Page 176 of Bitter Poetry

The last pieces of my plan.

Tomorrow, I will leave.

CHAPTER 54

DANTE

I’m in my office. It’s late or early, depending on your perspective. The last time I checked my watch, it was three a.m., and I’ve inhaled a strong black coffee since then.

Leon: Chris is in the club, on his way to my office. Mateo messaged me. Said he needed to talk. He’s incoming now.

I shoot off a reply and head over.

Christian is already there, sitting opposite Leon on the couch. Mateo has yet to arrive. Beyond the windowed wall the club is in full swing with strobing lights and thumping bass that no soundproofing can wholly obliterate.

“No one has recognized me from the footage,” Christian says, without preamble, as I take the couch beside Leon. I haven’t seen my brother since he brought the replacement birth control over, and for someone with seemingly boundless energy he looks worryingly tired. “Ettore has had run-ins with his brothers—he threatened to shoot Rocco a few days ago. He’s pissed off witheveryone. I’m just keeping my head low. Russian soldiers are out in large numbers throughout the city. We even followed a couple into Carmela’s usual coffee shop. They were in there for an hour.”

“What do you think they were doing there?”

He scrubs a hand through his hair. “I don’t have a fucking clue. They had coffee and read the paper. They definitely know something is going on. Jero said they’re responding to our increased numbers on the streets. Maybe they’re worried it signifies an imminent attack from us. Who knows?”

“It makes sense,” Leon says, “But I don’t like it. What was Ettore’s response?”

“Nothing other than we’ve been ordered to keep following them, which they’re not stupid and will know. However you cut it, Russian soldiers hanging out in a coffee shop Carmela is known to frequent is pretty much them pissing in Ettore’s favorite fountain.”

“I don’t like it either,” I say. “We wanted Ettore to do something stupid. But his nonreaction to blatant disrespect is confusing. Technically, they can go wherever so long as they’re not working without Ettore’s express permission. Maybe they know she’s missing. I can’t believe he would tell them, but now I’m second-guessing myself. He’s called in favors with them before, as we all know… and has a business connection to them now.” I turn to Leon. “The sugar pill lab I mentioned to you.”

“When my father was underboss, Cedro always avoided drugs of any kind,” Leon says.

“Not anymore,” Christian says. “Roman was still in the dark and full of theories today on what’s going down. It’s been over a week. She can’t fall off the face of the earth for much longer. She’s a creature of habit and routine. It’s possible Ettore told his Russian contacts, hoping to get more eyes on the problem.”

“Wouldn’t Jero know if that were the case?” Leon asks. “The two of you are close. He stopped the attack on Dante. He still have your back?”

“Maybe.” Christian looks unusually shifty. “He knows about Carmela and me. He saw Dante meet her in the coffee shop.”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” I get up and start pacing.

“How long have you known this?” Leon demands.

“A while,” Christian says. “She was upset after seeing Dante. Went to her mother’s grave. Got more upset. It started pissing down and she wouldn’t get in the car. We got into… a tussle when I tried to put her in the damn car. She slapped me. Told me to get lost. Told me to fuck her. Then she cried and begged me to take her away.” He swallows hard. “I wish I’d fucking taken her away. Instead, I took her home. Ettore was waiting, face like fucking thunder. We were both soaked and covered in mud where I’d chased her crazy ass across the cemetery. I thought he was going to kill me, but she flung herself at him and made up some bullshit that distracted him. He ordered me out of his home, and I went to the club. Jero was there. He told me Ettore had ordered him to follow me and take pictures.”

I stopped my pacing a while ago “You need to pull the fuck out,” I say.

“I agree,” Leon says. “Also, you don’t sit on shit like this, Christian. Am I making myself clear? You know something, you fucking tell us.”

“No fucking offence, Leon,” Christian says. “But if you think this was my first close call, you’re not as intelligent as I thought.”

“I didn’t know he fucking suspected you,” Leon growls. “He had Jero follow you and take fucking pictures. Ettore suspects you.”

“Did,” Christian says. “He suspects a lot of people, and now he no longer suspects me.”

“Assuming Jero didn’t tell him,” I say. “Maybe Ettore is watching you even closer now.”

“Jero was my father’s man before he was Ettore’s,” Leon says.

I drop down onto the couch beside him. My gut is churning. I’ve always thought I understood the risks Christian was taking in playing the role my father set up, but I really didn’t. “You think he has cross loyalties too?”

“Maybe,” Leon says. “Christian?”