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“He’s a human being, sir. An innocent one.”
He holds up a finger. “He’s not innocent. I know what Nicolas Cavallo is. That boy works for the Scavo Famiglia, which is a massive and growing organized crime family from Philadelphia. But you know about them already, don’t you? Seeing as you’re friendly with Carmine Scavo’s wife.”
My blood runs cold. I have to grip the edge of the table to keep myself steady. “My friendship with Brice has nothing to do with putting an innocent man in prison for life.”
“But you know, don’t you? You can’t sit there and feign ignorance. You know what the Scavo Famiglia does, and you know why that Nicolas boy was down south meeting with members of a cartel to begin with. You know what he planned on doing. You understand the deal he was going to make.” Chief Corvine leans in, still smiling, like a snake. “You think he’s innocent?”
I let the silence fall over us like a blanket. He drinks his beer, grinning away like this is some fun game. The sound of the dining room filters through—forks against plates, the clink of glasses, the murmur of conversations—but I feel like everyone’s staring.
Chief Corvine’s like everyone else. He’s like Detective John, he’s like my father. He’s like all the men in power that can only see what they want to see. They don’t think of Nicolas as a person, but as a problem that needs to be solved, and who cares if they happen to fix another problem in the process? Nicolas is nothing to them.
Like Angelo. Like Carmine.
But I don’t see that when I think about them. I see Angelo’s loyalty. I see the way Carmine looks at Brice, the way he kisses her, the way he loves her. I see Nicolas hunched over the desk in the visitation room with those ugly bruises on his face. I see people, and decisions, and the complicated circumstances that led them to these places.
They’re humans, human beings, with wants and fears and loves. They’re flawed, and they might be dangerous, but I refuse to give in and treat them like rats.
“Here’s what I’ll offer,” I tell him. “Release Nicolas. Drop all charges. You do that and the interview I read will disappear. The truth will disappear with it. Maybe you’ll have five dead bodies you can’t account for and your stats will suffer, but oh, well, life is hard. You’ll manage it. That’s my offer, Chief Corvine. I won’t take less.”
His smile slowly fades. He turns his glass in circles, staring at the dregs of the beer, before he tosses it back. “You’re really going to torch yourself for this kid? This lowlife fucking nothing? Your father said you were a reasonable girl. He said you’d do the right thing.”
“Fuck what you think is the right thing, sir. All due respect.” I slide out of the booth, shaking. “By the way, the worthless scumbag you’re so keen on throwing away noticed something else. There were dozens of shots fired into that room, but no shell casings, no forensics. Not to mention he was only in that room for a short period and there’s no way a jury’s going to believe that lone kid somehow did all that violence and straightened up after himself in less than five minutes. Someone else was on the scene long enough to gather everything up, and I bet I can guess who.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he says slowly.
“You have my offer, sir. Think about it.”
His eyes meet mine. “What if I just kill that thug of yours, huh? What if I do the same to you? Ruin your daddy? Ruin your momma too? Burn you all? Don’t think I couldn’t, girl.”
I take a slow breath and let it out. “I know you could, sir. But you’re smart enough not to take the risk over one man.”
“Over a worthless piece of shit. Over a criminal that deserves to spend his life on death row.”
“No, sir, just a man, flaws and all.”
“You’re fucking up, girl. You just lost a very important opportunity. You realize that if you walk right now, I’m going to make sure every big firm in the state of Texas stays far away from you? Klein and Houndson doesn’t want someone like you as a partner, girl. Think about your future.”
I smile at him. I give it some thought.
“Good luck, sir.”
I turn and walk away from the table on weak knees.
I don’t know why I just did that. A smart person would’ve played along, maybe even given in and did what he said. Chief Corvine really could be a good ally.
But I’m not going to sell my soul to a man like that.
I want to pretend like I’m doing this with my head held high, but honestly, I’m scared as hell and worried I just made the biggest mistake of my life.
