Four
I slowed my steps as I approached the foursome, trying to catch a little of their conversation.
“No more. If I catch wind of another street skirmish, you can expect a halt on all product shipments.” Benny sat in a chair between Marco and the Chronis brothers.
Alex shook his head. “We don’t know—”
“Bullshit. You know. We know. Everyone knows. You’re just too fucking lazy to handle it,” Marco spat, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We need him handled.”
“Need a fresh drink, gentlemen?” I set the tray on the table, putting myself in the middle of the tense mobsters glaring at each other.
Perfect
“Sasha—”
Nikos and Alex stared at me, their pissed-off faces dropping into polite smiles.
“It’s nice to see you again, Sasha,” Nikos said, knowing full well we’d only ever been to one or two of the same events and had never been properly introduced.
“Mhm.” I handed out the glasses, saving the last for Benny. He accepted it with a grin.
“Why don’t you join us? We were just discussing Luca.”
“I shouldn’t,” I said while hovering next to Marco. He rolled his eyes and scooted over to make room for me on the couch. I sat on the edge of the stiff cushion and cautiously smiled. “So, how are we getting my husband home?”
Or better yet, when will Cy be dead? But that wouldn’t be tactful to say.
The Chronis brothers understood what I was asking and shared an uncomfortable look. “We need a little more time to get proof before we can act.” Alex sat still as a statue, his gaze on me.
I scoffed and grabbed the remaining scotch from the tray. Taking a sip, I fortified my strength under the watch of these terrifying men. “We don’t have time. My husband is in jail for something he didn’t do. And we all know it.” I glanced at Benny to confirm he was in on the whole Zoe and Tootsie are alive and on the run thing. He tilted his head but gave nothing away. “You know what needs to happen to bring Luca home. What’s it going to take to make it happen?”
Marco’s arm stretched along the back of the couch, visibly uniting us against the assholes across from us and signing off on my questioning.
“We need more proof, and it can’t come from a Moretti.” Nikos lifted his lip as he said the name.
“What about Zoe?” I said just loud enough to carry over the brass band.
The brothers flinched, her name enough to make their confidence waver. Alex licked his bottom lip and begrudgingly said, “It’s not enough.”
I frowned. “Why not?”
“She’s our sister, and he’s our cousin and only rival. No one’s going to believe that she’s not just backing us. No, we need to catch him in some shit before we pull the trigger.”
“What if we did it?” The words flew out of my mouth before my brain caught up and stopped me from offering an assassination special.
“We?” Marco said, a hint of humor in his voice.
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
Marco’s amused expression turned into a smirk. “No, Sasha brings up an interesting idea. What if we took care of your problem?”
Nikos looked off into the distance, then frowned. “What would you want?”
Hope sparked in my chest, something that had been in short supply. This was a step toward a concrete plan—a plan that had more of a chance of working than relying on Fern and the legal team.
“I’d need to discuss it with Luca, but I think he’d settle for the peace treaty he’d negotiated when he was going to marry Zoe.”
I internally winced at the reminder that I fucked up the whole delicate criminal ecosystem.