Page 15

“Remind me again what’s going to happen?”
I grab the papers Luca’s found, every secret that will make her talk—bank shit, daddy’s letters, photos, her diary.
Dirt.
Leverage.
Ammo.
“I told you. Her father’s backing a RICO case against us, and the Commission wants me to fix it.”
“They got more to lose than you,” Luca says, rifling through another drawer. “Why the fuck they sending you?”
“You sayin’ I can’t handle it?” The challenge in my voice is automatic, territorial.
“Nah.” He grunts. “I’m saying they got more guys, more guns, more cops in their pockets. If this shit’s so dangerous, why not do it themselves?”
It’s a good question.
Too good.
But I’m too close to my goal to back away now.
Three powerful families with armies at their disposal, and they send me to handle their problem?
“Well…you think it’s a setup?” Luca’s question hangs in the air.
I run a hand through my hair, considering. “Maybe. Or maybe they’re testing how I handle power. They need to know if I can be trusted with more than just a button. I lower my voice. “Vince won’t be around forever. Neither will Paolo or Fabio. They’re looking at who’s next—who has the stones to lead, not just follow.”
“Mingya… What the fuck, Dom—you think that fucking far ahead?”
“Always, you think I plan to take orders my whole life? Fuck that.” I stare dead into Lucas’s eyes, reciting our father’s words, “Loyalty might be the core of the Mafia, but betrayal is its greatest downfall,” a mantra that’s kept me alive this long. “It’s not complicated, Luca. Kidnap Alessa, interrogate her, and find wherever Marco’s hiding.”
“Did you know?” He closes another drawer empty-handed.
“Know what?”
“That she was tangled in all this when you fucked her.”
“No, shithead.”
The night at the Crimson plays back like a highlights reel—her body pinned under mine, those green eyes glaring up while she clawed at my back.Bought her at the charity event. Had I known she was La Falciante’s kid, I would’ve kept my dick in my pants. You don’t touch Isabella Russo’s daughter and expect to keep breathing—no matter who her rat father is.
“That’s what you get, paying for pussy like that, even if it’s for charity. I mean, what are the chances? She walks off with your gun and leaves you standing there with your fucking balls in your hand.”
His smirk makes me want to break his jaw. “What’s the play now?I mean, if you ask me, it’s bad business, mixing pleasure with the job—that’s like a conflict of interest, isn’t it?”
“What interest?.. I didn’t fucking ask you.”
I drag my bleeding ass to the bedside table, needing to find that piece, and shut my brother’s mouth. Where would a woman like her stash something hot? Something that precious? Somewhere she could grab it fast if trouble came knocking.
“I don’t know… I’m just sayin’, she ain’t some usual whore you paid to forget. It just seems like you two have...chemistry.I mean, look at the fucking way you look at her—like you wanna break her and fuck her at the same time.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
There’s a line even brothers don’t cross.
“So, does the Commission know about your… history? Cause if the boss finds out you’ve been inside the package…”