Shame washed over me. “I didn’t think—”
“You’re right. You didn’t think. Which is why I know you’re nowhere near ready to take over from me just yet. If I had it my way, you might never be Don. But Killian isn’t much better,” Sal replied sharply. “We need something else to distract our people from your fuck up. This Snake…what do you know of them? Besides the fact, their sole mission is to take the Rosania down.”
Hesitantly, I sit in the chair across from him, his words still ringing in my ears. “Not much. Just that they’ve been slowly gathering their own men, and they always seem to be one step ahead of us. We tried laying traps for them, but somehow, they always outsmarted us. Set their own. There’s nothing but rumors about them in the underground, and those we’ve interrogated have told us little.”
“How is this Snake making contact?”
“One of his associates had a phone, but the communication was encrypted. The others received notes only. Apparently, there doesn’t seem to be any way to get into contact with the Snake.”
“How do they recruit?” I could practically see the wheels turning in his head, but if neither Sienna nor I had managed to figure this mystery out, I didn’t see how he could.
“His associates approach the men they choose from what I heard. Some might express interest by putting it out on the grapevine, but that doesn’t seem to be a for sure way of getting recruited,” I said. Killian was the one to figure that out.
“This is all you have?” I could hear the slight disgust in his words.
Gritting my teeth, I nodded. “So far, yes.”
Sal took a sip from his cup, stubbing out the cigarette in a glass ashtray beside him. “I’ll send over a list of my own contacts for you to go through. They’ll help you in tracking down this Snake. Anything you need, just ask, and I’ll give it to you.”
A wave of relief washed through me. Sienna had her own men as Don, but it was her family that was under attack. They knew about as much as we did. However, with my father’s help, we might actually make some headway. Finally.
“But this cannot go on forever,” my father warns. “And I’m not doing this for her.” I knew who he was talking about. Sienna. He still had plans to take over the Rosania’s. “This is solely to stop this idiot from taking all of us down.”
Of course, it was. The more power the Snake gained, the more our futures hung in the balance. I was sure that my father hadn’t come to this decision on his own. The Commission must have realized that things here were more dire than they had seemed before and had finally pressed him into aiding us.
“Hopefully, we’ll catch them. Whoever they are,” I finally said.
He glanced at me sharply. “Not, hopefully. You will catch them. Or we will all pay the price.” His hand waved in the air, a clear dismissal. “I’ll have Tommaso send over what you need.”
I stood, feeling more certain than I had before. “Thank you.”
His tired eyes met mine. “Don’t thank me just yet. Just catch the motherfucker who took Marie from us.”
The emotion in his words shocked me. It was the first sign I’d seen that he missed my mother. The first sign of any emotion I’d seen from him other than disapproval and anger. It was short-lived. As soon as he looked away, his face went carefully blank.
Taking my leave, I shut the door quietly behind me. Killian was waiting for me in the hall, leaning against the wall. He glanced up as I stepped through, his eyes darting behind me for a split second.
“At least you’re still alive,” Killian said.
I ignored him, my mind still reeling over my father’s last words. Killian fell into step beside me, keeping an easy pace.
“Do you need me to do anything?” he asked finally. “I could head out this week to the clubs again. Maybe check out The Salamander.”
I winced. “Maybe going there right now isn’t the best idea.” I didn’t know if he’d heard how I’d trashed the last location in a fit of anger.
“Aw, come on. The brothers won’t ban me just because you were an asshole.” Killian grinned. So, he’d heard.
“Right now, I want you to keep your head down,” I told him quietly. “Things have escalated. Police officers are being murdered now. It’s not just within the families anymore. And mother’s death was a warning.”
Killian’s steps faltered. “What do you mean?”
I stopped, turning to face him. “So far, the attention has solely been on Sienna’s family. Except I’ve been helping her try to find the Snake, and I haven’t been discreet about it. Killing our mother was a warning, Kill. You should have realized that. And I don’t want you to be just another mark to warn me away.”
He tried to give me a light-hearted smile, but failed. “Oh, come on. That won’t happen to me.”
“You’re even more of an idiot if you really think that,” I bit out. “Stay low. Keep your nose out of this business for the time being. It’s not safe.”
“It’s never been safe,” Killian replied quickly. His gaze darkened. “Father tried to keep mother safe from it all, and they still managed to get her. None of us are safe. I just want to help.”