Mafia and His Dangerous Angel

Chapter 4:Nico

I was surprised to see her walk in confidently, but something told me she was caught off guard based on how she dressed. She has a good poker face. I’ll give her that. She glanced at all of us before turning to Devon, anger flashing in her eyes.

“What the hell is this? I thought we were supposed to have lunch to go over business?” She said, her breasts nearly popped out of the white tank top as she crossed her arms.

Devon held up his hands, a bleak look on his face, “Grace, I’m sorry. They just really needed to speak with you.”

She gestured to one of my men sitting at the table, “Well, spit it out! What do you want?”

Vito looked at me with surprise. His eyes pleaded for help. He didn’t know how to handle strong, independent women like Grace. I decided it was time to introduce myself. I slowly stood up and made my way around the oval table filled with all sorts of sushi and Chinese cuisine. Devon stumbled back as I came closer. Grace held her ground, though, as I towered over her.

“Don’t blame Devon. It was my fault.” I smirked down at her as her eyes widened a little bit. Maybe she was intimidated. “I didn’t give him much of a choice on this matter.”

She put her hands on her hips, irritation showing on her face, “And who are you?” I heard curiosity in her voice.

I held out my hand to her, “Nico Conti. Leader of the Ravencrest Organization.”

She stared at me. She scoffed when I said nothing else, “You really think I’m going to know who you are just based on your name and status?” Devon stifled a laugh and tried to cover it up with a cough. “I’m not trying to offend you by any means, but I grew up here and have never heard of you before.”

I nodded, dropping my hand, “Moved here about seven years ago. I opened Red five years ago. You’ve been away from home for a long time, Mrs…?”

Grace stared at me for a minute, trying to understand what was happening. Finally, she offered her hand to me, “Grace Hawthorne. Combat medic. Recently honorably discharged.”

Marco clicked his tongue at her, “How many tours?”

Grace hesitated, hurt flashing in her eyes, “Four tours in total.”

Devon stepped in, a worried look on his face, “Why don’t we sit and eat? All this sushi will go bad if we continue like this.” Devon gestured to a chair for her.

Grace snorted and walked around the table, sitting next to the chair I had been seated in before, and started to build her plate. I smirked at Devon. I could see the irritation in his eyes. He disliked it when people told him no, especially this person. I wonder if there is anything romantic going on there. I’ll have to get to the bottom of that for sure.

A couple of my men moved closer to both of us at the other end of the table. I noticed the look in her eyes as she popped shrimp in her mouth. She was hyperaware of everything and everyone. One sudden move and I bet she would take me out at the snap of her fingers. I resisted the urge to adjust myself under the table. My boner was going to be a problem.

Marco sparked up the conversation next, “What unit were you in?”

Grace sighed, looking bored as she played with a crawfish, “My unit conducted classified missions, mainly hostage rescues. I, unfortunately, am bound by the government to say anything else or give you any more details about my unit.”

“Well f**k!” Marco said, “I was hoping for a war story.”

She gave him a sad smile, “Believe me, I wish I could say more. Getting it off my chest would be a huge relief, but I could be charged with breaking the law.”

“I didn’t know that.” Devon said, frowning, setting his bowl down, “Is that why you don’t talk about it?”

Grace shifted uncomfortably in the chair, a look of anger flashing in her eyes as she met Devon’s eyes, “I can only talk about it with others from my team or a VA therapist.”

“I heard veterans are having problems with the VA currently,” I said, bringing her attention to me.

She scrunched up her nose, “There’s a lot of problems going on at the moment. Long wait times, not qualifying for health insurance, limited access to specialized care like therapists. I think the one thing that bugs me the most is that the case workers who work for the VA don’t care.”

“What do you mean?” Vito asked, a concerned look on his face. I knew the concern wasn’t for her but for his brother, who served. We’ve been trying to get him some help for a while now, but it seems like we’re running in circles.

“It’s just like I said. The caseworkers don’t care.” Grace pushed her plate away. She had barely eaten anything but was clearly done with her food and this conversation, “I saw my caseworker yesterday. Her exact words were, ‘Deal with it. Other veterans have it worse. You need to lower your expectations and stop looking for a handout.’” Grace crossed her arms, and I had to look away before I came in my pants. “I don’t think all caseworkers are like this, but it’s very few and far between that you actually find one that cares.”

Devon interrupted, “Why don’t we get onto the topic of why we are all here today?” Devon shot me a dirty look. Clearly, we had touched on a sore subject for him.

Grace raised an eyebrow, “I was supposed to be having lunch with you, Devon, to go over the plans for building the condos.”

Interesting. I wonder what she knows and if she’s going to be his partner on the build. I can’t let that distract me, though. I have to stay focused. I turned my attention from Devon to Grace. Her chocolate brown eyes were heavy with warning and filled with impatience.

I cleared my throat, urging my seriousness to come through, “We crashed your little lunch today because I’m here to say thank you.”

“Thank you?” Grace said, confused.

I pulled the picture of me and Enzo from my wallet, setting it down on the table in front of her, “You saved my younger brother that night of the bombing. The doctors told us that if you hadn’t saved him, his legs would have been gone for good.”

She stared at the picture, “He asked for help, so I helped him. There’s nothing to thank me for. I was saving everyone I could.”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” I asked, conflicted and confused.

“Don’t get what?” She asked, her eyes meeting mine.

“You didn’t have to save those people, Grace. That wasn’t your responsibility. You aren’t a cop. You aren’t a firefighter. You’re a veteran. You served your time, and I bet you saved more people than the government can account for.” My brothers nodded in agreement, “You deserve to be thanked for everything you’ve done, including saving my little brother, who doesn’t know any better.”

Grace looked away. I couldn’t tell if she was upset, confused, or shy about being in the spotlight. I know this isn’t something she’s experienced throughout her entire time-serving, but she needed to hear it. She needs to understand that her life is just as important as the ones she saves.

“I think we’re done here,” Devon said, getting up from the table.

I shot him a look, “We’re done when I say we’re done.”

Devon swallowed hard but still built up the courage to respond, “You’re clearly upsetting her. You said what you said. I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Vito and Marco stood up with a menacing look on their faces. “Enough!” I signaled to them to stop. Both sat back down, but not without checking each other first. I turned to Grace, who looked on edge and nervous, “I’m sorry for taking up your time. I simply wanted to extend a thank you for saving my younger brother.” As I stood up, I took my own private card from my wallet and handed it to her. “Call or text me if you ever need anything. You saved family, so I owe you until the debt has been repaid.”

My men got up and followed me out the door. I glanced back to see Grace watching me walk away. Devon was saying something, but she clearly didn’t hear him. Her eyes were glued to me. I winked at her as the elevators shut.

Vito smashed the button for the garage before giving me the stink eye, “Why didn’t you let me pound his stupid face in?”

Marco agreed, “He’s the main problem we’ve been dealing with for some time. He took over several of our business partners, locked up our allies, and even dared to outbid us on those condos.”

The elevator beeped, and the doors opened to the garage. As they followed me to my car, I said, “Listen to me. I want her. Not him, her. To get to her, though, we must play nice with Devon. They seem extremely close.” I unlocked the door as we approached my suburban, “Call Luca. I want an update on the info about Devon. I don’t want to miss a beat.”