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“Pay me? I don’t need money, Bianchi. I have plenty of that.”
“An alliance. We don’t interfere in each other’s affairs and when we need help or backup, we can depend on one another.”
“Hmm,” I hum, thinking about his offer.
“I know it is unlikely for us to work together, but I wouldn’t have come to you if this wasn’t urgent. This stone is worth a lot of money, Milazzo. It’s the kind of stone that is found once in a lifetime.”
“If it is so precious, why did your brother have it in his pocket? Seems irresponsible.”
“It was, but he was transporting it to a safer place, or he was supposed to, but he stopped at Amor.”
My brows raise and I do my best not to be amused. “The strip club?”
“The Gentlemen’s Club. We own it. He made the mistake of talking about business there. Typically, it is safe. It’s usually full of people who run in the same groups as we do.”
“Mmm, seems smart,” I chastise him, not agreeing with his tactics at all. “And you don’t have decent security cameras?”
“Why would I want any evidence of what happens at my club?”
“Maybe when expensive stones go missing and all you have is a photo from a damn gas station camera.”
“Yes,” he sighs, but there’s an unhinged anger lingering behind the word. “There is always the exception. I was hoping you’d keep an ear to the ground for me. If you hear of anything, you’ll let me know? It might be wise for us to come to an agreement rather than go to war, don’t you think?”
I stand before he does, signaling that I want him to leave. He is quick to understand my movement and gets up from the chair.
“I’ll keep an ear to the ground, Bianchi. If I hear anything, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
He grins, relief in his eyes, but something else. I’ve seen it in desperate men. Desperate men are always dangerous, so while we are on good terms right now, I know not to trust Bianchi.
“Thank you, Mr. Milazzo. I hope to hear from you regarding the stone.”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises.”
“I appreciate it, nevertheless. If you need anything—” he doesn’t finish his sentence as he leaves, his guards following behind him.
Gianni follows them to the front door, and I walk to my window again, watching them leave. I expect them to make a scene, to go back on their word, but he and his men leave quietly.
“He isn’t to be trusted,” Matias says from behind me. “What mafia boss would meet his rival? It doesn’t make sense.”
“A desperate one. He’s in trouble and that stone is the answer to everything. We’ll keep our ears to the ground, but I want to know more. Find out what you can about Bianchi. I want anything. Look under every damn rock and in every closet. I want all the skeletons. And make sure the car is ready to leave. I have to go collect,” I tell Matias as if he’s an employee and not my brother, but he gives me a quick nod and leaves.
I’m not sure when I became this person, but it is coming to me easily. Carmine did always tell me to follow my instincts and they are screaming that Bianchi is in a bad position, which means he will take anyone down to get to the top again.
“That was something.”
Gianni’s voice interrupts my thoughts.
“Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” he says, standing next to me as I continue to look out the window to the grounds.
“I want you and a few men to do a little surveillance on Amor. I’ll be going there this weekend. I’ll be playing nice, telling him I haven’t heard anything about the gem. Take the photo and try to get it analyzed with our software. See if we can’t match it.”
“Right away.” He snags the file from my desk, and I’m left alone in the office, feeling confident that I can finally do this.
I can prove to myself that I can do this because, in the back of my mind, behind the humor and not taking anything seriously, doubt is there.
Chapter Three
