Page 71 of Be With Me
At the head of the table, Mother smiled serenely. Not a trace of the irritation I knew was brewing beneath her mask showed.
“Romolo, darling. How are you?” she asked.
“Just fine. Almost recovered from last night.”
Aunt Marina clucked her tongue. “You look pale, Romolino. You're not getting enough sunshine cooped up in that club all the time.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “You know how it is,Zia. Someone’s got to keep the order in that place.”
Aunt Paolina beamed. “Look at you. So grown-up. Vita, you’ve raised three good boys.”
Good boys. I swiped my hand over my lips to smother a chuckle. Only in a mob family would my brothers and I qualify for that title.
Mother rose from her seat. “I need to talk to Romolo for a moment.” She signaled to one of the household staff. “More tea for everyone, please.”
As soon as we entered Father’s office, her demeanor changed. I was used to it, but it still amazed me how she could go from warm and pleasant to dictator mode in the blink of an eye.
She moved behind my father’s desk and took his chair. “Where were you last night?”
“The Hamptons.” I dropped onto the sofa instead of sitting across from her like a schoolboy in the principal’s office.
She laced her fingers together on the desk. “What happened with Morales’s daughter? You haven’t given me an update.”
I slid a hand into my trouser pocket and wrapped my fingers around the stolen lip gloss tube.
I should’ve thrown it away earlier. Tried to. Couldn’t do it.
“I don’t think she knows anything.”
Her gaze sharpened. “That’s not what I want to hear, Romolo.”
She let the words hang, as if she was waiting for me to correct myself. When I didn’t, she pressed on. “Did Cosimo give you an update on what’s happening with the Colombians?”
I popped my ankle over my knee. “He forgot to mention it. Enlighten me.”
She folded her arms in front of her on the desk. “They’re threatening to pull out of the deal because they’re afraid Morales will have the police force cracking down on our distribution network as soon as he’s elected. Your father flew out first thing this morning to meet with them in person.”
I shrugged. “They’re bluffing. If they want the New York market, they have to work with us. There’s no other option.”
“It seems that there is.”
“Who?”
Her lips pursed. “We don’t know for certain. One theory is that they’re negotiating with a biker gang—the Crimson Defenders—who’ve been trying to expand into the state.”
“We’d crush them.” We had the manpower to fight off just about any threat.
“We can’t risk a fight in the city if Morales is elected. It would only give him more ammunition in his fight against us. We don't want to be sitting here with our hands tied while the gang sets up shop.”
Fuck. She had a point.
I rubbed my chin. If the Colombians walked, we’d have a lot more problems on our hands. It would signal weakness. Spook our other partners.
Mother leaned forward. “I want a full report on Morales’s daughter. What have you learned? No detail is too small.”
Dread pressed down on my shoulders. She was about to grill me, and if I didn’t give her something, she’d get suspicious. I had to play this carefully.
“She knows who I am. She’s cautious. I’ve applied some pressure, but I can’t risk applying more yet. I have to wait to see how she’ll react.”
