of the Bonaducci family.”

“We’re not giving you—”

“
I said do not speak!
” Nathan roared. “Be
silent
.”

Niko’s mouth immediately closed as Nathan continued to yell at him. “You think I have time for this shit? I’m not like you, Bonaducci. Do you know what the underboss does during the day in my family?
Every-fucking-thing
! Lounging around and fucking all day is not a spoil that is afforded to me.
I have to work
. Do not interrupt me again.” Nathan paused for a second, noticeably daring Niko to say a word. After a moment he nodded and continued. “Now, my father expects an apology as well as an explanation for this intrusion next week at the Pescatorre’s dinner. I’m sure the other families of New York will want to know what the fuck you were thinking as well. Now get your shit and take your ass back to Brooklyn until this is sorted out. I will discuss this with you no further.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean?” Niko asked, frowning.

Nathan inhaled a sharp breath in annoyance. “I mean what I said, Niko.”

“That’s unacceptable. I demand a proper meeting,” he snapped as he vehemently shook his head.

“You don’t
demand
shit from me.”

“I am the underboss of my family, Salerno! You will treat me like it.”

Nathan blinked, just staring at the man. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he walked forward until he stood directly in front of him. “You are a drug addict, Niko. A fucking joke. I will speak to you no further because you are beneath me. I believed this when we were children, and I still believe it now.” He leaned in a bit closer to Niko. “And you were wrong about our childhood, Niko. I didn’t find you no better than the dirt on the bottom of my shoes. I actually found more worth in the dirt on the bottom of my shoes …”

Nathan laughed the moment Niko rushed to attack him. He caught him by his throat and squeezed until his face began to turn purple. “Look at yourself. Always getting into trouble.” He glanced at the faces of the two remaining men Niko had and frowned in mock concern. “What’s wrong, gentleman? Not used to seeing your dear underboss like this?” He sighed and nodded. “I will make him look more familiar to you.”

In a swift motion, Nathan released Niko’s neck and turned him away from him. Gripping the back of his neck, Nathan forced the man to his knees in front of the table full of drugs. After Nathan slammed Niko’s face into the small pile of cocaine, he brought him back to his feet, his face covered with the white powder. He turned Niko to face his men. “Now your boss looks more familiar to you, yes?” He forcefully pushed him into the arms of his men, nearly knocking them over. The Salerno soldiers burst into laughter as Nathan rolled up his sleeves and turned to look at the quietest and most fearful man in the room. “What is your position here, Matthew Young?”

Carter knew Nathan wouldn’t show Matthew any favor based on the fact that she was friends with his wife. She wouldn’t expect him to, nor would she ask him to. This was business. Carter would never request it or expect him to give it just because she was his wife. She rarely brought their personal life to work. At least not in situations like these.

Matthew stuttered through his response. “I–I’m just th–the accountant. I assist i–in,” he visibly swallowed, attempting to calm himself, “I assisted in la–laundering the money.”

Nathan nodded. “Your credentials please.”

He frowned. “Umm … I graduated from Harvard at the top of my class. I’m very good at what I do here and I … and I can show you my work if you’d like to see, Mr. Salerno.”

“So you would like to keep a job?”

Matthew didn’t even look at his brother-in-law when he nodded. “Y–yes, sir. If I could, I would like to keep a job.”

“You fucking bastard,” Clay shouted. “After all I’ve done for you!”

Nathan frowned and slowly approached Matthew. “Mr. Young, if I may ask, why would it be a good decision for me to allow a man clearly lacking in loyalty to work for me?”