Page 21 of Pretty Lies

“Boss,” Cory said with a nod.

Tommas smiled thinly, coming to a stop a few feet ahead of the car. “Evening, Cory.” Then, his gaze cut to Theo. “And don’t worry; I’m sure he’ll occasionally find his way over to your side of things for … whatever. It’s also not forever. Just for a time.”

“Right,” Theo said, lifting his cigarette for another drag.

“I missed something.”

Cory’s statement had the boss’s attention back on him. It wasn’t that it bothered him really, but he’d be a liar if he said it didn’t put him on edge. There was no malice in Tommas’s stare—simply a perusal of the young man in front of him. Cory always found himself wondering if the men of his family thought he … wasn’t up to par. Because he didn’t follow the same rules they did all the time. Because he didn’t dress in suits when he preferred leather and combat boots paired with ripped jeans.

Because he wasn’t like his brother—Joe.

Who wasn’t wild; who never stepped out of line; who followed the path set out for him because that’s what he wanted. Cory, on the other hand, zigzagged and jumped through his fucking life while everyone else waited for the inevitable fall.

So yeah.

He wondered.

Not that they ever said anything one way or another.

“You’ll have some new business for a while,” Tommas said, breaking the silence. “You’ll be answering to a Capo that mostly stays outside of the city limits. It’s the crew that works for him in the city where he makes all his money.”

It took Cory a second.

“Costello?”

The loan shark?

Damn.

“Frankie,” Tommas confirmed, nodding. “He’s a good man—you know his son.”

“J, yeah.” Cory shrugged. “That’s about all I know, though.”

“Never really intersected with him for business,” Theo said out of the corner of his mouth where the cigarette still bounced on his lips. It was just about gone now. “Which isn’t a bad thing.”

Right, because if the front boss was all up in your business to see what was going on and not just to collect money you might owe to the boss, then something was very wrong. Cory had enough to handle between his work with his brother, his businesses in the city, and his uncle that he didn’t have time to be sticking his nose in the business of every made man of the Outfit in and outside of the city.

Simple as that.

“Anyway,” Tommas said, bringing them back to the main point of Cory’s new job—apparently. “He makes a steady, stable profit. Doesn’t have much trouble. Well … usually. A problem came up recently. His daughter was attacked at her townhome in the city. Apparently, she’s been running with his crew.”

Theo coughed hard.

Tommas gave him a look. “What?”

“Been doing that for a while.”

“Pardon me?”

Theo sighed and leaned further into the car. Pulling what remained of the cigarette from his mouth, he lifted his leg to snuff it out against his shoe before he pocketed the butt. “Your wife bitches about my butts in your driveway. Mine bitches about the ones she finds in my pockets. I can’t get a fucking break, man.”

“Don’t deflect.”

“Not deflecting. Sharing some truth.” Straightening up, Theo folded his arms over his chest. Cory chose to stay quiet and watch the exchange. Sometimes, he learned more that way. “Listen, Adella’s been working for her father for a while. Affiliations, and all. It’s not a new development—she’s good at what she does.”

Adella.

Why did that sound familiar?