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Deo shrugged. “We knew there would be risks.”
Enzo’s knuckles cracked. “I can accept that our business comes with a certain amount of risk. What I can’t accept is these ‘missions’ of yours putting people in danger. My son, my… family; these risks are unacceptable.”
Greta pressed her lips together; I could almost hear the argument climbing up her throat, but she swallowed it back, clenching her hands together in her lap. “With all due respect,Signor,” she said, her voice controlled, “we were meeting with Domínguez the other night for a standard business transaction. The decision to take Leeri—Valeria Hastings—with us was a strategic one,” she lied with a straight face. “If we’d left her with Domínguez, he could have used her as a bargaining chip, at the least, or a threat at the worst.”
“My apologies,SignorHastings,” Enzo said, turning to look at me, “but that is not a threat that could have been held over my head, only yours.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Leeri’s my blood. The consequences of her actions should rest on me. But you can maybe understand why I didn’t leave her there with that asshole? I believe you’re well-acquainted with the lengths a man would go to in order to protect his family?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow. I knew a damn bit more than most of the people in this room about the lengths Enzo Luciano would go to protect his family.
He looked at me, eyes searching.
I almost laughed. Yeah, I knew all about his dirty laundry. “Thirty some-odd men?—that was the body count, wasn’t it?” In reality, it was probably higher.
“How would you know about that?” he asked, his voice tight.
I shrugged. “My daddy was an asshole, but he was a smart asshole. Stored up dirt on every man who could pose a threat to him. The Lucianos did business pretty damn close to the Old Dogs; that was a potential threat.”
“You have no proof,” he said dismissively.
“Whether I do or don’t is irrelevant. I don’t need it, my friend. I’m not looking to blackmail you; just trying to reason with you. Sometimes, we go to great lengths to protect the people we love… wouldn’t you agree?”
Enzo stared back at me. He had one hell of a poker face. Eventually, though, he nodded, conceding.
“But you do have a fair point,Signor,” I went on. “My bringing Leeri back brought trouble back with us. If anyone here wants me to take that problem elsewhere, just say the word.”
Nico and Gabe were already shaking their heads, and Deo, Vito and Caio followed suit.
Enzo sighed. He could overrule his son’s opinion, but not the Costas’. “Then it seems a federal agent will be remaining in your possession,” he said, turning to address Nico, “one who knows the intimate details of our recent transactions. Any idea what you intend to do about that?”
Nico was silent, his expression contemplative. I’d noticed he didn’t often speak unless he had something worthwhile to say—a trait I could respect.
“Where are the pictures?” I asked, looking back and forth between Greta and Gabe because I had an idea of my own shaping up in my head. An idea that would have worked on the old Leeri. This new one, though? That was yet to be seen.
***
“Come up with some great solution for me?” Leeri jeered the minute Greta and I walked in the door to her “cell”—a giant room with its own ensuite, king-size bed, and entertainment center. “Or have you finally figured out there is only one solution here?” she went on like a goddamned martyr.
I glared at her and dropped the box of pictures down in front of her.
“Look at them,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest, staring down at where she sat at the edge of the bed.
I watched her as she looked down at the closed box, then back up at me, while I tried to figure out where the hell the girl she’d been had gone.
She heaved an irritated sigh, then leaned forward, yanking open the box. She reached in and grabbed a few photos from the top, barely glanced at them, then looked up at me.
“Your collection of conquests?” she asked flippantly, though her face had gone just a little bit paler.
“They’re not my kills, Leeri. They’re yours.”
Her head shot up, and her eyes went wide. “What the hell are you talking about, Brute?”
“Javier Domínguez kidnapped these people and killed plenty of them, no doubt. All for ransom money, and you didn’t do a damn thing about it.”
She scoffed. “That’s bullshit. Javier sells guns and drugs, and according to you and your little blonde whore, there’s nothing wrong with that at all.”
“Talk about her like that again, and I’ll let them figure out what the hell to do with you. Understand?” I asked, glancing over at Greta who was still standing just inside the door. I somehow doubted she was big on men jumping in to defend her. Too fucking bad, though.
Greta’s lips twitched in an “I’ll let you get away with it this time” smile, and then she turned to Leeri.
