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“Ben, enough.”
“Fuck enough.” He turns back to me, outraged. “You vouched for her and begged me not to get revenge for her snitching. I agreed out of respect and because I hoped it would help you keep your mouth shut behind bars, which it seems like it did. But now you wanna bring her in here? Like nothing happened?”
“It was seven years ago. I knew you’d be unhappy but I didn’t think you’d react like a little pathetic baby. Now shut your mouth and think for a second, will you?”
He works his jaw but crosses his arms and doesn’t speak for a few seconds. I sit there staring at him, hoping my old boss is still inside that thick skull somewhere. Back in the day, Ben was ruthless and violent, but he was also clever and conniving, the sort of man that could bring an Italian crime family down into the South where there aren’t many Italians at all. He’s a survivor and the kind of guy that would understand how important it is to figure out what actually happened with Cora.
“I’ll admit that what went down back then was sketchy.” He glances at Cora. “You got fucked. I’ll admit that.”
“Thanks for admitting it,” Cora says softly, which makes Ben open his mouth to say something sharp. But I cut him off before he can.
“It was more than sketchy,” I say quickly. “The cops were waiting for her the second she crossed state lines into Georgia. They took her half a mile over the fucking border like they knew her exact schedule. How’s that even possible?”
“I asked myself that question all the time when the bust went down,” Ben says softly and glances around the room like he’s seeing if anyone’s listening. “I didn’t think anyone else made that connection. I figured you all saw bad luck where I saw bad intentions.”
“Anyone with half a brain could see how things got fucked up.” I glance at Cora and she’s staring down at the table with a distant expression like she’s reliving the drive that changed her life.
Ben lets out a long breath. “I spent months planning that shipment. I got the main family’s approval, I got the product set up, I got everything packed. All she had to do was drive from Philly down to Atlanta and there never should’ve been any issues. Pretty white girl like that with no priors behind the wheel? No fucking problems. Hell, I even told her to cry if anyone pulled her over. You remember that, rat? Did you cry when the cops dragged you from that truck?”
Cora looks at Ben like she wants to dig her fingernails into his throat.
“But there were problems,” I say, and Ben grunts in response. “Look, we’re about to start a war with the ORB, and meanwhile someone in my crew set up Cora and killed her mother in retaliation when she talked. I can’t have that, not when shit’s about to get hot. I’ve been looking into it for years without figuring anything out, but this is our chance to finally find out the truth.”
Ben’s jaw works. “Part me is fine with what happened to her and her mother.”
“My mother had nothing to do with any of this,” Cora says sharply, coming alive for a moment. Her eyes shine with hate as she stares at Ben like she wants to pour a pot of boiling coffee over his head. “She didn’t deserve anything.”
Ben waves that off and ignores her. “I hear what you’re saying, Nolan. And it’s not like I disagree.”
“Cora talked. We all know she talked. What the hell did you expect? She was a civilian doing a job for the mafia because she was desperate and needed the cash and she got pinched by state troopers. She sang her fucking heart out and you know anyone else would’ve done the same thing in her position. She didn’t have any loyalty to our family, not like we do.”
“Still a rat.” Ben runs a hand through his thinning hair. “Fine, fuck it, so the girl did what we all expected her to do. That’s why we didn’t put a bullet in her skull to begin with.” He gives me a look. “Plus, all that stuff about doing you a favor is true. I still don’t see why you’d bring her around again.”
“Seven years ago, someone stabbed you in the back.” I jab a finger at him. “They stabbed me in the chest and I went down for it. They killed her mother for no goddamn reason. And they never got caught. I don’t know about you, but I need to find out who did it.”
He sighs and rubs his face. He looks at Cora again and this time she doesn’t flinch away. I’m proud of how she keeps her chin up and levels her gaze at the gangster, even knowing that this man hates her and could easily have her killed if that’s what he wanted. Finally, though, Ben shakes his head and turns to glare at me.
