Page 15 of The Kingpin's Teacher

They head over and finish getting ready.

"Let's head down," I say. I kiss Isabella goodbye before telling four of my men to go with her.

Now it's time to see Josh. I may love being around Isabella all the time, but I know she misses her home. I need to make it safe for her to go to.

"Let's head in, Josh," I say, heading into my living room.

"Good morning, Don. I’ve got something I think you would like to know."

My men know that I don't appreciate having my time wasted and I sit on a couch facing him.

"Spill."

"The men after Isabella are really not Assante's men," he begins.

"Who sent them?"

"They were from the Black Jaguar Mafia."

What?

"Donald Julius' Mafia?" I question, not believing what I'm hearing.

"The one and only," he mumbles and I begin to think.

Donald Julius is a new Don in a smaller mafia that normally keep to themselves and avoid trouble with the other mafias.

"When did he become so dumb?" I ask out loud.

"When he thought that pitting the two biggest mafias against each other would destroy them both and give him the opportunity to be number one," Josh explains.

"Wait. He made it look like it was Assante's fault?"

Josh nods. "Yeah. It was his plan all along. The interference from the police, in Assante's mafia, was what made it clear to everyone that they weren’t in a position to start tracing Isabella."

This is insane.

"Does he know that we know?" I ask, thinking of what to do.

"No, he doesn't."

"Alright."

We continue discussing the situation we have now found ourselves in, debating on the best ways to deal with him.

I don't want any fight between mafias. Yes, even with one as small as theirs. It doesn’t benefit anyone.

After several hours, we settle on a plan.

"I will talk to him one on one," I tell Josh. "But it must be on my territory. I need to show him what type of fire he's playing with. It seems he's underrating us."

The door opens at that moment and a giggling Stella and Isabella troop in, bearing too many tiny shopping bags.

"We're back," Isabella announces, coming over to kiss me on the lips before plopping down next to me on the couch.

"I can see that," I say, trying to smile.

She's glowing with happiness.

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