Joaquin Fuertes

3. Joaquin

JOAQUIN

Two Days Later

I was born in Spain and raised in Portugal as the son of Mayor Joaquin Fuertes and Italian mother, Alba Fuertes. They’re still married to this day, even though he was now retired from politics. When you joined the Cartel, you never retired, and his hands advised me when needed. Mother wasn’t happy about her oldest son getting involved in the lifestyle while also being groomed with two grandfathers who were also involved in the underworld. Tiago Fuertes, on my Dad’s side, was an underboss to his brother that started the Fuertes Cartel, and my mother’s father, Piero Giordano, was his accountant. Growing up, I watched my dad work both sides of the law. He was able to walk into dinners with politicians and governors, then at the drop of a hat cut a man’s throat that betrayed him. They set life for me before I was born. My younger sister, Alessandra, who was now twenty-two, wished to follow me to America, but I refused to allow her to do so.

I promised my mother that I’d never put her in a position that she’d have to lose any of her children. I was the one behind Queen’s death, and time was ticking because someone out there was waiting and planning to bring an end to my door. At twenty-nine, I should be out dating, living life, traveling around the world, preparing for a future with a wife and children. But here I was, standing in my office thinking about her. The minute our eyes connected, my heart felt inclined to protect her and have her near me. It didn’t matter if she was with someone at the restaurant that night. If I hadn’t had business to attend to, she would have been with me for the rest of the night. That’s the side of me that pushes the other part away in order to have a moment of happiness. Ghost was the one I go around as all day and night. The amount of death and destruction, bloodshed, and ripping families apart has forced my soul to harden, and I refused to push the darkness onto Sofia. Could I have protested? No. My family would have made sure that they immediately changed my decision. Even when I came to America to get an education, it was under strict protection. Not only am I the don of the most prominent underworld Cartel family, but I also have my investment company that I’ve built from the ground up with my right-hand man, Gael Velez. We’ve been childhood friends since we were five years old in boarding school. The Velez and Fuertes families ran all over Spain and parts of Italy that we gained through our collaboration with Antonio De Luca and his clan.

“He’s right here. I’ll tell him,” Gael responded, hanging up the phone. I was peering out of the window of my office on the tenth floor while he dealt with a phone call. Instead of having to share the space, we bought the entire building. This way, we don’t have anyone around who shouldn’t be there.

The Alba Industries was a venture firm with more than two hundred clients with our money tied into everything from sports teams, entertainment, and local mom and pop shops that we helped refinance while taking a small percentage as repayment.

“What is the problem?” I slid my hands in my pockets.

“That was Carlo updating us from his contacts in Italy. They’ve found out that Queen was involved in something with Antonio, and now that she's dead, they think he was assisted by us because the last sightings had you photographed with him and Bruno.”

Scratching my neck, I squinted my nose, looking at the guy harassing the young woman sitting at the bus stop. Working on Madison Avenue, people think because it’s full of business people that things are clean. The s**t I’ve seen from here to Italy would blow your mind. Filho da puta, which meant son of a b***h in Portuguese, because the guy yanked the woman by her jacket while getting in her face and no one stopped him.

Grabbing my g*n out of my desk, I strode out of my office, avoiding the elevator and my assistant and Gael calling my name.

“Joaquin! Joaquin!” Gael yelled, chasing after me. He knew my temper and how I felt about a***e. My mom taught me about men treating women with respect and love. When I became of age and capable of fighting, she took control of her life and wanted to do things outside of the mafia family. I said I would never love someone that much to the point of controlling their happiness. Alba Giordano was a strong woman that only wanted to be a teacher. Once she fell in love, her dreams slowly faded, and she became a stay-at-home mom and wife. The same was now happening with Alessandra, and she had to fight to have some freedom.

I stormed down the stairs, pushing the entrance of the door open. At ten in the morning, I could see a small crowd of people standing at the corner waiting for the light to change so they could cross. A typical day on Madison Avenue as folks tended to their lives. I narrowed my eyes at the guy and acknowledged he wasn’t as big as I originally thought when I saw him out of my window. Placing my pistol behind my back, I walked toward him.

She tried to push him away. “Please, let me go!” she cried.

“Shut up, b***h!” he growled.

Stepping behind him, I tapped his shoulder; he didn’t remove his grip on her and turned his head toward me. I punched him with my right fist, and he fell on the ground. The young woman started screaming, and I strolled back to my office.

“Joaquin, you can’t do s**t like that and bring the heat to us.” Gael texted on his phone as I opened the door to return to the office. A black car pulled up and Gabriella stepped out with Hugo. She nodded at Gael and me.

“He’s not dead,” I stated.

“That’s not the point,” he argued.

“Brother, you need to calm down; you looked stressed. Tonight, we have bevande,” I insisted.

Lately, we’d worked a great deal of overtime with the business. I had him not only as my underboss and right hand, he also served as the VP of Alba Industries. His family had ties to the g*n sales, and we’d brokered deals with even the worst enemies of the Velez mafia. Gael was a year older than me at thirty-two, and more rational and patient. I’m called Ghost for a reason. I like to get in and out without being noticed.

“You need to call her.” Gael followed me back into my office and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Call whom?” I questioned, headed into my office taking a seat at my desk.

“The American actress and singer, Sofia Chambers. You know, the one you’re consumed with and keep stalking.”

I glared at his comment, and he held his hands up in apology.

“I’m not obsessed, she’s a talented actress and I’ve attended a few of her shows.”

“Stop following and ask her out. Maybe she can help you release some tension.”

“I will forget you’re my brother and expect to never hear you mention her name again and release anything in the same breath,” I said through gritted teeth.

“We have a meeting tonight to discuss the Queen situation, and then a new shipment is coming in from Italy,” he advised, effectively changing the subject.

“Has the shipment been inspected?” I watched as Gael walked to the bar next to the window, picked up the glass of scotch and poured two glasses. He angled the glass toward me, and I grabbed it and took it straight.

“I’ll have it inspected, but I’m running thin on men to trust,” Gael admitted as he took a seat on the couch. He wrapped his hands around the glass and stared at me.

“I agree, maybe have some people come down from Italy to help. My father would be fine with me bringing in reinforcements.”

“The shooting has me worried and now you're all over the place beating on strangers in public.” Gael’s mouth turned in a twisted smirk.

“He deserved it.”

“Joaquin, you’re taking over as the head of the family. I keep repeating you need to leave certain things to me,” Gael commented, leaned back on the couch.

“I don’t tolerate disrespect, Gael.”

“I understand that, and as your right-hand man, some things shouldn’t have your name involved, especially with this Queen mess brewing around,” Gael spoke, causing an icy panic to creep into my chest.

“The families have no clue it was me,” I answered.

“Ghost,” he said and I held my hand out to stop him.

“I'm done talking about Queen. I want to get security on Sofia.” I shoved my hands in my pockets.

“Don’t you think it’s too early?” Gael grabbed the bottle and poured another shot, then waved it at me but I declined.

“She’s important to me. I need her protected at all times.” An email popped up on my desktop. I turned in my chair and checked the encrypted file with more details on a Russian trade deal that Antonio wanted me to investigate.

“Have you talked to her yet?” Gael inquired.

“No, but I’m planning to very soon.”

“Try not to chase her off this time. What about Monica?”

“Monica’s a little different,” I responded as I sifted through the order that was planned to be shipped. I heard Gael chuckling as he finished off his drink.

“Brother, we both know Monica is a ticking time bomb,” Gael told me.