Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
“In case you forgot, my fuckin’ job’s to protect our club and our brothers. Make that shit difficult when you do the fuckin’ opposite of what I tell you. Told you she was a bad idea. Also told you, if you wanted a piece of her, to do it the right way. Always think you can be slick, Rome. That you can fly under the radar. This proves you ain’t good at it.”
“Gonna admit my life choices ain’t always the best—”
A phone ringing in Magnum’s cut had the big man pulling it out and glancing at the screen. With one last pointed look at Romeo, the Knights’ enforcer stabbed at the screen and put it to his ear. “Yeah.”
The longer he listened to the caller, the more his face turned to concrete. When he turned away, Romeo began to worry.
Something was up and he was damn sure it had to do with him.
“For fuck’s sake… Ain’t that some fuckin’ shit… Not sure… Gonna have to think about it and get back to you… You’re right. Ain’t good news but gonna have to deal with it one way or another... Thanks, brother, owe you one.”
Magnum tucked his phone away, turned, set his hands on his hips, and stared at Romeo.
“That call have to do with me?”
Magnum pulled in a deep breath and shook his head. “You stirred a fuckin’ hornet’s nest, know that?”
“Would rather get stung by hornets than tenderized by a tire iron.”
“Fuckin’ hornets gonna be the least of your worries. That was Mercy. His team did a bunch of diggin’. Thing is, they didn’t have to dig too deep to find out that her boss has ties, just not only the ones she knew about.”
Romeo’s stomach dropped. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“Ever think Smith might not be his real last name?”
“You sayin’ Roger Smith ain’t Roger Smith? What’s his real last name?” Did Romeo even want to know?
“Russo.”
What the fuck? “Asshole didn’t look Sicilian to me.”
“Yeah, ‘cause his mother ain’t. Some genes are stronger than others.”
“Jesus fuck. Know Maddie had no clue that fucker had ties to La Cosa Nostra. She might be shocked just findin’ out the Mafia existed in Pittsburgh. Wonder why he kept that shit secret?”
“Could be usin’ that business for money launderin’ and didn’t want eyes lookin’ extra hard into his business dealings. Who the fuck knows? Don’t give a shit about the reason why. I give a shit that he’s got them at his back.”
“If he’s in with the Russos, why ain’t I dead?”
“Good question. If you wanna be, willin’ to help with that.” Magnum glanced at the machines in the room. “Sure I could find a red button somewhere or unplug somethin’.”
“Fuckin’ funny.”
“What ain’t funny is the truth that my life would be a lot fuckin’ simpler, Rome.”
“Yeah, okay. But it’s a serious fuckin’ question. If it was the Mafia, why ain’t I dead?”
“‘Cause he wanted to keep his ties with La Cosa Nostra secret? Probably hired some idiots desperate for scratch and without any real skills. Doin’ so wouldn’t leave a path back to their organization. Also, him ambushin’ you coulda been personal and nothin’ to do with the family business.”
Damn. That actually sounded like a reasonable explanation.
“How come that federal task force Ali-Cat’s baby daddy belonged to didn’t take out all those motherfuckers? Were they pussies?”
Magnum shrugged. “Think I got inside info on a fuckin’ federal task force? Think I sit around drinkin’ a fuckin’ beer with one of the former members of that pig circle jerk?”
Romeo snorted. “He’s married to your oldest girl. And he’s pop to your grandbaby.”
“So? Don’t mean we have deep, meaningful conver-fuckin-sations. Only tolerate his ass ‘cause I want Liyah and my grandbabies to stay in my life. That’s the only fuckin’ reason. You wanna know why they didn’t take down those Mafia motherfuckers, call him.”
“He ain’t gonna talk to me.”
“Yeah, you know why? ‘Cause you were sniffin’ after Liyah when he already claimed her.”
“If that pig thinks Ali-Cat is his property, he’s wrong.”
“No shit. That’s why she didn’t want your ass. She ain’t no one’s property.”
“‘Cept yours,” Romeo murmured.
“It’s my blood’s runnin’ through her veins.”
Romeo sighed. Carefully. “So, now what? We gonna go after that motherfucker?”
“And start a war with the Sicilians, are you fuckin’ crazy?” Magnum growled.
“Then what?”
“Don’t know yet. Gonna have to think about it.”
“Can’t just let this go unanswered,” Romeo reminded him.
“Don’t need you tellin’ me how to do what I fuckin’ do.”
“Just sayin’… We could handle him separately. Some random shit could happen to him. An accident or somethin’,” Romeo suggested.
“Said I’m gonna think about it. Whatever we do, we gotta make sure it ain’t tied to us.”
“But we’re gonna do something, right?”
“They attacked our prez. Of fuckin’ course we are. Like you said, that can’t go unanswered. You attack one, you attack us all.”