The Foiled Plan (War of Sins Book 2)

‘You’re tense,’ Cisco mentions, bringing a cigarette to his lips in that relaxed manner of his.

‘Of course I’m fucking tense, Cisco. Noelle is out in the open where anything could happen to her, and Michele isn’t even here,’ I grit out as I pace around the small office we’d enclosed ourselves in.

The entire building is bugged, and we have access to all live feeds.

Still, even having eyes on Noelle at all times has me worried.

‘You’re exaggerating,’ Cisco waves his hand towards the screens in front of us. ‘Your man’s on it.’ He motions towards Panchito who is hard at work keeping track of everything.

‘She’s going in,’ Panchito tells me, slowly sipping from his soda.

Turning to one of the screens, I see Noelle slowly walk on the stage, seating herself at the piano and preparing herself to start.

‘See, nothing to worry about. Nothing will happen with her with so many people around,’ Cisco continues, as if it’s not his sister there. ‘Now chill, and let’s listen to the performance.’

‘Michele isn’t here,’ I state the obvious.

‘Maybe he is late. Or he decided not to come.’

‘Why would he not come?’

We’d had reports of his scouts coming to check the building, so I assume he’s taken all precautions to attend the events. There’s also the fact that he has a rather obsessive personality. If he decides on something, he sticks with it until the end.

It had been milder in our childhood, but it seems that it’s become more severe with age.

‘You won’t solve anything by being so anxious. Take a seat and let’s wait,’ Cisco rolls his eyes.

Easy for him to say when there are no stakes for him other than getting Michele or not. His wife isn’t currently bait out in the open.

‘How’s the screening for snipers going?’ I ask, still unable to sit still.

‘Nothing,’ Panchito answers, pointing to his screen. ‘Aside from your men, it’s clear.’

‘Good. That’s good,’ I nod, finally taking a seat.

I may have underestimated Michele in the past, but I’ve seen how he managed the famiglia while I was gone. There is something more to him than meets the eye.

At the end of the day I might not have been the only one wearing a mask.

Noelle starts, and her music has the ability to finally make me ground myself and concentrate on her.

She’d told me she had a surprise for me, and as she jumps straight in the first piece, I realize what she meant.

A burst of flavor explodes in my mouth as I close my eyes, letting my senses lead me as I listen to the music.

What starts as a confusing piece, the notes erratic soon increases in intensity, all making me swallow hard, the flavor sweet and bitter at the same time, almost like marzipan. But as she continues to play, I realize why she’d told me it was a surprise for me. Like a journal, each note serves as a word that spells out our disastrous first meeting and the progression of our relationship.

Everyone is enjoying the music but no one realizes its depth.

Only me.

Her pieces speak of the volatility of our relationship in its incipient stages, followed by the fact that we’d both hated and wanted each other, the feelings more confusing than ever.

The more the plays, the more she immerses herself in the sound, drawing me in and making me forget about the purpose of today—or even reality. With her taste on my tongue, I could starve to death and I’d still be happy.

As I watch her so absorbed in what she’s doing, my heart swells in my chest, pride overflowing for her achievements.

I sneak a glance at Cisco, and I note that he, too, is not unaffected by her skill.

‘Your sister is one of a kind,’ I tell him.

He grunts, drumming his fingers on the surface of the desk, his eyes glued to the monitor.

‘She’s talented,’ he concedes.

‘I want her to pursue a career in it,’ I add boldly.

I know Cisco’s stance when it comes to his family and what they can and cannot do. Holding a public position or one of fame is simply out of the question as it would draw too much attention to the family and its business.

He turns, his mismatched eyes narrowing at me.

‘You’ve certainly embraced your role as doting husband,’ he remarks drily, the disapproval obvious.

‘I want her to be happy,’ I shrug. ‘And free. Something she’s never been in her life.’

‘She’s still married to you,’ he raises a brow. ‘How is that freedom when I basically coerced her into the marriage?’

‘She loves me.’

‘Hmm, I wonder. Will she think the same in five years? When she’s out in the world and realizes there are other opportunities, other people…’ he trails off, a smirk on his lips.

‘That’s not going to happen.’

‘We’ll see,’ he chuckles.

‘Why are you so sure? Did that happen to you? Or to your wife?’ I suddenly ask, knowing I’m courting danger by the mere fact that I’m mentioning Yuyu. ‘Did you find that there are greener pastures?’

‘My wife and I are different,’ his voice goes up a notch. ‘We were never forced to marry. If anything, we had to force the world to accept us. But to answer your question, no. There are no greener pastures because I can only survive on one type of grass,’ he smirks. ‘Same goes for my wife. Any other type would be…poisonous.’

I raise a brow at him, surprised by the admission. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about Cisco is that his wife is the most important thing for him. She’s where he draws the line—always.

