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“Other than talking about how much they wanted you to give them an excuse to kill you? The lieutenant mentioned very specific pieces of information, proving they already knew the drugs were there.”
“How specific?” I frowned.
“Very,” Lauren said somberly. “They knew which lamp to look in and where in the lamp the drugs were hidden.”
“That’s how they were able to go straight to it,” I said, staring at the table in thought.
“Yes. There was clearly a leak, and while I have no involvement in the rest of your business, I do feel like I have to tell you that it seems like it was one of your own men.”
What a gut punch.
I had suspected it, of course I had—it would have been impossible not to, given the situation.
Even my father was already preparing to root out a mole when he returned. But hearing it from someone else’s mouth made it feel more real.
We prided ourselves on our loyalty, and commitment to the family was what we built our culture on as mafiosos.
To be backstabbed by one of your own was like getting shot by your brother. There was anger and rage, of course, but there was also hurt and betrayal underneath it. It was unforgivable, and it had happened to us.
I sighed, dropping my face into my hands for a moment. I felt heavy. “Thank you for telling me,” I said, locking eyes with Lauren. She looked concerned, a little cautious for her own sake after dropping that bomb, but mostly worried about me. I appreciated it.
“We’ll handle that issue separately,” I assured her. “I won’t get you involved any further. I appreciate your candor.” Lauren nodded at me.
“Of course,” she said. “…Are you alright?”
I snorted. “Absolutely not,” I said with a wry smile. “But I’ll be better soon. Having my dad back is my top priority—once we manage that, the rest of it will fall into place. It always does.”
Lauren looked like she wasn’t sure she believed me, but she didn’t try to argue the point. She couldn’t—for all the interest that I had in her and that she seemed to reciprocate, she was my father’s attorney, and I was a paying client. We weren’t even friends. She had no right to keep probing, even for my benefit.
I didn’t like that distance.
“Well, the good news is that we have a strong case,” she said by way of comfort, “and since you’ve sped the process along, I believe we can have your father walking free within a week. The only piece of the puzzle that’s left is what exactly we say to the court. We can’t exactly use a mafia rat as a defense.”
I felt my lips twitch up into a smirk.
“Leave that to me,” I said confidently. “I think I have a way to turn this whole situation back over onto the PD.”
Lauren raised an eyebrow.
“Do I get to be privy to this plan?” she asked with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. I chuckled at her enthusiasm.
“Not quite yet, I have to talk to our consigliere about it,” I responded.
Lauren practically pouted, and I laughed.
“You’re really going to get all petulant now?” I asked disbelievingly. Lauren blushed lightly.
“Maybe I like the drama,” she defended.
“Oh, is that why you became a lawyer?” I teased. She crossed her arms with a half-hearted glare.
“I want to help kids dealing with abuse,” she said. I immediately felt my edges soften. I couldn’t tease her for that—I wouldn’t even if I could. I smiled encouragingly at her, and she just looked at me cautiously over the table.
“That’s a noble conviction,” I praised. Her blush deepened a little.
“Thank you,” she said, dipping her head. The action sent a lock of her pale golden hair sliding into her face, and she swiped it behind her ear without a second thought. I didn’t know why I thought that was so attractive all of a sudden. “I’m planning to open my own firm and make a name for myself as someone who represents abused parties. Hopefully, I’ll become successful enough to take on some cases pro bono, maybe dabble in emancipation law a little. It’s a very important cause.”
“It is,” I nodded. She wouldn’t hear any arguments on the matter from me—harming children was an unforgivable sin in my world, and anyone caught doing it was hunted and killed twice as painfully. “I was abducted when I was little, for a short time, so it’s personal to me. Any time I see a kid in a bad situation, it just takes me back to how I felt back then, and all I want to do is kill whatever fucker is hurting them. I want to be to them what my dad was to me that night.”
