Page 77 of Caged Bliss

“Has he done anything? Talked to anyone?”

“No and no, but you can imagine how everyone feels having the Don of the Bianco Famiglia sitting at our bar.”

I grunt in reply. Simon’s just fucking Simon, except now he’s got that Don title tacked to his name, which makes people act all fucking weird around him.

“I’ll go talk to him.” I breeze past toward the steps but pause before I’m out of earshot. “And Rodrigo. I’m guessing you finished the purges?”

He grimaces and nods. “I’m in the process of finding new staff. We lost around thirty percent of our employees.”

“That many?” I scowl and shake my head. “I never would’ve guessed.”

“Tommy was a good boss. He paid on time and offered lots of bonuses and incentives. And I’ll admit that I was somewhat loose in my criteria for who gets fired, since I wanted to err on the side of caution.” He clears his throat and moves a little closer, his voice lowers. “Also, there’s someone you should speak with. Her name is Ivona, and she knows something about Tommy you might want to hear.”

“Is she working now?”

Rodrigo nods. “She’s upstairs.”

“I appreciate that. Good work.”

I head up to the third floor. It’s much quieter up here. The music is only a dull thump in the carpet, and I spot Simon sitting alone and sipping a whiskey. A few of his bodyguards are scattered around the room, keeping a close watch on him, while a few of the red-wristband girls lurk at the chairs and couches right behind him. Probably waiting for his attention.

But they’ll have to wait a long time. My brother’s deeply in love with his wife. Apparently, that’s a new Bianco family trait these days.

“You realize you have everyone all freaked out, right?” I sit down next to Simon and ask for a beer.

“What, the Don can’t unwind at a bar these days?” He shrugs at me, hiding a smile. “Did they call you in a panic?”

“No, I just happened to be heading over anyway. What are you doing here, Simon?”

“Just thought I’d check out how things were going. Seems like you’ve got it under control.”

I do a shitty job of hiding my annoyance, but it only makes Simon grin bigger. I drink some beer and glare at my hands, picturing them wrapped around Simon’s stinking neck, before giving him a noncommittal grunt.

“Cage is going to be fine,” I say.

He accepts that without argument. “Davide called me right before you showed up.”

“You guys talk too much.”

“He’s just concerned about you, that’s all.”

“Well, don’t be. I’m fine.”

“I agree, I think you’re fine, too.”

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but it dies on my tongue. “You do?”

“I told Davide that even if you are distracted by your new girl, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’ve been a little too focused on getting revenge, and I think it’ll be good to have a distraction.”

I let that rattle around my brain. “It’s fucking weird how much you guys are talking about my love life.”

Simon laughs and elbows my shoulder. “You’re still our brother. We’re just looking out for you.”

“You don’t need to worry. I’m being cautious, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Simon nods to himself and gets serious as he swirls his drink. “Look, I should be straight up with you. Tommy didn’t only fuck you over. He fucked me and the Famiglia, and that’s a real problem. The only reason I haven’t given the order to storm that shop and take Tommy down is out of respect for you.”

I know he’s right. It pisses me off, but he’s right. Tommy can’t be left alone for much longer, not if the Famiglia has a chance to save some face. Simon needs to make an example of him, and right now, I’m holding everything up because I’m worried about Serena. Some random addict girl is keeping the most powerful crime family from gutting a traitorous fuck.

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