Page 64 of Savage Don

“Friend is a strong word,” I respond. “Former acquaintance is more like it.”

“And you think she’s in his ear?”

“Possibly.”

“Well, you need to connect the dots, and fast,” Aiden says, leaving his half-finished drink behind as he rejoins the group. “The walls are closing in.”

“I’m doing my best,” I assure him.

“And the Galli girl, she’s part of you doing your best?”

A knot tightens in my gut as I stare down the most powerful man in the underworld.

“Yes.”

“Very well,” Aiden nods. “I trust you, Ray. You’ve always gotten shit done in the past; you’ll get it done now, too.”

Aiden’s assurance means a lot, but it doesn’t exactly calm me. I’m still on edge. There must be something else.

“So, why did you call me here?” I ask, ready for more bad news.

“To tell you about the tip that one of our corrupted federal agents caught yesterday. To remind you about the threat and its consequences. To show you how much is at stake.”

“And you needed all five of you here to do that?”

To my surprise, Aiden smirks at my snarky question.

“Well, the feds weren’t the only ones to get a tip yesterday,” he says, stepping towards me.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulls out a manilla envelope and places it in my hands.

“What’s in here?” I ask, studying the package. It’s thin, like there isn’t much inside. Maybe a photograph and a few documents?

“Intel. A lead. Your next breadcrumb. It’s a reliable tip. Discovered by one of the Black Delphi’s assassins.”

“You’re welcome,” Roman and Leonid both chime in at the same time.

“It’s not exactly who you’re looking for,” Aiden says. “But, hopefully, it will help lead you to your rat.”

“Our rat,” I remind him.

“No,” Aiden says. Shaking his head, he takes a step back from me. “It’s your rat.”

“We’re putting our faith in you, Ray,” Roman says. “Sure, if you fail, we all fail. But this is your job. We believe in you.”

It’s almost enough to make my skin tingle with adrenaline.

“I won’t let you down,” I say, shoving the manilla envelope beneath my arm. Suddenly, I’m not so desperate to return to my pretty little virgin.

If Francesca is going to be the mother of my heir, she’s going to have to be by my side for the foreseeable future. But if I don’t do my job, then there is no future.

I need to get to work. There can be no distractions.

But that doesn’t mean Francesca has to fall to the wayside. In fact, it’s becoming clear that I’m going to have to speed up my plan.

Because I wasn’t being completely honest. No matter how much dirt I’m able to dig up on Domenico, it will never be enough to make the other two Italian families okay with me eviscerating the Gallis.

I might be able to destroy Domenico, but if I’m going to hold everything together, I’ll have to keep the Galli family mostly intact. If I want to control them, I’ll have to infiltrate their bloodline from the inside out.