Chapter 237: Chapter 21 Outsmarted by Family
Dominic’s POV
At the usual time, I waited outside the high-end boutique where Gemma worked, watching for her to finish her shift so we could grab our afternoon coffee at the safe house cafe. When she emerged from behind the glass doors, my breath caught in my throat. She wore perfectly fitted lilac slacks that hugged her curves, paired with a crisp white silk blouse that seemed to glow against her dark skin. Her high heels clicked rhythmically on the pavement, and she had swept her dark hair into an elegant low bun with delicate strands framing her face.
"Well, well, Dominic! Getting clever with your tactics now? Has your mother stopped lighting candles for your hopeless romantic soul?" Gemma’s eyes sparkled with mischief the moment she stepped outside.
"What exactly are you referring to, my beautiful goddess?" I knew perfectly well she meant the coordinated rare orchid delivery from my private greenhouse, but feigning ignorance seemed like the safer play when dealing with a woman who’d seen me execute several men recently.
Gemma leaned in and brushed a soft kiss against my cheek, sending electricity through my entire body despite the weight of my concealed weapon. We began our familiar walk toward the corner establishment that doubled as our family’s intelligence hub, her perfume making my head spin even as I automatically scanned for potential threats.
"Oh, you know exactly what I mean. Do you and Zoe only make moves as a coordinated strike team now? If one doesn’t act, the other won’t either?"
"Gemma, didn’t the orchids make you happy?"
"The orchids were absolutely gorgeous, Dominic, but they came with your family’s signature calling card. Zoe’s right, it feels like you two are running some kind of psychological operation on us."
"That’s not what this is about, my goddess." I stopped walking and turned to face her, my hands finding her waist while keeping one eye on the rooftop sniper positions. "We just want to touch your hearts, make you smile. Nothing more complicated than that."
"We’ll see about that, you dangerous man. We’ll see."
When we reached the cafe that served as our secure meeting location, Vincenzo was already settled at our usual table in the back corner with perfect sightlines to all exits, and he jumped up to greet Gemma with surprising familiarity.
"Aunt Gemma! How have you been?" Vincenzo’s casual greeting sent alarm bells ringing in my head, especially since he was supposed to be maintaining operational security protocols.
"I’m wonderful, Vincenzo. How are things with you? And how’s Brenda doing?" Gemma asked about my nephew’s girlfriend with genuine interest, though she kept her voice low in the soundproofed space.
"Hold on just a minute! What the hell is happening here?" I demanded, my voice sharp with suspicion as I instinctively checked the security cameras. Neither of them had mentioned knowing each other this well, which violated every intelligence protocol we had.
They both erupted in laughter at my confused expression, which only increased my paranoia.
"No way! Kid, did you orchestrate this whole intelligence operation?"
"Oh uncle, I’m sorry, but your approach was completely amateur hour. I had Aunt Gemma’s secure phone number from the beginning of delivering those coded messages, while you spent quite a while trying to get it through official channels," Vincenzo explained, grinning like he’d just pulled off a successful heist.
"And he only got my number because he convinced me to let Vincenzo keep delivering your encrypted love notes during his advanced tactical training," Gemma added, her smile making my heart race despite my growing irritation at the security breach.
"Are you telling me you’ve known it was me this entire time?" I asked, and she nodded with that devastating smile that could make me forget I was a killer.
"And you, you little traitor, you’ve had her secure line this whole time and never gave me access?" I turned to Vincenzo, who nodded without a trace of guilt, clearly proud of his counter-surveillance skills.
"Oh uncle, you’re operating at street level while we’re playing chess. We’ve shared intelligence briefings over lunch several times, she helped me select surveillance equipment for Brenda, and Brenda has actually been cleared for direct contact," Vincenzo said, settling back into his chair and signaling our waitress who doubled as a family informant.
"Kid, did it ever occur to you to file a report about this operation?" Fury was building in my chest at this massive intelligence failure.
"It crossed my mind, but watching you suffer over basic reconnaissance was incredibly entertaining for someone trained in psychological warfare," Vincenzo looked at me with pure amusement dancing in his eyes.
"So who’s running psychological operations on whom now, Miss Gemma?" I fixed her with an intense stare as she laughed, noting how comfortable she’d become in our world of secrets.
"Alright, we’re even." She raised her hands in surrender. "You should see the massive rose arrangement your uncle sent me today from his private conservatory. Look at this." Gemma pulled out her encrypted phone to show Vincenzo the photograph, completely comfortable with our surveillance protocols.
She proceeded to tell him about the flowers, making him laugh and mock me far more than any soldier under my command would dare.
"Is there anything else I should know about this operation?" I asked after we had placed our orders with coded phrases, my patience wearing thin as I realized how thoroughly I’d been outmaneuvered.
"Oh, just that Vincenzo briefed me completely when he delivered the first encrypted message and showed me your surveillance photograph," Gemma said casually, like she was discussing routine family business.
"Damn kid, and I thought I could actually trust you with classified information," I complained, glaring at him while mentally noting his excellent operational security with everyone except me.
"You can trust me, uncle. She only gave you her contact information because I vouched for you. If it had depended on your pathetic coded messages, this incredible woman would already be under someone else’s protection," Vincenzo said smugly. "By the way, Aunt Gemma, what exactly did you see in him?" Vincenzo pointed his thumb at me and squinted at Gemma.
"Oh nephew, he has his own special deadly charm," Gemma was clearly enjoying every moment of this situation, and from what I could observe, they had developed quite a close friendship. Despite my frustration, I found myself impressed by their discretion.
