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She’s good. She’s so casual as she speaks, you’d believe she was telling the truth.
Eli nods. “Heard it alright. Ain’t heard anything but. Those assholes are recruiting from the streets too. There’ve been women snatched from their beds, women sold to them, and they’re going to hurt them all.” He shakes his head. “Disgusting. No man should do that. They deserve to die for it. The children…” he trails off, unable to speak.
“What do you mean they’re recruiting from the streets?” I ask. That’s news to us.
“It started with the prostitutes first off. They’d lure them to their cars and that would be the last you’d see of them. Then it was just women in general who lived on the streets. These men aren’t discriminating. They’re taking everyone and getting paid for it.”
Christ, he’s right, they’re not discriminating. They’re taking them all and don’t give a fuck.
“Best keep close together,” Eli tells us. “We’ll keep an eye on you too. No one’s going to take you.”
I stare at the old man. He has the vibe of a grandfather. I don’t want to pry as to what brought him to the streets, but I have a feeling it’s heartbreaking.
“Thank you,” I say softly.
Knowing they’re taking women from the streets makes me think that whatever they have planned, it’s happening here in Missouri, or close to here.
God, Marco… That man is a fucking asshole. The sooner he dies, the better. Killing him would make the world a fucking better place. If I see the asshole again, I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure I’m the only one who leaves that meeting alive.
NINETEEN
DARIO
“Talk to me,” Rocco says as he stands in my kitchen, drinking coffee.
“Fucking Buchanan,” I hiss, beyond pissed that he still hasn’t managed to get his daughter under control.
“What’s he done now?” Rocco asks with a sigh.
The fucker thinks this shit is funny, but it’s far fucking from it. The man and his fucking daughter are driving me crazy, and unless something is done about it, I’m about to lose my mind and end their miserable lives.
“Ah,” Elio says with a grin as he comes into the kitchen. “It seems Francis has taken a shine to Dario and wants his daughter to marry him. He’s pushing her to become the face of the business, which means our brother here has to deal with her pathetic attempts at trying to sleep with him so she can trap him with a baby and then force him to marry her.”
I grit my teeth. The fucking bitch thinks I’m stupid or something. Elio and I overheard her plan last night. She had no idea we could hear her conversation with her friend, Lizbeth, who works for us and came to tell us anyway. But she’s done.
“Who the fuck is this bitch?” Rocco demands, his jaw clenched and his eyes promising death.
“Melanie Buchanan,” I hiss. “This is what happens when you push me to do shit your underboss should be handling. Fuck, your consigliere should be. I get stuck with the crazy ass bitch.”
“They’ve been busy.”
I sigh. “My ass. You were punishing me. This shit has been going on since you took over. Just admit that you didn’t want to deal with the ass, and you wanted to punish me.”
“Not at fucking all,” he snaps. “You were a lazy, cocky bastard when our father was at the helm, Dario. You didn’t deserve the title of captain. You grew into that role, and you’ve become a man the Famiglia trusts and can count on. That’s why you’re dealing with Buchanan.”
I’m calling utter bullshit with that response. “Nice save,” I mutter sarcastically. “Now, tell me we’re going to do something about him. There’s no way the asshole doesn’t know what his daughter is planning.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if he put her up to it. The fucker is getting older and wants to secure his daughter’s life. I get it. But pushing her to marry someone within the Famiglia isn’t the way to go. We don’t marry outsiders, and if we do it’s for a good reason. Buchanan is rich and connected, but marrying Melanie won’t get us those connections. It wouldn’t make the Famiglia bigger or better. They’re deluded if they think they have something to offer us.
Rocco doesn’t hide his smirk. “We’re going to be paying Buchanan and his daughter a visit. Call him, tell him you want to discuss something with the two of them. The three of us are going to ensure this shit doesn’t happen again.”
“I’m surprised you waited this long,” Elio says. “She orchestrated that entire dinner and called those fucking paparazzi there to snap those pictures. She was hoping it would push Portia away and it did.”
I shake my head. “That was me who did that,” I sigh. I’m not going to deny that my actions are what pushed her to run, but seeing the photo definitely made her not think twice about it.
“Either way, that bitch has been trying to get you into bed for weeks. Tell me you haven’t slept with her,” Rocco asks.
“Christ, I’m not desperate,” I snarl. “Besides, clingy women are not my thing.”
