Page 65 of Mafia Star

“It was to start the intimidation. They wanted you to know you’re being watched, but they didn’t want you to know by whom.”

“Can they assault me like that? I nearly tripped getting off the train. My foot nearly went in the gap.”

“They’ll say it didn’t happen. If video captured it, they’ll say he was just trying to get off the train before the doors closed. They’ll come up with an excuse.”

Marvelous. I want to know what caused them to act now. Why not last week? Why not next week? I’m sure Massimo knows but isn’t telling me. I’m not sure Sinead does.

Marco must have inherited his mind reading skills from his father.

“Liz, we truly don’t know why this happened today. I doubt Marco will be able to tell you the reason, but we will find out.”

That sends a shiver down my spine. That’s way more fucking ominous than the entire morning’s events. That’s the reaction from a father I expected. I never pictured him ranting or raving. I never imagined him lobbing threats. But those last four words held so much menace that I’d piss my pants if he directed them at me.

“Are they going to detain Marco for long?”

Massimo offers me a reassuring smile before answering.

“No. Salvatore is dealing with it, and Luca’s here to make sure nothing gets forgotten.”

I don’t know where to look now. I focus on Sinead, who appears entirely unperturbed to hear the closest thing to an admission of bribery as we’ll get from Massimo.

“Will I be free to go?”

Sinead glances at her watch.

“You already are. The paperwork probably processed about five minutes ago. But this is the safest place for you to be until Luca lets us know Marco is done.”

Safest. An FBI interrogation room is the safest place for me to be against the FBI. Makes shocking sense. No one can talk to me or watch me in here. I have another question for Sinead.

“Will I get my purse back?”

“Yes. Make sure everything is in there before we leave. Look through absolutely everything to make sure you aren’t leaving with more than you arrived with.”

I open my mouth, then snap it shut when I realize what Sinead means. Bugs. Some type of listening or watching device. Would they really do that with so many Mancinellis here to look out for me? Probably. After all, they tried to bust Marco in broad daylight. They wanted the spectacle. They wanted the feather in their cap that they got a Mafia star. Something occurs to me.

“Who handles your family’s PR?”

Massimo blinks then smiles.

“You mean who’s issuing the press release demanding a public apology, and who’s going to take an interview to martyr Marco. Normally, it would be Marco.”

Well, shit.

“It’ll be my sister, Paola. She’s a political campaign manager and well-connected to the mayor and several Senators and Congresspeople from across the country. They all owe their positions to her because she’s a brilliant strategist. Don’t play chess against her. The news that Paola needs to address this won’t go over well with any of them. It’ll remind people she helped them get into office, a fact they prefer drift into the background.”

“Will Marco have to stand beside her for it?”

“Yes. People need to see him battered and bruised.”

Police brutality. Considering how Marco left the guy who jumped him, I don’t know how that will work out. Then again, that guy probably won’t want to admit Marco beat the snot out of him and I shot him. It’ll only prove the failure that their mission was. I remember how Tony and Luigi looked. That was unnecessary roughness to say the least. But I don’t know that they’ll be up front and center.

I need to prepare myself to see Marco in whatever condition they left him. Any bruising and swelling will have set in since I left him on the sidewalk. My brow furrows as I meet Massimo’s gaze.

“What happened to all the people in the restaurant? It was busy when we entered, but it was deserted when they took me back in to question me.”

“They cleared everyone out while you were running down the alley.”

“Were there agents already in there? Pauly sensed something was off.”

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