“Gottcha, but the estate is off the beaten path, doubt anyone will happen upon her here.” He walks in my house to spend the day with my woman. He’s my best friend, and I trust him with my life, but I’m miffed it’s not me home with Valentina.
I have plenty of money, but there’s no escaping the life I lead. Even those of us who get out of prison often end up back in the slammer because we can’t stay out of trouble. Like Ma said, it’s in our blood.
Now that I know who my true relatives are, I’d say I wouldn’t make it long on the straight side of the law.
I arrive at the warehouse and Tommaso is in a tizzy.
“Dante’s been bailed out, but we suspect he’s being framed. How do two important made men in two different families end up dead? We knew Argon was in our territory, but it wasn’t us.”
“Who was it?” I sit across from him as he has another cup of coffee, sitting at a rickety table in a rickety room he calls an office.
“We’re trying to figure it out. Someone is after Dante.” He slurps his coffee as I sit patiently in an indirect way.
“That was quite the spectacle yesterday.”
“Sorry I gave you a hard time on not having a date. Who was that woman you were talking to?”
“Someone new.” I shrug.
“Might want to tap that. If only I was younger….”
I smile. Even young, Tommaso wasn’t the player he makes himself to be. Now, in his late forties, early fifties, with his kids grown, he can relax more since they are out on their own.
“What can I do to help?” I ask, trying to speed this along. He’s not one to spill the beans without a trip down memory lane.
“There was a raid on our warehouse, have you heard anything?”
“No. Did they find anything?” I ask, knowing the answer.
“Thankfully, no.”
He shrugs his shoulders and looks in his coffee cup. The Michelis have already looked at me as the possible leak.
“So, what’s the plan? How do we prove Dante isn’t responsible?”
“What man would do that at his own wedding? I mean in theGodfather, he took out his enemies while at his kid’s christening, but it wasn’t like the red wedding inGame of Throneswhere everyone is a sitting duck. And how did the police arrive so quickly? That never happens. Someone is playing with us.”
Now he’s making sense. But who? Losing De Luca messed us up as well. I’ll have to keep tabs on Giovi and make sure he’s safe in Sicily. That might mean a trip south sooner than I anticipated.
“The drug they found on Dante was Digitalis.”
Now Tommaso has my full attention.
Fuck.
Digitalis. That’s what killed Argon. Do they know that? It has to be the same killer but why target the Albanians and now the Sicilians?
Someone is framing Dante for these murders. Men at his level don’t do their own hits unless it’s very, very personal. He would never risk it. His business can’t afford to lose him. Each brother has an operation. Dante oversees it all.
“Let me know if you need any help. I have to visit my mother.”
“Sure, sure.” He waves me off.
Fuck, I’m so busy my head is spinning, and I want to be home in time for dinner. I hope Samira makes something good.
I run my fingers through my curly hair, pushing it back. My life was great. I had a routine that worked and now. I’m going to be strung out to help the Michel’s track a killer, hide Valentina so as to not look guilty of the murder, deal with police interviews, all while not blowing my cover.
I’m fucked.