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She doesn’t answer, just pulls out her phone, presses some numbers, and puts it to her ear. Within seconds, I hear a male voice sing out to her happily. “Hello, Papa,” she greets in English. “I have Nico and Dante here and they want to ask you some questions.”
“You’re in trouble?” her father asks, all joviality gone and a dark menace replacing it. “If they have hurt you—”
“I can handle myself,” she interrupts him with a dark scowl on her face. “Who do you think has kept this place afloat?”
“Of course, you are my daughter so it only stands to reason,” the man agrees. “Well, put them on so we can talk. And you,Principessa,best be planning on coming home to visit soon. I have men dying to meet you.”
Dante’s expression turns stony at that, but he doesn’t say a word. Sofia gives a smug smile his way. “Perhaps, Papa, but we’ll discuss it another time. Now, talk to Nico and Dante before they decide to throw me in the dungeon or something for wasting their time.”
“You would dare throw my daughter in a dungeon like some filthy good for nothing soldier?” her father demands furiously over the speaker.
“That depends on if Sofia deserves it. Your daughter is headstrong and is a pain in my ass on a good day, Signore Cattaneo.”
“She is a strong woman, just like her mother,” he replies proudly. “A man knows when he has a treasure like that you don’t let her go. Or is that your intention, Signore Armani? You think to try and ask for my daughter’s hand?”
Sofia bursts out laughing, while I glare at her. “Papa, he’d rather kill me than marry me.”
“Why the hell would he not want to marry you?” her father demands. “You are a beautiful woman, smart, and you can take care of yourself. Any man is lucky to have you, and if he can’t see that, then he is an idiot.”
“I’m not interested in marrying your daughter, as lovely as she is,” I tell him.
He huffs out a breath. “Then why the fuck are you having her call me?”
“I need to know if you’ve heard any word of your boss or any of his men speaking with a man by the name of Marco De Luca,” I reply, sitting in my seat and putting the phone on the desk. Sofia and Dante move closer, and I don’t miss the way Dante has positioned himself beside the woman who is purposely ignoring him, but has a light of mischief in her eyes that doesn’t bode well for my Underboss.
“De Luca?” her father repeats. “I remember that name coming up in a conversation. Why do you need to know that?” There is a hard edge to his voice, telling me he doesn’t care he’s speaking to me about something I shouldn’t know about.
“The De Luca family runs a rival territory here in my city, and it seems they are planning on starting a war,” I reply calmly. “And considering the source, I’d say it’s reliable. So, now, my question is, what is it going to take for you to arrange a call with your boss?”
“I’ll call you back,” he says, dropping the call.
“Something is definitely going on,” Sofia remarks, staring at the phone. “Normally he’d string you along to get more information out of you without giving anything away.”
“If it gets me answers, I don’t care what we need to do,” I say irritably. The audacity of the man to hang up on me, but I also know that when it comes to the Caruso’s and their men, they do as they damn well please because no one would dare tell them otherwise. I don’t have the manpower to go against them, so I need to make sure I turn this into something that works for me.
“And don’t think you and I won’t be having a discussion,” Dante adds to Sofia, his tone dark and dangerous.
Sofia tilts her head up to him, giving him a sly smile. “What? You don’t want me to go and visit my family? Perhaps I should mention your little threat to my father and we’ll see what he says.”
“You think I care about your father?” Dante scoffs.
“As entertaining as this is,” I interrupt before Sofia can reply, “do it elsewhere. I don’t have time for your lover’s bullshit.” Thankfully they drop it, but I don’t miss the looks they give each other.
My phone starts to ring, and when I see the unknown number, Dante rushes to his computer and quickly puts a trace on the call. He nods at me and I answer calmly. “Armani.”
“So you are looking to speak to me,” a deep voice on the other end says in the same manner.
“That depends on who I’m speaking to,” I reply, sitting back in my chair. He sounds too young to be Pietro Caruso, the head of the family. So my assumption is this is one of his sons.
Silence is the answer on the other end for a moment before I hear, “You have balls, Armani, I give you that. And also lucky for you I’m in a good mood and willing to overlook your lack of manners. You Americans certainly have lost your way when it comes to showing respect.”
“And for all I know you’re not one of the Carusos but an underling that’s trying to figure out business that is of no concern to you. Considering you have yet to give me a name. And as for my manners, well, my mother was a lazy bitch that preferred alcohol, drugs, and fucking men other than my father, so I’d say she didn’t have much time to drill those in to me.”
“Mmmm, that we have in common then,” the man says in amusement. “Though ours was foolish and decided to sleep with the enemy and thought she could live. And I am Alessio Caruso. My father, unfortunately, is seeing to another matter at the moment, so you get to talk to me.”
I’ll take what I can get for now. “I’m looking to find out what kind of deal Marco De Luca is promising you in exchange for an alliance with him,” I say bluntly.
I am met with silence on the other end. “Yes, Aurelio did say something about that when he spoke to me,” he replies after a moment. “I don’t see how that involves you, but I’m sure there is a reason for this call.”
