Page 23 of His Kidnapped Queen
Of course, Father is still the reigning boss, but secretly I’m running everything behind the scenes. Including the Hillside fights, the ring that Nico had invested us in a few years back. It made money, all right, but at what cost?
We had to have cops in our pocket to make it work, security, a bunch of overhead. And now someone’s skimming money. Ihateliars, and if Nico is lying to me again…
“You—”
“I’m not using,” Nico says, apropos of nothing and I glare at him again.
“You fucking better well not be, Nico. You know how Father is about drugs.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. You know, Luca, you sound more and more like him in your old age.”
I shove Nico, my hands on his chest, but not hard. He stumbles backward, chugging out a laugh/ I know he’s on something, but I can’t prove it.
Not that I’ll have to. Nico will do as he always does and go on a bender. We won’t be able to find him for days and Father will blame it all on me.
Because Nico Rossi does no wrong in my father’s eyes.
And I spoil him myself, I can’t lie. He’s the only thing we have left of Ma.
It doesn’t help that he has her eyes, soft brown with green flecks.
I draw in a breath. “Just keep it together, Nico. And check the books. I’ve been over and over them, I think it’s someone inside.”
Nico blinks, looking concerned for the first time.
“You think I’ve got a rat?”
I sigh. “At least one. The way you run things, I…”
I trail off. It does no good to berate him, not when Father will go behind my back and make sure he has whatever he wants.
“I’ve got it handled, brother. Promise,” Nico says, and his voice is earnest.
I look at him for a moment longer, before sighing and holding my hands up.
He’ll do what he wants, because Nico always does. And Father will cover it up.
“Alright, fine, but I’m overseeing the party tonight.”
“Fine. Can I go now?” Nico asks, bouncing on his heels and I nod sharply. He’s leaving even as I look up.
I watch him go for far too long, biting the insides of my cheeks bloody.
I need to talk to Father. We’ve thrown Nico into a discreet rehab before, when it was bad. I’m worried it’s starting to get bad again.
But it’ll take weeks before Father will believe me.
So it’s best to just get through this party unscathed. And keep Nico’s nose clean. I dress well, but not as sharply as I could. The clientele here is different from a mobster party, where the value of your suit might out your value as a man.
The clientele for this party are hungry for blood and relevance. Once in a while you’ll meet someone interesting, but usually it’s just the locals, wanting a taste of how we live.
So I dress in tailored slacks, a black button-up shirt, and a pair of shoes that cost more than the whole outfit.
I slide into my car, and Diego pulls out ahead of me, working as my security tonight. I keep Diego close, and not just because he’s my best friend. He’s also my best man, the quickest, the most cunning.
Birds of a feather flock together, as they say.
I take off out of the driveway, sliding around backroads without much care before I hit the interstate. I put on the cruise control and slide down the sunroof, loving the breeze in my hair.
