Page 56 of Mob Princess

“Ewan said you cancelled your meeting with Pablo.”

“I did. I wasn’t in the mood to risk my life a second time in one day. Not when the entire point of the meeting was for me to make nice and kiss the ring. Dad fucked up the deal with the Diazes and left Ewan to clean up the mess. He only made it worse. I’m not groveling to a family because my father and brother screwed us all over because they couldn’t play in their own backyard. Ewan set up those meetings. If anyone was watching, seeing me with the oyabun before lunch and the—I don’t even know how many ranks and positions Pablo has. El secretario, el patron, el capo. No, not that one. That’s too low on the list. El tigre.”

“How do you know all those ranks?”

“Because I know how to use the internet.”

The secretary is usually the right-hand man if it’s not an actual female secretary. Enrique Diaz, the jefe de jefes—the boss of bosses, not just in the U.S. but everywhere—doesn’t have any kids. His oldest nephew, Pablo, is his heir. Enrique has four other nephews who make up their corredor or Junta Directiva—Board of Directors. A capo is a captain, but Pablo’s definitely a step above his cousins. They’re all capos now. They moved up from lugarteniente. Lieutenants.

Pablo’s a tiger—el tigre—because he’s a general. But not just any general. No. He deserves the title el patron just like his uncle and father did before they rose to the top. While Enrique oversees all of New York—all of America, really—Pablo runs NYC at its operational level. The Colombians in Colombia—Enrique’s cousins—aren’t as fully in agreement that he’s the jefe de jefes, especially since he lives in the U.S.

But it doesn’t take much observation to know Enrique pulls all the strings everywhere. Forget kings, and presidents, and dictators, and religious leaders. Enrique Diaz is one of the most powerful men in the world. Nothing comes in or out of Latin America without him knowing. One frown shuts down an entire syndicate’s operations. Permanently.

Cartels are a risk to national security, so it’s no small wonder I know so much about their structure. A few google searches, and I could piece together which Diaz name goes with which position. That’s why I wasn’t jumping for joy at the prospect of meeting Pablo, especially since I’m pretty goddamn sure they had me followed and already knew I met with Nishida. They probably found out I had lunch with Sean before I even got into the car with him. Once those two things happened, I knew I had to cancel.

“Don’t be snide. It’s not attractive.”

“Neither is a black eye. Move.” I couldn’t give a flying fuck if Colt thinks I’m attractive. He obliterated that concern years ago.

He steps aside, and I head up to my room. I shut and lock my door. I don’t really believe Ewan or Colt would try to come in here without my permission, but I’m not in the mood to test that theory.

Me

I know you may not get this anytime soon and your cousins probably already told you. But I wanted you to know I got home safely.

I lock my phone and toss it onto my bed before bending over to open my bag. My phone buzzes, so I reach for it while pulling out the first piece of dirty clothes.

Sean

I’m glad. Thank you for texting me. Cor told me but I like seeing your name on my screen.

Me

I didn’t think you’d be able to talk.

Sean

Only for a bit. You caught me at a quiet moment.

I want to know where he is and what he’s doing. I want to know that because I’m worried about him. But I can’t ask. I can’t ask because it’s not my place. I can’t ask because it’s not my business. I can’t ask, so I have nothing to tell Ewan. I can’t ask because I don’t want Sean to think I’m trying to get info out of him now that we’re—whatever the hell we are.

Me

What was your favorite subject when you were a kid?

Sean Recess

He didn’t even have to think about that. I like how he humors me and my rounds of twenty questions.

Sean

You?

Me

PE

Sean

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