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“It’s about my brother. Since we’re trying to work out this deal with the Castiello family… I want to see if I can talk to Vito since he took over. Maybe he’ll release my brother. You know… as a show of good faith?”

Wolf sighed and sat back. “I never liked how that shit went down with your brother.”

“What would you have done differently?” Ze asked him.

Wolf took a few seconds, and another puff of his joint before responding. “Want some?” he asked, offering the joint to Ze, who nodded and took it. “I’d gone to Jimmy, told him maybe we should try to appeal to the head of the mafia, Rico, but he was against that. Didn’t want to deal with the mob boss in negotiations where we didn’t have any leverage.”

“What would you have negotiated?” Ze asked after taking several puffs of the joint, which was stronger than what he was used to. He coughed a bit, then returned it to Wolf, who smiled.

“Lightweight,” Wolf teased, then inhaled.

“You put some extra shit in that,” Ze said, coughing a bit more.

Wolf shook his head. “I grow my own, none of that watered-down shit you get.” He shrugged. “I would have offered to pay Zin’s debt, or loan out our club’s services for a time. But Jimmy didn’t want to be indebted to the mafia. Especially not for someone who wasn’t a member. Now, that’s not to say he didn’t love Zin.”

“I know he loved him,” Ze said.

Wolf nodded. “We all do. But there’s only so much the brothers are willing to sacrifice for someone who isn’t club. And going to war with the mafia wasn’t anything we were going to get everyone on board with. My other suggestion was for us to fuck with the clientele, make business difficult, but Jimmy was against anything that could get the club engaged in a war with the Castiellos.”

Ze’s jaw was tight as he thought about what Wolf was saying. For the past two years, he thought about his brother, wishing he could free him without the consequences that would follow. As much as it ripped his heart out, he had to let Zindel work off his debt.

“As long as Zindel wasn’t being abused, Jimmy was willing to ride it out,” Wolf said.

Ze shook his head. “He hasn’t been abused. It helps that he’s a little slut.” He gave Wolf a sad smile.

“He’s a tough little son of a bitch, is what he is,” Wolf said. “He can handle anything thrown at him.”

“Fuck yeah, he can,” Ze said, nodding. Even though he hated what happened to his brother, he was still so very proud of him. With every visit, he could see his brother growing stronger, bolder, and more confident. “So, are you okay with me going to talk to Vito?”

Wolf nodded. “Yeah, do that shit, but be careful. Rico’s little brother is a real motherfucker for you, if what I’ve heard about him is the truth. They call him the “Vise” because he doesn’t let up until he gets what he wants. He probably makes Vinny look like an amateur, so watch what you say when you speak to him.”

“I just want him to release my brother.”

“Tell him that since we’re working together, it’d be beneficial for our two organizations to not have bad blood between us. Freeing Zindel would heal old wounds,” Wolf said.

“I’ll try to be as elegant as that,” Ze said with a slight chuckle.

“Whatever you do, don’t back down until he agrees to release Zin. I’ve got your back. It’s not like it was before. Dasan has a meeting set up with them, probably right now, and he’s negotiating a deal with them and they need us. This time, we do have leverage thanks to what our brothers in Orlando did,” Wolf said.

Ze smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Wolf.”

Wolf nodded. “Bring our boy home.”

“You’re damn right I will. It’s about time,” Ze said, then left the office. His chest was out now, his head held high as he climbed onto the motorcycle his brother had bought him. For the first time in two years, he felt like himself, like he was ready to take on the world and it was because his club was behind him.

Hang on, little brother. I’m coming.