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How could I tell him that I’d sent her to stay in a place that was safe just in case the threats were real? I could barely stomach what I’d been forced to do. That wasn’t any kind of life. “I’m here for a little more than a day. Maybe I wanted a little time alone.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “Now that I understand. By the way, I heard what you said to Mom. Is everything really okay?”
“Stop worrying. I can take care of myself. I do have a couple of questions.”
“Okay, shoot.” He eyed me warily.
“What do you know about the Vincheti family?”
Josh cocked his head, giving me his brotherly look. “Why in God’s name are you asking?”
“Just curious.”
“You forget I know you, sis. When you put your mind to something, it usually gets you in all kinds of trouble.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious. That’s how you ended up with that asshole.”
“Don’t say his name. Don’t do it.” My ex had hidden his demons, finally losing his life to a crack addiction after cleaning out our bank account. That had left me limited choices and I’d refused to come crawling home.
He chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets. “What do you want to know?”
“The eclairs I bought. I know the family owns the restaurant. She acted as if I’d walked into a den of vipers in doing so.”
“Well, ordinarily I wouldn’t put much stock into what Mom is worried about because of how she is, but they’re bad news on every front. They control almost one half of the city while the Bratva hold the other. Even if the other crime families worked together, they wouldn’t have the kind of power and influence the Vinchetis do. Pops has been beating them down for years and it hasn’t mattered. They’re organized, have more money than common sense, and use blackmail as their main weapon, but not always. However, the restaurant is what some call a safe zone.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
He laughed, rubbing his jaw. “It means the location is used for various deals, other notorious groups using the facility as well as the family. I don’t know why the Vinchetis provide such a place, but it helps keep the peace, or so Pops had told me more than once. It’s been raided a single time and there was nothing there. Clean as a whistle, run by one of the nephews, but it’s the brainchild and baby of Martina Vincheti’s mother. They call her Mama Lucia.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about the family.”
My brother issued another laugh, only the sound was far less jovial. “Yeah, well, I found out the hard way not to mess with the people having dinner.” Only when I appeared confused did he continue. “I arrested a con artist inside the place when I was first made detective. I got the wrath of God from my captain.”
“Wow. Even the police are under their thumb.” I hadn’t realized just how powerful they were. I’d only been able to spend a short amount of time doing any research on the ride over, but I’d found enough to pique my interest.
“It’s called helping keep the blood off city streets, Cassidy. Don’t tell me you’re suddenly preparing a news report on them. Aren’t you satisfied with taking down a notorious Chicago crime family?”
Taking them down was a strong phrase. I’d had nothing to do with leaking the information Lazor Adamos had mentioned in my notes. Someone else in the station had. That was the reason I was being threatened. I knew it. A cold shiver trickled down my spine, the attack from the night before looming in the back of my mind.
“Just leave it alone. Okay? I’m just curious about the Vinchetis.”
I could tell my brother was playing the cop at this point. He knew me better than almost anyone. I refused to get anyone in the family worried about my stupidity. Maybe that was foolish. I thought about the phone number I’d programmed into my phone, the opportunity that had presented itself only three days before I’d left Chicago. The job of a lifetime. A possibility to work on the Today Show.
I’d turned down the interview but had kept the number. My sudden possible good fortune was all because of the goddamn interview I’d done with Lazor Adamos.
“I have a feeling you’re playing with fire and I’m going to give you my honest opinion. Let it alone. If they get whiff of who you are, especially given who our pops is, you’ll disappear. I don’t know for certain if there’s anything active going on and maybe I don’t want to know. It’s more likely there’s an issue with one of the families out of Chicago stepping foot on their territory here.”
“It’s my job, Josh.”
“Self-appointed from what I understand.”
He was right, at least in the beginning, but I’d proven myself to be a damn good crime reporter, making a name for myself. Hence the threats, stupid girl. “Not any longer, big brother. I even won an award recently. I’m just trying to put a few pieces together. The Irish and the Poles run Chicago for the most part. I don’t think the Irish want to tackle the unions.”
“You’re too smart for your own good. No, they wouldn’t, but the Polish mob isn’t as aggressive here, although I heard rumors they took out some of the Italians recently. If that’s the truth, the Vinchetis will be on the warpath. Even if the Poles are considering combining forces, I’m not certain it will have much if any effect. However, that’s not my area of expertise. Just watch yourself. The Vinchetis are dangerous. People disappear around them.”
I shuddered from the thought. Valentin definitely had two sides. I wondered how often they collided together. “Duly noted. Just curious.”
