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I wait for a few moments, until I can’t hear her footsteps down the hallway, and then I leave the room and I walk over to Dante’s office, knocking lightly on the door.
“Come in,” he calls, and Mia is perched on his lap, looking about to burst and smiling at him. She kisses his cheek when I walk in and nods at me as she walks out the door, seeming to know that we need some time alone.
“Hey,” I say tiredly, plopping down in the chair across from his desk.
“You look like shit,” Dante says bluntly, and I snort.
“Thanks a lot,” I grumble, but I know he’s right. I haven’t been sleeping well without Aurora in my bed, and I don’t like to think about what that means. It’s just that I got used to it while we were away, that’s all.
“You seem conflicted,” he continues, and then he gets up and pours us both a drink.
“You’re an angel, Dante.”
He laughs. “Maybe a fallen one.”
“Any news about Marco?”
Dante tilts his head. “Maybe. I’ve got a line on a few abandoned warehouses in the worst parts of the city that he might be in. The Rizzos are siding with him.”
“Shit,” I cursed. The Rizzos might be the most dangerous famiglia in New York state, not just the city. They do horrible things, running scams, sex trafficking.
We all make our money in different (mostly illegal) ways, but they go too far. They always have.
“Fabio is in on it?” I ask, speaking of the head of the famiglia, thecaputo.
“Unfortunately,” Dante responds. “Him and a half dozen others who have been kicked out of other famiglias.”
Men who are kicked out of famiglias instead of killed are dangerous men indeed. It means they survived torture, ratted someone out, and somehow managed to get away, so they are out for blood.
I take in a deep breath, blowing it out through my mouth with force.
“Well, we have to go after him,” I say firmly, and Dante stares at me like I’m stupid.
“No, we don’t,” he says. “I’m not putting my men in danger for Marco Barone.”
“It’s not for Marco,” I hiss. “It’s for Aurora. It’s for mychild.”
“Listen, Nico,” he starts. “I know how you feel.”
“Like hell you do,” I snarl, unable to stop the fear and anger that’s rising up inside of me. Dante is a dangerous man to get angry at, but I can’t help myself. “It’s not your family that’s in danger.”
“My family’s in danger just by having her here,” Dante argues, not quite losing his temper but I can tell that it’s close by the vein in his neck popping out.
“I’m sorry,” I say finally after breathing deeply for a moment to calm down. “It’s just... I’m worried.”
“Of course you are. I don’t blame you. But if we go off half-cocked, not even knowing his actual location...” he trailed off.
“Then people will get killed,” I finish, and Dante nods in agreement.
“Good men work for me, Nico, including you. I don’t want anyone to get popped.”
I sigh. “I can’t keep sitting here and doing nothing, Dante. Can you give me the locations? Just to put my mind at ease?”
Dante scoffs. “Do you think I’m stupid? I know the first thing you’ll do once you get the information is go after Marco. Just give me a few more days. I’ll get a better lead on his location and we’ll go in knowing what to expect.”
“As much as we can know what to expect,” I grumble, but I can’t argue with his logic. It won’t do me any good to go after Marco and get killed, let my kid grow up without a dad.
“In the meantime, just try to relax,” Dante says, and I bark out a bitter laugh.
