“No, that was just a business transaction. Love doesn’t do that.”
“So you can’t mix business and pleasure?”
I sit back and turn to the window. Traffic picks up again, and the limo lurches forward with it. “I’m capable of doing that, but not with her.”
“You collected a debt while flirting with her.”
“She was in the right place at the right time. Nothing more.”
He clears his throat while popping the blinker. We turn right, pick up speed, and then the road clears up before us. No more stop-and-go traffic for miles.
Finally.
“You didn’t fuck her to fuck with her brother?” he asks.
Practiced nonchalance inspires me to gesture vaguely toward him. “I didn’t know she was his sister until that moment.”
“So, it’s fate.”
I roll my eyes. “Fate has nothing to do with it. I’m not happy with him, but this isn’t some revenge scheme, Stepan Petrovich. You of all people should know that.”
Memories cloud my vision. I zone into the passing scenery while saying, “Felix Cardona is waging war on the rest of the criminal world. He’s using the cover of the NYPD to do it.”
“City’sfinest.”
“If we want our independence, we have to strike at the heart. Cardona is the target here, not the Bernadettis.”
“Like removing a tick.” He nods. “Pour boiling water over it. And then grab it by the head with tweezers to get its teeth out. Delicate procedure.”
“Cardona is the tick. Jonas is the tweezers.”
“Who’s the boiling water?”
I sigh. “Liya.”
“Interesting metaphor.”
“That’sbusiness. If I hit Cardona directly, the rest of the organization will collapse all at once. Their occupation of the NYPD and whatever cookie jars they might have their fingers in all across the city will cease. Then we pick off the survivors. One by one.”
Clouds darken the horizon with the promise of rain. Stepan leans forward to inspect the sky, flipping on the wipers when a few droplets speckle the windshield.
“Those are a lot of hands to slap,” he says.
“I can handle it.”
“And what will you do when it becomes a free for all?”
Rain spatters the roof, a rhythmic hum that lulls me into a reflective state. I run my fingers through my hair while trying to think about the strings on this web. Fine strands connect everything together.
Which means this requires my full focus. I don’t have time to think about whether or not it feels good to be with Liya.
No matter how good itdoesfeel.
“Jonas Bernadetti believes he’ll put himself on top.” I chuckle darkly. “He’s under the impression that he’ll get control of Citta Nostra when this is all over.”
“Is he right?”
I scoff. “Why the hell would I let that maggot have any part of Citta Nostra? He has no fucking clue what he’s doing with this marriage arrangement. He’s a loose cannon, and loose cannons always detonate on their own.”