"Charm? Women are impossible to understand, even in our line of work. I thought you just felt sorry for him," Vincenzo said, biting into the sandwich that had been delivered by our secure catering service.
"Kid, you’re pushing your luck with a made man, don’t you think?" I protested, but I was clearly outnumbered in this intelligence coup.
When it was time for Gemma to return to the boutique, we escorted her back with proper security protocols, and I mentioned I would drive Vincenzo home and visit my sister at the family compound. Gemma exchanged a meaningful glance with Vincenzo, and I sensed they were concealing additional classified information from me, but neither offered any further intelligence.
"Well, well, what miracle brought the feared Capo of Thorne family to visit his humble subjects?" My sister Nadia had always been fond of sarcasm, even when discussing family hierarchy.
"You’re hardly humble, Nadia." I smiled and kissed her cheek, noting the concealed weapons stationed throughout her secure apartment.
"So, little brother, how have you been? It’s been quite a while since you’ve graced us with your deadly presence, although you’ve been spending considerable time conducting operations with your nephew."
"Sorry, sis, but my new intelligence coordinator keeps me on a very tight operational schedule and makes me work incredibly hard on family business," I attempted to explain.
"Right! It’s purely because of territorial control. It has absolutely nothing to do with you conducting surveillance around the shopping district stalking Gemma?" My sister studied my reaction with trained interrogation skills.
"Big-mouthed operative!" I shot a deadly glare at my nephew.
"Uncle, what did you expect me to do? Mom runs counter-intelligence! She demanded to know the nature of your classified operations with me," Vincenzo defended himself with perfect logic.
"When do we get to meet her?" Nadia smiled at me knowingly. "We’re all eager to clear her for family access. She’s absolutely professional on our secure communications."
I looked at Vincenzo, seriously contemplating whether murder would solve this security breach.
"When exactly have you been conducting classified communications with Gemma?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet.
"We’ve spoken several times recently on encrypted channels," my sister replied as if it were completely normal operational procedure. "I really like her intelligence profile, don’t mess this up!"
"My God, you’re all running unauthorized intelligence operations! Shouldn’t I be the one who likes her?" I said, running my hand through my hair in frustration.
"Ha! You’re completely compromised by her, aren’t you, uncle! Following her around like a lovesick amateur begging for attention instead of a professional killer." Vincenzo mocked me and gave me two light pats on the shoulders before collapsing onto the reinforced couch.
"We also want security clearance to meet Zoe, mother received glowing intelligence reports about her," my sister pulled me down to sit beside her on furniture designed to stop bullets. "But I need to know what possessed you to send those adult recreational items to mom’s secure location. Have you completely lost your operational mind, Dominic?"
"Adult items?" Vincenzo’s interest was immediately piqued, his training kicking in.
"It’s classified, Vincenzo. Don’t you have weapons training to complete?" My sister cut her son off with military precision.
"Well, I do, but I want to spend quality time gathering family intelligence." Vincenzo tried to appear innocent.
"Vincenzo, report to your quarters. I need to debrief your uncle privately on sensitive matters." My sister’s tone carried the authority of someone who’d survived multiple assassination attempts.
"Oh, mom! I have clearance for everything about his operations. You can debrief in front of me." Vincenzo was being particularly bratty for a trained operative.
"Vincenzo!" My sister’s tone left no room for argument, and he left the room grumbling under his breath about operational security protocols.
"So, Dominic, why did you send those items to our mother’s secure compound? That showed a complete lack of tactical judgment." My sister questioned me with the intensity of a professional interrogator.
"According to my intelligence advisor and my operations coordinator, our mom has every right to recreational stress relief equipment." I said, remembering the tactical briefing I received from Zoe and Mia.
"She does, but you’re her son and a made man. It’s inappropriate, like you’re violating operational boundaries."
"It wasn’t exactly like that, Nadia. It was a massive operational failure." I explained to my sister how the shipment of specialized equipment ended up at our mother’s compound instead of its intended destination, and she laughed until tears streamed down her face.
"So you’re telling me Zoe neutralized that snake Kira with psychological warfare?" Nadia despised Kira because at a family gathering I had brought her to, Kira had shamelessly attempted to seduce my brother-in-law, violating every protocol of respect.
"Yeah, Zoe is lethal, but she’s become absolutely essential to our operations. You two will work together perfectly."
"Oh, I really want to meet her. Mom was thoroughly impressed by her security profile. Now tell me about Gemma."
"First, you tell me how your intelligence-gathering son informed you about Gemma."
"You know Vincenzo can’t maintain operational silence under family interrogation, you don’t even need enhanced techniques, just keep asking and he’ll reveal everything. He told me what classified operations he was conducting at the shopping district with you. And later that he had become friends with Gemma."
"Interesting, he never filed reports with me that he’d become her unofficial protection detail." I complained about the intelligence gap.
"She’s been providing him significant tactical support, especially with advanced mathematics and encryption. She’s brilliant with numerical codes."
"And how was I not briefed about this asset development?"
"If you conducted family intelligence briefings more frequently, perhaps you would be properly informed." My sister seized the opportunity to complain about my operational absence.
"I’ll make an effort to attend more family councils, sis." I said, squeezing my sister’s hand while mentally cataloging how thoroughly I’d been outmaneuvered by my own family.
I ended up staying at my sister’s secure compound until it was time to collect Gemma from the boutique. She called our mother using encrypted communications, who came over with her security detail as well, and we enjoyed a pleasant family dinner in the bulletproof dining room. But I was anxious to see my goddess, desperate to be with her in whatever secure location we could find. So when it was time to pick her up, I felt like a teenager preparing for his first date instead of a professional killer planning an extraction.