‘Then we’re on the same page. Noelle and I may have started on the wrong foot, but this isn’t something temporary. Not on her part, nor on mine,’ I state confidently. ‘And I’m not so insecure as to isolate her for fear she might find someone better. Because, simply put,’ I give him a smile, ‘she won’t find anyone else.’

‘You’re rather secure in your relationship,’ he notes curiously.

‘Precisely. And I wasn’t asking for your permission regarding her career. I merely informed you what’s going to happen.’

He doesn’t reply for a moment, merely looking at me—almost intrigued.

‘I think I made the right decision in giving her to you,’ he eventually says. ‘After this is all done, I promised her I wouldn’t interfere in her life again and I will keep that promise. If you decide she can pursue a career, then I have no say in that,’ he shrugs.

‘I’m glad we’re in agreement.’

‘Ditto,’ he chuckles.

Sometimes I think that Cisco argues just for the sake of argument—the need to be the Devil’s advocate all the time. In fact, it’s rare that I know what his stance on certain issues is. He’s crafted his rhetoric so well, he will circle you around the issue until you arrive at your own conclusion, but you never get a glimpse into his side of the argument.

It’s admirable, but it’s also problematic.

The first part of Noelle’s performance done, I contact her through her ear comm to tell her how proud I am before letting her have some time to freshen up.

Although she loves what she does, I know it’s not easy to play for such a large audience, especially since she hasn’t done it in so long.

I barely stop myself from heading to her dressing room and pinning her to the wall for a short session. She needs her time, and I need to respect that.

Instead, I focus once more on the screens, watching closely in case Michele might show up.

‘What if he doesn’t come?’ Panchito inquires.

He looks a little red—probably from being cooped up inside for so long.

‘Then we try again until he does come.’

‘Maybe he knows about your wife?’ he offers, but I shake my head.

‘We made sure there would be no traces of her. You erased all pictures of her from the internet. And with Cisco’s secrecy? There’s no way he could recognize her.’

We’d been extremely thorough in ensuring that everything went according to plan. And since my brother has isolated himself—at least within the New York community—there would be no way for him to get any information on DeVille.

‘He’s not coming,’ Cisco mentions, disappointed. ‘Might as well enjoy the show, I guess,’ he says right as the curtains open again.

There’s just one problem. There’s no Noelle.

‘What the…’ I jump up, reaching for my comm as I try to connect with her. ‘She’s not answering,’ I turn towards both Cisco and Panchito. ‘Pull up the feed,’ I tell Panchito, bracing my arms on the table and watching the screens like a hawk.

‘She’s there,’ Panchito frowns as he points to the video of her backstage in which she’s studying her music sheet.

‘That can’t be right,’ I frown. ‘She wouldn’t miss the start. Hell, someone would have called her.’ I shake my head. ‘I’m going in,’ I declare, not waiting around for their reply as I wrench the door open, heading straight for the dressing room.

But as I kick the door open, it’s to find it empty, a message written all across the mirror in red lipstick.

As above, so below.

‘Damn it,’ I curse out, my fist making contact with the mirror, shattering it.

‘What are you…’ Cisco drifts off when he realizes that there’s no one in the dressing room.

‘Where is she?’ he asks, his eyes alert as he takes in everything around.

‘How the fuck could this have happened? We had eyes everywhere!’

‘The monitors,’ he notes. ‘The network must have been compromised.’

‘But how? Panchito was on it at all times. And I doubt anyone could get past him.’

‘Unless…’

My eyes widen at his suggestion.

‘We don’t have time to make guesses. Not now. We need to find her first.’

‘But where?’

He frowns when I point towards the broken mirror. Blood is already pooling down my hand, but I can’t even feel the pain anymore. My adrenaline is at an all-time high, my vision tunneled on only finding her.

‘He’s playing with us,’ I tell him as I read the phrase out loud.

‘The roof or the underground parking lot,’ he immediately says.

‘The roof. It’s the roof.’ I nod grimly. ‘It’s symbolic.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘We used to meet on the roof.’

That time seems like an eternity ago. When we’d been just two kids trying to avoid our parents’ wrath. And since they had both hated Michele, they had discouraged any type of relationship between the two of us. Still, we’d found ways around that. Once upon a time…

Cisco barks some commands to his soldiers, but I don’t waste any time in taking a few stairs at a time, rushing to the roof.

If anything happened to Noelle… I don’t think I could ever forgive myself for it.

‘Reinforcements are coming,’ Cisco notes from behind. ‘He’s caught. There’s nowhere to run if he’s on the roof…’ He continues to talk, but I tune him out.

The door to the roof opens with a bang, and that’s when I finally stop.

My brother is on the edge of the roof, gun in hand and aimed towards an unconscious Noelle. My blood starts to boil as I take her in. She’s on the ground, barely clothed, and my mind immediately goes to the worst.

