“Oh, my God.” Antonio turned away. “You two assholes are giving me a migraine.”
Lorik and I followed him down the hall. “Your migraine has nothing to do with us, big brother, but everything to do with that bottle of bourbon that kicked your ass last night.”
Antonio mumbled something sounding a lot like “fuck” and “you.” Lorik and I just laughed as we made our way to the dining room.
The smell of butter and bacon that wafted down the hall made my stomach feel like my throat had been cut. But the second we walked into the dining room, spotting my dad sitting at the table staring at us, I knew it would be a while before I had the chance to finally have my breakfast.
“Good morning, Dad,” Antonio greeted, all polite and shit. Lorik and I rolled our eyes before taking our seats at the table.
By the look on Dad’s face, I knew business talk was on the menu for this morning.
Dad took a sip of his coffee before settling his gaze on Lorik. “Where is my daughter this morning?”
Lorik cleared his throat. “She’s sleeping in.”
“Is she ill?”
“No, Mr. Valenti. She’s just, well…a little tired.”
I glanced at Lorik and noticed how he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Antonio looked at me, and we both grinned, knowing why our little sister was “a little tired.”
My father lifted a brow, his lips pulled in a thin line. “Okay. I just want to make sure we are not disturbed.”
Antonio placed his arms on the table. “What’s going on?”
“It has come to my attention that there have been at least twelve overdose cases during the last three months.” He leaned back in his chair. “So, even though the Mancusos have been quiet on our front, it seems like they are pushing business, in turn soiling my motherfucking streets with their garbage.”
I rubbed my chin. “How many underage cases?”
Dad straightened. “Eight.”
“Jesus,” Lorik mumbled. “Motherfuckers.”
I placed my arms on the table. “I took care of one of those motherfuckers last night.”
Lorik turned to face me. “Exactly how did you take care of said motherfucker?”
“Let’s just say I took care of it in a way that would make the detective in you go all apeshit.” I grinned at him.
He took a deep breath and settled in his seat. Lorik knew as well as I did we were far from innocent and ran some questionable operations. But drugs? Drugs weren’t our scene. In fact, we made it our fucking mission to try to get the shit off our streets. But the Mancusos had no problem destroying innocent lives by distributing the shit like it was the morning goddamn paper.
Dad glanced from Antonio to me. “I won’t allow this situation to escalate any further. I want these drugs off my goddamn streets.”
Antonio nodded. “We will take care of it.”
My gaze swept across the table. “What about Karina? If we go after their business, would it not put her under an even greater threat?”
Dad got up and poured himself another cup of coffee. “That’s another thing I want to discuss with you.” He sat back down. “I don’t think we need to worry about that anymore.”
“Why the hell not?”
“If they were planning retaliation, they would have done it already.”
Lorik waved his hand to get our attention. “I know I’m new to this and all, but I would think killing the underboss of a rival family isn’t quite something that would easily be swept under the rug…or buried six feet underground.”
I leaned forward. “I’m with Lorik. Letting our guard down is not a good idea, and neither is fucking with their business when we have a sister who is walking with a giant target on her forehead.”
“I agree with Dad.” Both Lorik and I scowled at Antonio. He shrugged. “It’s been six months. They haven’t made a single move, and with us being distracted by protecting Karina, they have managed to take over the streets with their drugs.” He scoffed. “It’s actually fucking brilliant if you think about it. They knew our main priority would be keeping every member of this family safe, especially Karina. They saw an opportunity, and they took it.”