FULL NOVELXO Calderone: Chapter 5
So now, Leon knew who the other traitor was. He looked over at his son and was stunned to find him staring at the woman. Leon slowly turned his head to see, really see this woman. He observed her dark hair and green eyes. He also took note she wasn’t as young as he thought at first glance. He could see the silver in her hair.
Then he looked back over at his son. He knew his son was older than this woman was but he supposed he would appeal to women. He was six foot three inches tall with salt and pepper hair. He faithfully worked out and was really well muscled too. Although he was normally clean shaven, tonight he had scruff on his cheeks and throat.
Leon supposed his son would attract women and the fact he hadn’t remarried after all these years didn’t mean much. He was discreet about his needs, so Leon didn’t know that much about his love life but the way he was looking at this woman, he had a feeling things were going to change for his son.
Leon chuckled to himself. It was about time. Calderone had been alone long enough.
Willow sat there on the sofa trying not to stare at the man sitting beside her. When she heard his voice, it had given her the shivers earlier. She immediately was lost in the tones and timbre of it and she had to wonder how it would sound whispering in her ear in the dark, or maybe groaning as he took her body. But then she shut down those thoughts as she told him what she’d overheard.
Then she’d seen him staring at her intensely and suddenly, her erotic thoughts returned and for a moment, she didn’t dare even breathe. She kept her eyes on Leon as she repeated her story. She didn’t trust herself to even look at Calderone. Wow, what a handsome man. This did shock her as she’d heard they were both old men. This man did not look old.
“You said someone came to your house and was looking around. Can you tell us about that?” Calderone asked.
“He drove up in a red Mustang and looked like one of those mobster wanna be guys. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a pack of smokes rolled up in the sleeve and a tattoo on his forearm. I didn’t see him up close, so I don’t know what it was all about. He searched the grounds and left like maybe ten, fifteen minutes later.”
“Did he see you or hear your dogs?” Leon asked.
Willow shook her head.
“What exactly do you do Ms. Yates?” Calderone wanted to know.
Willow turned to him and said, “I train dogs to be service animals or protection dogs. We also work to pair up at risk kids with the dogs and work to show them how to bond with the dog.”
“Hawk tells us you live outside the city.”
“Yes, I own fifty acres just outside the city limits. I live there along with the two men that I work with.”
“You live with two men?” Calderone looked angry upon hearing this.
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t say that. They have their own homes and girlfriends or wives. They just live on the same property I do.”
“How many dogs do you have at the moment?” Leon asked.
“At the moment, I don’t have any dogs. We sold the last one a few days ago, but we’re due to get another batch in less than two weeks.”
Calderone nodded. “Ok. What about the men living on your property?”
“I asked them to go on vacation this afternoon. I didn’t want them caught up in this mess. They don’t deserve that.”
“But neither do you, sweet lady,” Leon agreed.
“I had to warn you about what I heard,” Willow supplied. “You and yours protect this city. Same as the Sinner’s do. What these two men want to do is bring terror to this place. They want to bring chaos and unrest here. It was the right thing to do even if it wasn’t smart on my part. I had to do the right thing.”
“You are correct young lady,” Leon agreed. “You possibly stopped a blood war.”
“And put a target on my own back.” She sighed. “I can’t believe this is all really happening.”
“We’ll protect you,” Leon assured her. “Until this is over, we will protect you.”
“You also said they had businesses ready to set up for blackmail?” Calderone mentioned.
She nodded. “But they didn’t say which ones, only that they were big businesses in the city.”
“We can find out,” Leon assured them with a glare in his eyes. “I want to rip that little weasel’s head off right now.”
“You can’t do that Dad,” Calderone told him. “You have to wait for him to make the first move.”
“I know but I sure as hell don’t want to wait.” He growled. “I’ve never had to defend my honor before and I don’t want to wait with this. Waiting is a bad thing for those who have to do the waiting.”
“But you don’t have to just sit on your hands here,” Hawk suggested.
Leon turned his head to glare at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Hawk shrugged. “Well, he’s got to have the evidence somewhere and I doubt he’d keep this kind of info in his office, so it has to be at his house, right?”
“Correct, what about it?” Leon agreed.
“Well, we can do some recon if you know who this guy is.”
Leon nodded and looked over at his son. When Calderone nodded he turned back to Hawk. “His name is Donny Vascilli. He’s my bookkeeper. He’s the only one who could cook the books to make someone think I was skimming.”
“And his partner in crime?” Hawk asked. “Do you know who he is as well?”
“Oh yes, I know who this man is.” Leon held the lighter tightly in his hand. “In fact, I know the man who gave him this lighter and when he finds out what his grandson is doing, he’s going to be so disappointed.” He paused then added, “Donny will be in his office at nine tomorrow morning. You can do your thing at that time, just don’t tell me what you’re doing.” He held up his hands at the big man. “And I suppose we will leave Calderone here, if you are stepping out tonight to check out his office?”
Hawk looked back and forth at the two men in fine suits.
Calderone nodded.
“Ok,” Hawk said.
Leon nodded. “Then I do not wish to know how you do it. Just get me some information I can use against the little fucker. I need to prove to the Council what he’s trying to do here.”
“What will happen to him if you can prove he is doing this?” Willow asked.
“Do not ask me questions you don’t want to know the answers to,” Leon warned her.
Willow stared at the man and swallowed hard. Maybe this man was like the mobsters in the movies?