Good thing mama didn’t raise no quitter.
6
Dove
I bangon Stefania’s door at five a.m.
I didn’t sleep at all last night. The minute I put a bullet in Santo’s brain, I knew everything was going to change. I may as well have declared war. If, and when, Raffi goes looking for him, and the trail leads back to me, things are going to get ugly. I did my very best to cover my tracks and erase my trail, but you can never truly be sure. I tortured as much information out of him as I could. He swore no one else knew. That he told no one. It was just a happy accident he saw Stefania and Marco together, and he wanted to use the information to blackmail them. I guess he didn’t count on me.
Stefania’s version of the Deltoros isn’t known for its violence. She’s a businesswoman with a ruthless side, but I know in most of our peers’ eyes she’s seen as weak. A young, idealistic cartel princess who lives in the shadow of her family’s legacy. But we didn’t come this far or build the Deltoros to what it is today by being weak, or scared, or easily intimidated.
One day they’ll learn not to underestimate us.
That being said, we aren’t looking to start a turf war either. And their relationship is opening a whole bunch of avenues for potential disaster.
I don’t demand much of Stefania. But when she is making decisions that affect me and the future of our business and our lives, I have to intervene.
Sorry, not sorry.
“Palomita?” Stefania opens the door bleary-eyed, clutching her flimsy pink robe. I barge into her penthouse without an invite.
“You need to end it with Marco. Today.”
“What?” Stefania spins and follows me through her apartment, clearly blindsided.
“I ran into a problem at the club. One of Raffi’s guys saw you two together. He wanted to blackmail you.”
“Fuck.” She clutches the nape of her robe a little tighter.
“You need to put an end to it right now. And put as much distance between you and Marco as you possibly can.”
Stefania is stone silent as she listens to me ramble.
“Are you hearing me? Do you understand?”
She just stands there and shakes her head silently. “You know I can’t do that,Palomita.” Her voice is small and soft, very unlike her.
“You have to. This relationship is putting everything in jeopardy.”
The sound of a door creaking has me spinning on my heels. Marco appears out of Stefania’s bedroom, half naked, but very much awake.
“He’s in your house?” I explode on Stefania.
“It’s not her fault. I just showed up,” Marco defends her.
“You two are going to get us all killed. This needs to stop.”
Marco stands beside Stefania, slipping his arm protectively around her waist.
“We can’t just turn it off, Dove. We aren’t like you.”
“Like me? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Cold-blooded.”
“You have to be cold-blooded in our line of work, or you end up like your parents.” The words are harsh, and I see the flinch of pain in Stefania’s dark eyes. But I hope they make her understand just how much danger they’re putting us in.
“I can be ruthless and in love.”
