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She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
“As long as he’s useful.”
“You can’t trust him,” she said, aware Evander said the same thing about her. “I trust your gut, your instinct, but don’t ever put your life in his hands. He’d sabotage even himself on impulse. If he has the chance to screw you over, he might take it. Even if it means screwing himself. Sometimes he just can’t help himself.”
“My guard’s up.” She kissed his chest. “But I am curious how this will play out. Doesn’t hurt to have an intel source, or to be close to the epicenter at the time of detonation.”
“Just protect yourself. Don’t believe Evander, or any Manzani, will do it for you.”
“I don’t have final confirmation on your father’s position,” he said. “I’m doing as you asked and reserving judgement on his motivation. Babcock confirmed your grandfather has been asking questions and your father is around City Hall more than’s required.”
“If Silvio wants him to deliver votes or intel, he has to get close.”
“I’m concerned he’ll get desperate.”
“Then what happens?” she asked, shifting the angle of her head. “I think what Silvio did to me proves he’s close to desperate.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“You didn’t give them the information they wanted, but you got hurt. Very hurt. Sends a message to a guy.”
“You think Silvio was sending you a message?”
“Or your father.”
She loosened. “We wondered if Silvio had something on him. Maybe he’s protecting the rest of us.”
“Maybe.”
Another maybe. It was so infuriating.
“I can call my grandfather. See if he has any reason to be worried. I’d ask Lach, but he’ll want to know why I’m suddenly so interested in…” She was suddenly so interested because her father had revealed himself in the way he’d questioned her. By asking for information, he’d given her some useful intelligence in return. “Wow…”
Sitting up, she left his arms.
“Macushla?”
She didn’t want to say the words but found his eyes and forced them out. “We’re done, aren’t we?”
“It’s getting dangerous,” he said. “The Byrnes, the Manzanis, even the Gambattos want to take us down. The McDades have to be bold. Assert our dominance. There could be payback.”
One hit the other, so the other hit back. Where did it end?
“You’re not afraid of that. Not afraid the other families will make a dent in what you’ve built. You’ve taken over every piece of Gambatto territory and then some. The other families come for you because you’re powerful.”
“Aye,” he said, sitting up, shifting the pillows to lean against the headboard.
“So why now? It’s been the same since we’ve been…” She couldn’t say together because had they ever been? “Why come here if you were just going to dump me anyway?”
As her rage rose, she flipped around, but he seized her wrist to yank her back, forcing her body against his in an unyielding embrace.
“Being mine puts you in danger. More danger than being the superintendent’s daughter, an alderman’s granddaughter, any of it,” he snarled. “You know how you survive being with a guy like me? Do you want to know what it will take?”
“What?” she huffed, struggling in his arms.
He clamped her tight, so tight her chest hurt. “Everything.” Searching the ire in him, she needed more. “You do it by using me.”
