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“So, you do speak without Maximo telling you to,” he says, raising a brow. “Good to know.”
He nods behind me and Vito moves to the side of the desk, staring down at me. His face is still pinched and there’s no doubt in my mind that he hates me. “You’ll get your first shot tonight to show your usefulness. You’ll be going with us to meet with some of our dealers.”
A part of me is shocked that he’s so forthright with the fact that they move drugs. I already knew of course. I’ve run into bums who’ve gotten their drugs from the Costa Family. But still, it feels a bit incriminating for them to say so. What if I were an undercover cop?
“You’re now privy to family information,” Giovanni says, his hard gaze meeting mine. “And for that information, we’ll hold your life. So if this doesn’t work out, you’ll be dead before you can blink.”
That’s why he has no fear of revealing his secrets. I’d be dead before I even got a chance to think of revealing them.
CHAPTER NINE: ENZO
I try not to fiddle with the sleeves of my suit jacket in the car.
The fabric of the suit that the maid delivered to my room an hour ago is nicer than anything I’ve ever worn. Not that the other clothes I’ve been provided with over the last couple of days have been cheap, not even close.
But this… I never knew fabric could feel likepower.
I look in front of me. Vito is in the driver’s seat, his shoulders bunched. I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that Maximo is sitting directly behind him with a grin on his lips. Giovanni sits in the front passenger seat, his gaze pointed downward at the phone in his hands.
Despite us sitting on opposite ends of the backseat, Maximo’s knee keeps brushing against mine and I have a feeling it’s intentional. The first time it’d happened, my gaze snapped up to find him already looking at me, and hehadn’tattempted to move his leg.
I’d swallowed and rerouted my gaze.
Now, after thethirteenthbump, and yes, I’ve counted, I feel a little jittery, each bump like a shot of adrenaline in my veins. I clench my fingers into a fist, pressing my lips together.
I hear Maximo let out a light chuckle. The car jerks slightly. Giovanni turns his head to look at his brother. His gaze snaps to where our knees are still touching and a crease forms between his brows before he turns back around, his attention back on his phone.
The hair on the back of my neck rises and my stomach stirs.
What did that look mean?
Once again, I’m reminded of the extreme homophobia within the mafia and gang circles. Before I left for bootcamp years ago, I distinctly remember the police finding the body of a family member. It was the Accardi family, if I’m not mistaken. The manhad been strung up to a tree by his feet, a bullet in his temple. The rumor was that he was gay and had been ousted by his own family.
I don’t know if the rumor was true, but already knowing about my bisexuality at that time, it’d made my heart race. And it reminded me that no matter how close I grew to the men I was deployed with, I couldneverlet them know my secret.
I glance at Giovanni again.
I’ll need to keep an eye on him, in case he gets any ideas or comes to conclusions he doesn’t need to.
The car comes to a stop, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glance up, finding us parked outside of a big warehouse. There’s only one streetlight on, illuminating the building and the streets are barren, the parking lot vacant.
And we’re supposed to be here for a meeting?
Everyone else opens their doors, getting out and I take it as my cue to do the same. I stand close to Maximo as they start walking toward the warehouse. Vito opens the door and Giovanni walks past him.
Vito lets the door go and steps in front of Maximo before he can enter. Maximo pulls to a halt and I slam into the back of him, my eyes widening. I take a step back, opening my mouth to apologize but Maximo’s attention isn’t on me. He’s staring at Vito’s retreating back instead. His hands are balled into fist and I can practically feel the anger coming off of him.
He gives his head a sharp shake before finally moving to walk after Vito. I follow behind them, confused.
I can tell the animosity between the two is strong, but I also know from what I’ve heard that Maximo is above Vito as far as rankings of the family go.
Yet, Vito seems to almost treat Maximo as if they’re equals.
Which is disrespectful.
I feel unsettled at the idea for some reason, and I quickly shake the feeling off.
It has nothing to do with me. I just need to be focused on this meeting and potentially collecting a meal ticket if it goes well. Or a bullet to the head if it goes wrong.
