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“Then, you’re one of them! You’re trying to trick me.” The knife shook on my neck. “Get me to admit—”
“Admit what? That you hate the Merchants and want the Cardinals out of Harlow? Everyone knows that, dumbass. Genevieve sure as hell knows it. Here I am giving you a chance to do something about it, instead of blowing hot air in her direction. Surprise: that’s not working.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. I heard the gears in his mind turning. Now to tip him in the right direction.
“Look, if you’re not interested, say so. We’ll stop wasting our time.” I grasped his wrist and shoved the knife off. Vito didn’t fight me. “I’ve been in charge for about a week, and I’ve counted up the money going into SOS’s coffers. We’re flush. So, I’m offering a sizable gratitude payment to whoever helps grab hold of the Saints for good—no Merchant interference. In addition, they’ll be allowed to run their business in North Quay at a reduced fee.”
“Generous,” he spat. “But why would Sunny’s wife do such a thing? Betray his family.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” My bitch-boss voice made me shiver. I based it on Lyla, and it was freakishly close. “I loved Sunny, not his family. Sunny treated me as an equal. His family treats me like another servant at their beck and call.”
“They treat us all like servants. That bitch and her twisted family of freaks, believe they own Cinco and everyone in it. There are a lot of people who want them taken out, and they’d do it at any price.”
“Are you one of those people?”
His expression gave nothing away. “Maybe. What are you offering?”
“It depends on what you offer, Bernardi. Weapons, explosives, information, money, friends with all of the above. The more you can offer me, the more I’ll offer you.”
Vito opened his mouth. Suddenly, he shook his head, backing away. “Nah, you have to prove yourself first. Once I know you’re legit, then I’ll tell you what I have to offer.”
“You have to prove yourself worth it.” Folding my arms, I stared him down. “I’m not jumping through your hoops, only to find out you’re barely a scratch on Genny’s paint job.”
“I’m more than a scratch!”
“Then give me a taste.”
Vito bared his teeth, growling. Not nearly as menacing as he wanted it to be. I got that look from Ryker and Makai whenever they laid eyes on me, and with them, I believed they wanted to kill me.
“Six months ago,” he finally said. “One of Hunt’s warehouses went up in flames. Police decided it was another meth lab explosion.”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“Let’s just say the cops got a few things wrong.” A nasty smile flashed his crooked teeth. “I know what really happened, how, by who, and how to pull it off again. Enough of their business goes up in flames, and the Merchants will be too busy trying to keep their hold on their own boroughs, they won’t bother with North Quay. How much is that worth?”
“That’s worth a lot, Bernardi. That’s name-your-price information.”
His smile widened. “Excellent. Now, it’s your turn. Three weeks ago, the Sons of Saint busted into my friend’s shop. He ran a side business, making a little extra for his family. You’d think Sunny would have some sympathy, and you’d be wrong.
“He emptied his safe, took the cash, and stole all his merchandise. Among the haul was a bag of three-carat diamonds worth seven million dollars.”
I flashed to the woman at her station, examining the sparkling prize.
“If you’re really Sunny’s widow,” Vito continued, “running the Sons of Saint, and willing to strike a hard blow against the Merchants, you won’t have a problem getting those diamonds back and handing them to me. I mean, you are the boss. His crew can’t stop you. If you can’t get me those diamonds, it’s obvious you ain’t running shit. You’re not in a position to take anyone down.”
“Done.”
His smirk twitched. “What?”
“Done. You want the diamonds, they’re yours.” I laughed. “Wow, for a second I thought you’d ask me to do something difficult.”
“I—”
“Let’s meet back here tomorrow. Same place, same time.”
Vito blinked rapidly—looking between me and Sienna like he was checking the women who dropped out of the sky, offering to hand him his enemies and seven million in diamonds on a platter were real.
“When I hand those diamonds over, I want a name, how your friend covered his tracks pulling off the explosion, and where I can find him. He and I are going to do a lot of business together.”
“Not just him,” Vito said. “My crew is small, but we’re strong. We’ve taken chunks out of Cardinals’ Empire, and Hunt hasn’t been able to stop us.”
I stuck my hand out. “Then, we have a deal.”
He hesitated, then shook. “Deal.”
Vito backed toward the door. “I’ve got a party to get back to and dollar bills to stuff down a G-string, so we’ll have to pick up where we left off later.” Vito reached for Sienna’s hand, who smoothly slid away. “Like the ones who play hardest to get. You go down fighting, just makes it more fun for—”
