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I preferred the days when Lucien stayed at the office. Every time he left on some type of business, I worried about the danger he was heading into.
Working for him was better than any job I’d had, but leaving with him in the evenings was like a dream come true. He took me out to the best restaurants in the North End, where a word from him got us seated immediately. He also took me to some little hole-in-the-wall spots. Those were my favorite because we’d sit at intimate corner tables where the lighting was low, and Lucien would talk to me like he did at home. In those places, he had no need to perform for the public the way he did at the finer spots, where he was always recognized by someone. On those occasions, he had to be on guard for anyone who might question his authority if he didn’t appear thoroughly in control.
The nights we stayed in were the best of all. Lucien never failed to take his time with me, making me feel cherished and wringing more pleasure from me than I thought possible. I knew I was living a fantasy, and it could end any moment. I tried to remind myself that I had no real hold on Lucien, but no matter how hard I fought it, those moments when I had him all to myself were drawing me deeper under his spell. I wasn’t going to be able to walk away with my heart intact.
12
Lucien
“Angelo and Devil are here to see you.” Carla had barely finished speaking before there was a loud bang on my door.
“It’s us. Let us in,” Devil demanded.
“Thank you. I’ll deal with them,” I told her.
I hit the button to unlock the door. The knob turned, and Devil pushed the door open. He and Angelo stepped inside. I didn’t say a word. I just glared at them.
“I told him not to knock,” Angelo said.
“Why do we have to—”
“This is an office, Devil. Legitimate associates come here to meet with me. You know this, and my father and I have told you to conduct yourself like a professional when you’re here. You failed to do that today.”
“See,” Angelo said. “I told you.”
Devil held my gaze, but he didn’t say anything.
“You’ve got five seconds to respond appropriately.”
I counted slowly in my head. When I hit four, Devil lowered his head, gaze dropping to the floor. “I’m sorry, Lucien.”
“If you want to be part of this family, then you’ve got to show more respect. You got that?”
“Yeah.”
I raised my brows.
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re running out of chances.”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right. Sit down, both of you.” I gestured toward the chairs in front of my desk.
Angelo flopped into one, making it tip.
“Hey!” Devil said. “Luce likes his furniture.”
Angelo rolled his eyes. He made a big production of standing and then slowly lowering himself to the seat like he was a Victorian matron. “Better?”
“Barely,” I answered. “You said you had something serious to discuss in private?”
Angelo nodded. “We’ve got a snitch fucking up our investigation of Ricci.”
That was a serious accusation. “Evidence?”
“Every wife, child, or niece we’ve attempted to approach has suddenly left town in the last few days or is locked up at home, and there’s no way we’re getting access without fighting our way in.”
“I was all for that,” Devil said. “But Angel said that didn’t count as keeping a low profile.”
I decided not to acknowledge that comment. I wished I could believe this was a coincidence, but I wasn’t that naive. “Anything else?”
“Every single non-family connection we found…” Devil paused. “Dead.”
“Fuck.”
Angelo held up his hands. “Right?”
“It’s fucking Marco,” Devil said. “I know it is. Vinnie’s already expressed his own reservations. Let’s take the bastard out.”
I shook my head. “I want something concrete on him.”
“Why?”
“Because if it’s not him, killing him will only give us false reassurance.”
“I’d enjoy it though,” Devil said.
“What’s the deal between you two?”
Angelo shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
I glared at Devil, but he held up a hand. “It doesn’t affect you or this whole thing, I swear. “
I decided to let that go for now. “What we should do is make him believe we still trust him, while passing information to everyone else without including him.”
“So we’ll fake our meetings with him?” Angelo asked.
“We tell him meeting as a group is too risky if we don’t want his uncle to know when we’re making a move. Then we’ll give a little real information, but nothing significant.”
“We could make a move on Sandrini’s clubs since he’s put himself in with Ricci. He’s an easy target,” Angelo suggested. “We’ll keep it from Marco. If there’s no leak, he’s likely our man, but if there is, then we keep looking.”
Devil nodded. “I like it.”
I considered Angelo’s plan. Sandrini had gotten sloppy from using too much of the drugs he sold in his clubs. He was desperate for someone to prop him up, and when I’d cut him loose, he’d turned to Ricci. Making a move against him would be easy enough, and it wasn’t likely to cause problems with anyone else since Sandrini had already pissed off most of his allies. It wouldn’t prove anything one way or another, but it would be a good indicator. “Let’s do it.”
