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“So you made the offer.”
“Yeah.” I rub the back of my neck, a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. I made the pitch, but have no fucking clue how to deliver on it.
Dad stops for a second and looks at me. “Losing his wife and child like that…” He shakes his head. “I can’t imagine it. But what’s worse is not being able to bring those people to justice. Viktor is a good business partner, and aligning ourselves with this organization beyond just the supplier-distributor relationship is smart because it gives us leverage. He has a lot of enemies, yes, but he also has a lot of allies…allies we need on our side. Allies who can help us manage our territories here, allies who can pave the way for us to expand into other areas without the red tape.”
“Dad, that’s a great little speech but how are we going to find these people? Do you have any idea where they are in California? Baiting a guy like Viktor is bad news. You know his crew. If you screw with them, you’re pretty much fucked.”
“That’s why I needed you to stop by this morning. There’s something I need to talk to you about.” Dad lets out a deep sigh and reclines in his chair. “We know exactly where to find them, Nico.”
“Who do you mean by we, because I sure as hell have no idea.”
“You remember that your grandfather was the one who made the introduction to Viktor, right?”
I nod. What the hell does Grandpa have to do with any of this?
“He was making inroads with the Russians because he knew that the Cappodamo family had plans to infiltrate the other families and their interests. Our only means of survival was to align ourselves with a completely separate organization, one that needed something from us as much as we needed something from it. A balance of power, so to speak. They could supply the drugs, and we could distribute them.”
“Dad, give it to me straight. This isn’t just about the drug running, is it? What are you really telling me here?”
“Nico, the people who killed Viktor’s wife and daughter are in Los Angeles.”
I furrow my brow. “How do you know that? Who told you?”
“It was Rocco.” Dad sighs again. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but—"
“Tell me what sooner?” I slam my hands on the desk. “Dad, you tell me all the time how I need to be ready to step up, but how the hell can I do that if you hold shit back from me? How the hell is Rocco involved with this, and how long have you been keeping me in the fucking dark?”
“This was all part of Grandpa’s plan. He was trying to set up the family for the future, knowing that the Cappodamo family was closing in on our territories. He put these plans in motion to bring in more muscle, Russian muscle that couldn’t be compromised by Frank Cappodamo. They were and still are enemies, Nico. Frank was the one to put the hit on the Ivanovs.”
I shake my head, trying to process everything my father is pelting me with. “What does Rocco have to do with all of this?”
“When Grandpa found out Rocco was taking bets without his permission and stealing clients from Max and deVincenzo, he gave him a choice. He said he’d spare Rocco if he went to California and found the people who made those hits. He wanted Rocco to get close, to find out about their organization, and to figure out their vulnerabilities. It was all top secret, Nico. Only Grandpa, me, and Santino, Rocco’s father, knew about the arrangement. Everyone else was told Rocco had been kicked out of New Jersey by Grandpa as his punishment. That’s what we needed everyone to believe to make this plan work.”
“And that’s why you brought Rocco back after Grandpa died. You made everyone think it was because Grandpa wasn’t around to enforce his punishment, but the reality is you’d gotten what you needed from him. And that’s why you wanted me to give him a job so badly. To keep him close and under my thumb.” The legs of the chair scrape against the polished hardwood as I push it back and jump up. “How the hell could you keep this from me?”
“You didn’t need to know any of this before.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“It’s not. I needed you to grow to trust him without knowing any of the details. I wanted you to see for yourself what he brings to the table without knowing what he’s done for the family. And you did. He took a bullet for you, Nico. He may be a greedy bastard, but he’s loyal. He didn’t want you to know anything until he’d proven himself to you personally. He did the job for Grandpa because his life was threatened. He did the job for you because he wanted you to trust him.”
“And you let him get away with what he did to Max and deVincenzo.”
“He put himself in a hell of a lot of danger for us, Nico. I think he paid his debt.”
I rake a hand through my hair and pace the floor. “What if Viktor had asked me for details about these people? What the hell would have happened then? He’d have blown off my head if he knew I was full of shit!”
“You never told him you knew specifics. You only said you’d put your weight behind his search. Period. You were never in danger with that offer.” Dad stands up and walks around the desk. “Nico, I didn’t want to keep you in the dark on this, but I had my reasons. Now you’re in a power position that requires a need to know everything.”
“Power position, my ass! You’ve been keeping me in the dark for years! How the hell am I supposed to manage shit without having the full story? You knew when I killed Cappodamo what would happen, but you never thought it was important enough for me to know it until now?” Rage courses through me, and I struggle to keep my voice even. “How much more do I need to know, Dad? What else have you been keeping from me?”
“This is it. You know everything now. And you’ll make the right decisions with this information.”
I rake a hand through my hair, my pulse throbbing. As pissed off as I am, I can still read between the lines. And I don’t like what I see at all. “Why are you talking like you’re bowing out? You’re still the head of this family.”
Dad’s shoulders sag as he lets out a deep sigh. “I never know what will happen from day to day. You’re my second in command, but you have to be ready to step into that top spot at any time. I’ve given you all of the tools you need to rule. We’ll run things together, until it’s just you.”
“But, Dad,” My voice shakes with anticipation, but I can’t stop the words. Keeping them buried is killing me, and dammit, they need to be said. Christ only knows how many other people are saying it behind our backs anyway. “That’s the problem! We’re not running anything! We’re floundering, and people are getting fucking killed because of it!” I clench my fists. “Grandpa wouldn’t have sat back and let Luca Cappodamo pull this shit. He would have faced it head-on. We’re not doing anything about this! We look…” I fist my hair. “Weak.” Max was right. My dad doesn’t have the same cunning instinct that Grandpa did, he doesn’t have the same strength. He doesn’t act; he analyzes.