‘And the guests of honor have arrived,’ he laughs, brandishing his gun in the air.

Both Cisco and I stop dead in our tracks, afraid he’s going to pull the trigger on Noelle.

‘I must say. It took you slightly longer than I expected.’

‘What are you doing, Michele?’ I grit out.

‘What does it seem like I’m doing, brother?’ He tilts his head to the side, studying me.

For the first time in almost three years, we are face to face once more.

He hasn’t changed much. Still as slender as before, he’s wearing an all-black outfit topped with a leather jacket—his signature.

But I look at him, though his appearance hasn’t changed, there is something different.

His expression.

It’s cold—colder than before. As I find his gaze with mine, it’s to be met with the chilling realization that he’s gone.

The brother I knew—the one I once cared about—is all but gone.

Maybe until now it hadn’t quite sunk in that we’re two worlds apart. Two worlds that, it seems, cannot cohabitate.

There’s a brief moment where all our past flashes before my eyes—the good and the bad. But all I can think is…how?

How did we get here?

I can still remember those precious moments when we’d had each other’s backs. But that had shifted in the span of a second.

‘Let her go. This is between the two of us,’ I shout at him, not daring to go closer in case he might go rogue and press the trigger.

‘The snipers will be in position soon,’ Cisco whispers from behind me. ‘We have everyone positioned at eight o’clock and three o’clock. They will wait for the signal.’

I give him a nod.

‘And what would you do for me to let her go?’ He raises a brow.

‘What do you want?’ I ask, taking a tentative step towards him.

‘Hmm,’ he regards me with an amused expression on his face.

Once more, I’m forced to admit that our operation must have been compromised from the inside. Otherwise Michele wouldn’t be standing there, looking so smug as he’s facing danger from all sides.

‘See there, Rafaelo,’ he smiles. ‘If I were any other man, I might have been charmed into an exchange. But I am here because I have nothing to lose. Nothing but killing you that is.’

‘It doesn’t have to be like this, Michele. We don’t have to be at each other’s throats,’ I add and his countenance immediately morphs—if before he’d been relaxed, now he looks on the verge of combusting.

‘It doesn’t have to be like this,’ he repeats, laughing derisively. ‘Let’s take a walk down memory lane. Shall we?’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘You know exactly what I’m talking about,’ he grits out, waving his gun more. My eyes are fixed on it, afraid he might accidentally shoot Noelle.

And with her out…

‘You ruined me,’ he accuses.

‘It was a mistake,’ I explain. ‘We were both so young… Do you think I knew what effect it would have?’

‘You saw…’ he shakes his head, his features strained. ‘You stood there and watched and you didn’t do anything. You didn’t do a goddamn thing,’ he shouts.

‘Michele…’

‘You watched how I was shunned by everyone. You stood there and let it all happen when you could have very well prevented it. You betrayed me!’

‘And I’m sorry for that. But how many times do I have to apologize for something I did out of immature idiocy?’

‘That something wrecked me, Rafaelo.’

‘And didn’t you return the favor? I spent my entire life trying to make up for what I did. Trying to go under the radar so father would reconsider and name you as the rightful heir. I spent a fucking decade trying to apologize,’ I say in frustration.

This confrontation is not just three years in the making—it’s a lifetime.

‘Didn’t you sell me to Armand just for that? To live everything on my own skin? Because congratulations, you achieved your goal.’

A shadow passes over his face—an unknown emotion that is gone in a flash.

‘It wasn’t enough. It will never be enough,’ he shakes his head, his nostrils flaring. ‘You should have stayed away, Rafaelo. You should have stayed gone, and maybe I would have forgotten about you.’

He stares at me, his face marred by an echo of pain—one that squeezes at my heart because I know my failings, just as I know he was entitled to his revenge. But how much is too much? When does justice become cruelty?

I open my mouth to say something—another apology? But not two seconds pass before his lips spread into a smile, his entire countenance changing.

‘Now that you’re here, I should tell you something,’ his lips tip up in an arrogant smirk as he nods at Noelle, ‘I had quite the one-on-one with your wife.’

My muscles tense. Fuck apologizing. Noelle is where I draw the line—regardless of my guilt.

‘What are you talking about?’ I ask, my syllables measured as I attempt to control myself. If he laid one finger on her…

‘What can I say?’ He smirks, using the barrel of his gun to undo the knot on Noelle’s robe, her entire front exposed as the material falls away. ‘Your wife is now intimately acquainted with Armand’s dick in your ass,’ he chuckles. ‘And with my cock. Isn’t that the best punishment? Fucking your wife while she watches you being fucked by another man?’ He starts laughing maniacally, holding to his midriff as he continues to wave his gun around with another hand.