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Silvio picked up the cigar, shifted it between his fingers, and tightened his lips. “Deal, but this ain’t going to be no walk in the park for you, not in my home.” His voice deepened with the threat. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a burner phone, sliding it along the table toward me. “We’ll be in touch.” With that, he pointed the cigar at me, dismissing me with a wave of his hand.
* * *
Enzo
“Why areyou even considering this, Pops?” I sat in the chair beside him in the big lounge area. Silvio’s overbearing desk accommodated his large stature, a physique none of us wanted to inherit—fat cheeks that made his eyes appear small and beady, thin lips that always made him look unhappy, and a gut hidden behind his expensive custom jacket.
“She’s a compelling one,” Silvio said with a motion of his hands to mimic Gia’s curves. He laughed as he plucked his smoking cigar from the ashtray.
“That may be, but why would we want a rift between the families after we finally settled things between us?”
“Nothing is ever truly settled, son. Stagnancy just means no advancement.” Silvio puffed on his cigar, letting the rich aroma fill the air in a visible cloud.
“But why her? You know she ain’t no peach,” I tried to reason with him. I absolutely despised the Silvani family as much as the next guy, but that damn Giovanna was something else entirely. She was fiery, impossible to talk to, and had no issue with taking revenge. She was such a cold-hearted bitch, which was why she was the perfect woman in a business like this. The fact that she was stunning didn’t help the matter none, either.
“Consider it an investment. Seventy mil is a sizable payout for babysitting the broad for a few days.”
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you when shit hits the fan. This ain’t going to be the easy gig you think it will be.”
“That’s why I’m putting you in charge of this whole thing.” Silvio gestured toward me. He smirked as he unbuttoned his jacket, exposing the strained white dress shirt tucked into his dress pants.
“Whoa, no, this isyourbright fucking idea, Pops.” I rose to my feet and leaned over the desk, my face inches from his. “I want nothing to do with this.” My words were fire, and I meant for them to burn that idea to the ground.
“If that’s what you want, Enzo, just know you’d have been a lot nicer to her than I will be. Go on.” He waved me away.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words tangled together in my throat. My shoes echoed on the tile floor as I stomped toward the door, but my hand hovered on the handle.
“Fine, I’ll take care of her,” I said with a frustrated breath as I left the room, slamming the door behind me.
ChapterTwo
Gia
“We lost how much money?” My father’s voice boomed through the library, rattling the picture frames on the wall. He slammed his fist on the table, sounding almost like a gunshot—something we were all too familiar with. I knew what gunshots sounded like before I knew how to write my name.
I stood just outside the door, pictures of a smiling family staring back at me. My father’s arm was wrapped around my mother’s, leaning over me and my brothers. Everyone was dressed in colorful Hawaiian shirts, a stark contrast to the family photos at the Vigliones’. We were a happier family. Well, we were at one time. I felt a pang of sadness as I looked at my eldest brother’s short, dark hair. He wore a smile that women killed for. I missed the hell out of him and losing him was one of several nails in the coffin holding my desire to remain in the business. It also didn’t help that our closest allies had gone down. Most ended up in prison, broke, or both. It was only a matter of time before they came for our family.
“No, that’s fucking great! Thanks anyway!” my father shouted into his cell phone, creating a sinking feeling in my chest. He threw his phone to the ground and gripped the arms of the chair.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?” I asked as I walked past the wall of books in my bare feet, rubbing my hand along the leather spines. Soft classical music played from a stereo in the corner of the room, though it didn’t cut through the tension. I felt as if I were suffocating, and I took a deep breath as I stepped toward him.
He looked up at me, trying to fake a smile. “Oh, hello, darling.” His hand wiped down his face, leaving a deflated smirk in its wake.
“What happened?”
“Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about. Where’s your mother?” The fireplace flickered and cast a shadow on his face, accentuating the high cheekbones I’d inherited from him.
“She went up to bed. Stop deflecting. What happened?” I sat in the chair beside him, the flames dancing in front of me. The fire engulfed the logs, leaving blackened destruction in its path.
He groaned. “One of our parlors got shut down, and all the money from there is gone.”
“How much?”
“Ten million,” he said with a sigh as he brushed his hand through his hair.
“Ouch.” I played with the fabric of my pajama pants, avoiding his gaze. Guilt began to gnaw at me.The feds are getting closer and closer.
My family wanted nothing to do with the drug trade. My father had no interest in being a kingpin. He was a crime boss, and a damn good one. He preferred to deal with illegal gambling, racketeering, and money laundering. We flew under the radar by using offshore accounts, but we could feel the hot breath of the feds on us. They were closing in. If I had been an innocent member of my family, I would have stayed, but I had lain with the men and destroyed lives like the rest of them. I was a crime boss’ daughter, and there was a certain level of responsibility that came with that distinction. My hands trembled just enough when I aimed my gun, so it was time to put it down.
