Page 97 of Revere: A Legacy Novel

Cross hadn’t known that only because he didn’t ask Catherine. She didn’t talk a lot about her work with Andino, but Cross could tell she liked doing it. She was far more likely to roll her ass out of bed in the morning to deliver someone’s cocaine for the day than she was to go to college and listen to another set of lectures.

She was good at it.

He didn’t need to say anything about it.

“No, Catty doesn’t know,” Andino confirmed.

“Why the hell not?”

“Haven’t we had this conversation before? It feels familiar, and I’m not interested in having a repeat, man.”

“Andino,” Cross said, his irritation rising, “lies, hiding her business, and putting on a mask for everyone around her was exactly what forced Catherine into a bad spiral of depression and other shit the last time. So, yeah, she’s good and strong and well right now, but what if shit catches up with her next month, or hell, even next week. She’s learned to protect herself. Her mental health is solid. But what if something happens, and she feels like she has to hide it again. Or, shit, even hide how she feels because she doesn’t want her parents to know what she’s doing.”

Cross smacked his hands on the table to make Andino look up at him. “Aren’t you fucking hearing me right now? Listen. That shit is bad for her mentally. She’s walking a fine line, man. Why wouldn’t you just tell her they know if they don’t give a shit that she’s doing it to begin with?”

Andino didn’t even look bothered when he said, “Because that girl makes me a fuck lot of money, Cross.”

“What?”

“Catherine.” Andino stood straight, and folded his arms over his chest. “She brings in more than any other dealer I supply. Triple the amount, sometimes. And she can do that in a couple of weeks if she’s got the ambition and desire to work.”

“Money,” Cross echoed, confused. “What the hell does that have to do with telling her? She would still be making you money, you fucking idiot.”

“Don’t insult me. You clearly don’t know as much about my cousin as you think.”

“Oh, really? Fill me in, then. Surprise me.”

“I know exactly what would happen if I told Catherine the truth about her parents. If she found out they knew she was dealing, at the very least, she would quit altogether. She’s constantly in some kind of state where she believes they’ll disapprove. If she even gets a feeling they disapprove while she knows they know what she’s doing, she’ll drop it in a second. I can’t have her doing that when she’s making me seventy percent on every dollar, and she’s bringing in a hundred grand or more a month. And that’s a shitty month, okay?”

Cross’s voice felt far too calm when he said, “At least, Andino. You said, at least. What’s the most that could happen, huh?”

Andino smirked. “She would work for her mother. You know, the fucking Queen Pin in the family. Which again, costs me money. Knowing my aunt like I do, Catrina would have Catherine onto her side of things with a few simple words, and nothing more. This world—Cosa Nostra—is not like Catrina’s world. Catherine doesn’t just get to come and go as she wants. There is no wet or dry with the mafia, Cross. She can’t just dip her toes with me, and then jump all in with her mother.”

“Andino—”

“I made that girl what she is. I’m not giving her up for someone else to cash in.”

Cross leaned against the hood of his Porsche, and eyed the long line of people waiting to get inside one of New York’s most elite nightclubs. The joint was a popular place for celebrities and socialites to party, so the line went all the way down the block.

Checking his phone, Cross scrolled to Catherine’s last text.

I’ll be out in twenty, she had said.

Cross had left Andino’s warehouse, and immediately texted Catherine. Usually, he left it up to her on whether or not she wanted to be around him, but not this time. Andino had left him with a clear warning to keep his mouth shut about what he knew.

The thing was, Cross just couldn’t do that.

Not again.

Years ago, he had kept quiet about this very same thing. He’d chosen not to tell Catherine the truth regarding her parents knowledge about her dealings with Andino because her family made that choice. Cross stepped back accordingly.

He thought now that was one of his biggest mistakes.

Maybe … had Catherine known back then that she had more people to go to instead of just him after a second assault had left her mentally battered, she might have made it out okay. Maybe, she could have dealt with her emotions better. Maybe, the depression might not have crippled her to the point of drug and alcohol abuse.

So no, Cross couldn’t do that again.

Not when the risk was far too high for Catherine.