“After all this effort?” I reply lightly. “Why would I do that?”
The VIP table at theCandelabrais adorned with additional perks this evening. I reach over for the decanter of whisky we’ve been slowly sharing all evening and pour us both another glass.
“Because if I have to sit here and watch you torment yourself over it for another second, I’ll call it off myself.”
I can’t help the smirk that twitches the corner of my mouth. Trust Teo to see right through me.
We were children together, friends before we knew the implications of our allyship— just two underbosses taking on the world, side by side, with outrageous plans to join our two families to create the ultimate underworld empire.
I still consider Teo to be my equal, even if the rest of the world does not.
The fire that killed his parents took everything that was left of his birthright. His people scattered to the wind in fear. I still remember the day a shaggy-haired boy appeared on our doorstep, begging for sanctuary.
He’s hardly a boy anymore. My eyes run over his long, shaggy brown hair that is now pulled back from his face in a disorderly bun.
“I didn’t realize you cared.”
“The Guild may have agreed that action must be taken,” Teo warns, “but your father is still in the dark. Who knows how he might react.”
I hide my grimace by taking a sip of my whiskey. “Remind me how much he owes the Guild?”
It had been the early hours of the morning when Teo had discovered that little tidbit about Lazzaro. Hidden under mountains of bullshit, he learned of a loan taken out from the Guild that should have been paid back a month ago.
“One hundred and twenty thousand dollars,” Teo doesn’t need to double-check his notes; his memory is more than sufficient. “One installment of twelve thousand dollars was made three days ago. One installment of seven thousand was made two days ago.”
I do the math. “Leaving one-hundred-and-one thousand.”
“I’d be more comfortable if we knew what he had taken the loan out for,” Teo insists for maybe the fifth time. The paper trail of Claudio’s transactions had ended with a cash withdrawal of all one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
“Coke? Hookers? A personality transplant?” I offer humorlessly.
“In cash?”
“We’ve got him, Teo. That’s all that matters.”
It was enough to get the lieutenants to agree, at least. They’ll have my back if my father tries to use this as an excuse to back out of our treaty.
As if summoned by our discussion, Claudio Lazzaro himself appears on the stage before us, one arm strapped to his chest in a sling.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Please give a round of applause for Miss Cassandra!”
He gestures stage right as Cas appears, head bowed as she strides toward the mic next to him. I don’t miss the way she recoils from his attempt to kiss her cheek.
For a moment, the moron just stands there, baffled by her audacity, before storming off backstage.
“Good evening, everyone.”
Behind me, someone drops a tray of glasses. I glance over and see Mia staring at Cas with bulging eyes, completely ignoring the carnage at her feet.
I’m staring, not at the bruise on her neck that has tormented me these last two days, but at the matching one under her left eye.
I don’t realize I’m standing up until Teo drags me back down.
“I’m going to end that motherfucker.”
“Rocco,” Teo hisses.
“Let’s keep the lights up tonight, shall we?” Cas simply smiles as she adjusts her mic. If she hears my outburst, she doesn’t let on as she launches into her first song.
