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Rumor had it the De Lucas hadn’t been batshit insane for a while now. Not with Angelo De Luca ousted and his son Damian in his place.
I didn’t broach the subject, however, because the De Luca syndicate was a joke, and the Romano syndicate was anything but.
“I’m not gunning after anyone, Gio.” I downed my drink.
The more I talked about the family business, the more I wanted a drink. At this rate, I was well on my way to becoming an alcoholic.
Maybe I could eat away my frustrations instead. Consume my sorrows, get rid of my six pack—and the mafia bunnies that loved said six pack.
Two birds. One stone.
Gio stared at me with sober eyes. “Because you’re not in.”
He meant the mafia, and while we both knew Romano blood coursed through my veins, we also knew I didn’t want the responsibility the name brought.
We didn’t speak about it, at least not explicitly, and I suspected it would always be the elephant in the room.
But Gio had been known to drop some damn impressive passive aggressive hints here and there. In other words, pussyfooting.
It was why he sent those mafia bunnies my way, and it was why he would continue to do so.
It was why he always wanted to meet at a Romano-affiliated business.
And it was also why, thanks to Asher, he tolerated me working at L’Oscurità if I had to go outside the Romano name.
I ignored his words, fostering the silence like a five-star general preparing for a battle speech. We were at war with our eyes, each blink a clash of swords, each breath a chink in our armor.
He caved first.
“Ariana De Luca. I’ll look into her. See what I can find.”
I nodded once, a brief affirmation of my victory.
Elsa sent another text, though I’d just sent her a hundred large. For the past eight years, I’d funded Elsa’s life.
I paid her mortgage, her car payments, her health insurance, her credit card bills, her groceries, and a monthly allowance most people wouldn’t make in three years.
Talking to her placed a giant cloud over an already gloomy day. How much money did one woman need?
Uncle Vince came in, drawing attention from the bunnies as he made his way to our booth and sat beside me. His eyes swung once to one of the bartenders on shift before returning to me.
“Keep an eye on Graham. He’s the one we flagged as a potential rat.” His murmur drifted my way, soft but straight to the point.
Graham bartended here, which meant I’d be spending more time on this side of L’Oscurità.
My mind immediately flashed to Ariana De Luca and her infuriating behavior, but I pushed the thought aside. Not the time nor the place.
I nodded to Uncle Vince and turned to Gio. “See? No pussyfooting.”
Gio scowled.
I smirked.
Uncle Vince sighed.
And between the three of us, it was likely that none of us had seen Uncles Eli and Frankie in a while.
This was a typical night with the Romano family, except for Asher’s absence. And the fact that my mom and little sister were coming to meet us.
