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When I pull up at the Gagliardi estate, however, I can tell immediately that something is wrong. The gate is open, and aline of black SUVs fills the driveway. One look tells me these vehicles aren’t from the Rossi family, or the Gagliardi family, either.
These are feds.
I swing a U-turn, going right back the way I came, and pull over on the side of the road. I stay there, watching the driveway from my rearview mirror. No commotion so far. What is going on?
After about 20 minutes, Dominic calls me. “Shit, I’m assuming you saw? Sorry I couldn’t call you earlier. Had my hands full.”
“Yeah, it looked like it. FBI?”
“You guessed it. Lot of agents, too. It was a big ol’ party.”
“I assume from the fact that we’re talking on the phone that you weren’t arrested?”
“They were only there for Tony. Had a warrant for his arrest and everything. They asked me about my pistol, but I’m a legal gun owner so they had to let me go. I’m leaving now.”
“Good. Meet me at Sal’s joint and we’ll talk.”
***
Sal runs a strip club, which mostly serves as a money laundering operation. I don’t particularly like coming here, but it’s a convenient place to meet up in familiar territory. Sal is counting money in the back when I arrive.
“How’s it going, kid?” he asks, looking up. “Enjoy your wedding night?”
“Feds just hit Tony Gagliardi,” I say, ignoring his question. “He’s in custody. We need to tighten things up.”
Dominic bursts in, out of breath. “I just got here. You already explain to Sal?”
Sal nods. “I’ll tell my guys to run an even tighter ship than usual. Last thing we need is someone ending up in the can.”
I nod. “Good.”
“You know,” says Dominic, “Now that I think about it, I’m not entirely sure this doesn’t help us. Getting loyalty from the Gagliardi captains should be a lot easier with the boss out of the way.”
I sigh. “I’m not even sure I have loyalty from the Rossi captains. You saw them at my ceremony.”
“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Sal reassures me. “They can grumble, but they’re already coming around. Come on, this is a good thing. The Gagliardi boys will fall in line now that Tony isn’t a factor.”
“Unless they think I’m the one who set him up,” I reply darkly. “They won’t support a rat.”
“That’s true,” Sal agrees. “But they’ve had quite the profitable operation under Tony. Nobody really wants to rock the boat. Convince them you’re not a rat and that you’ll keep the cash flowing, and they’ll back you. Every one of ‘em.”
“You’re married to the daughter,” says Dominic. “That’s going to count for a lot. Why don’t you meet with some of the captains. You know, show off your happy marriage, hit them with a little charm offensive.”
Fucking great.
Reluctantly, I nod. “You’re right. I’ll do that. Sal, who would you recommend I meet with first?”
“Giovanni Lombardo. He’s their highest earner. Nobody will dare go against you if you have his support.”
Dominic snorts. “Gio the Butcher? Oh, have fun with that. Your wife is going to love him.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Alessandro
Ava and I have the honeymoon suite booked for the next couple of days. Closest thing we’ll get to a honeymoon, since I can’t exactly go on vacation right now with two Mafia families to get under control. I’m expecting Ava to be upset at me when I come in through the door, but instead, she’s curled up on the couch, looking like a total snack in tight purple exercise shorts and a matching crop top. She looks up from her phone and greets me brightly.
“Hi, Alessandro. How was your day?”
