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“A meet with who? Bet your ass your boyfriend can set up any meet in this city faster than I can.”
“I would do it myself, but the guy I want to meet he’s sort of… ethereal. I don’t know his base, or his number, and I really, really want to go under the radar.”
“Under what radar? Any lowlife would hack off his own dick if it pleased the guy you’re fucking.”
“This isn’t a regular lowlife.”
“So it’s an irregular one? McDade’s reach is better than mine.”
“Not in this area, not discreet anyway.”
“Who is it then? It’s not a regular lowlife or a McDade, and—” Struck by some kind of understanding, his brow relaxed. “One of the other families?” Sucking her lips around her teeth, the need to brace couldn’t be too overt. “Gambattos are done, Scamp. You have Vex if you need into the Manzanis.”
“I don’t want to go through him. This is… unrelated to him. He’ll turn it into a show and I really need discretion.”
“Who you want to talk to? Hell is—”
“Swerve,” she said.
Barefaced incredulity slackened his expression. “You’ve got to be kidding, babe. Swerve? He’s a fucking maniac.”
“People say the same thing about my guy and Whisper’s. We get along fine with them.”
“You’re sleeping with them. You gonna sleep with Swerve?”
“No,” she said, restraining a laugh. “God, no. I need to talk to him.”
“Why?”
“Because we say we’re trying to solve my grandfather’s murder while missing a huge part of the puzzle. If he was asking questions around City Hall and someone got nervous, anyone on Silvio’s side, they’d go to the source. If Silvio paid for this hit or sent one of his guys, we have to know.”
“And you think Swerve will give you answers? No. Shit, you’ve heard the stories about him. Silvio’s desperate to bring him in, to get his loyalty… He treats Swerve like the son he always wanted, and the guy hardly gives him the time of day. This is a guy with serious issues and nothing to lose.”
“Maybe this hurts Silvio and maybe Swerve wants that. There’s a lot of resentment between them.”
“The guy disappears. Swerve can leave the city, the state, I don’t know. He disappears for weeks and months at a time. The guy has no base, no home.”
“Then we need to find him. He was in town yesterday, he showed up at the wake with Evander. I want to know how that happened too.”
“Vex is already on it, right? He’ll find out if his dad—”
“No, he won’t. Not from the source anyway. Silvio can’t stand him.”
“Because he’s not Hell or Atlas.”
The two elder Manzani sons; Vex’s brothers.
“Because he’s him.”
“Why do you think Swerve will share anything with you? This game, you know how it’s played. You want something from him, you have to give him something in return. Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. What do you have that he’ll wa…?” After another crash of shock, his head shook slowly. “No, Scamp.”
“It might be our only play.”
Strat stooped closer, his voice got low. “You saved that woman and now you want to hand her over? They’ll kill her. And not quickly.”
“I won’t really do it.”
“You gonna tell him you took her? If you tell Swerve, if you hint, you’re the one hiding her… You better be damn sure he’ll play nice or he’ll snatch you instead. There’s payback. You took from the Manzanis.”
