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“What’s there to know? None of you have the whereabouts of my father. Be honest about the last time you’ve seen him – which will all predate this situation with Sonny – and let that be the end of it.”

“One of the Rigianos in New York said one of Vino Barone’s men pulled a gun to his leg. It got tense, boss.” Snaps rubs his knees nervously.

“Look. There’s two suspects that the Lucrazis and Barones are gunning for. Glove, and Jay Rockstar. Given that Jay is always putting himself in the public eye, he’s going to be easy to find and hard to get rid of.”

“Boss…” Bruno sets his jaw, taking out his phone. “They got to Jay this morning.”

I look at the text messages from one of Chestnut’s dancers. The timestamp is about the time I was getting hitched.

“They put a cigar cutter to his pinky and nipped him enough to bleed,” Bruno says. “He swore up and down he had no idea what they were talking about. And I guess they believe him, because he’s still got all ten digits.”

“Boss—mm. Doesn’t that mean we’re next?”

I nod.

Now I’m worried one of our adversaries might recognize Capri if they scope out the club. It’s dark enough in there, though. And who the fuck would suspect I’d put the daughter of Rocco Dotelli – alawyer– to pose as a stripper?

Can’t be second guessing myself. That’d be fucked.

“Sonny’s disappearance is no joke.” Mikey leans back in his seat. “If he doesn’t turn up soon, there’s going to be hell to pay.”

Capri side-eyes me.

Fuck it.If I’m going to be building an empire to rival Castor’s, I need to start trusting the people around me fully.

“They won’t be finding Sonny,” I say.

Capri stiffens like a corpse next to me, but I squeeze her hand to tell her it’s alright.

“You got more information, boss? Iknewsomething was up when you called us so early.” Bruno inches forward to the end of the couch.

“How deep does your loyalty go?” I pose the question to my three closest.

Snaps scoffs.

“Something about my question annoy you?” I growl.

“Yeah, actually, it does. The um—fucking cartel shootout four years ago. I gotta remind you that me and Mikey jumped in the open line of fire so you could run out?”

“Don’t forget when the feds raided Star Dust,” Bruno adds. “Who was the first to step in their way so boss could exit unscathed?”

I turn to Capri. Don’t know why I want her approval on this, but I do. And I think I just received it, judging by her reaction.

“Sit back, fuckers.” I backhand the air. “All I was doing was listing out your résumés to the daughter of Rocco Dotelli.”

Chapter 18

Cipriana

Three sets of tired eyes are now wide awake, and on me.

“Hi, guys.” I wave casually, dropping my Misty persona for my bubbly self. “Capri Dotelli, attorney at law.”

Considering my makeup is as whorish as possible, and my tits are nearly out, I must look insane. Like, worse thanLegally Blondeinsane.

“My father wanted me with a good girl before he passes. He’s sick, as I’m sure you all could tell last time you saw him. But it’s progressing bad, and I suppose he wants a fucking postcard of me with a family in his reel of dying memories.”

“Yo. That’s dark, boss.” Snaps winces.