Page 23 of The Sicilian Brotherhood I

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Dahlia

Skye opened the door and her eyes widened when she saw the man standing behind me. She didn’t have to know who Giacomo was to be afraid of him.

“Good night,” she said, “Millie, you go up to your room.”

Her ten-year-old daughter turned tail and scampered up to her room, braids with beads fastened at the ends bouncing on her back.

“Um… Dahlia, what are you doing here?”

“We need somewhere safe to stay for the night Skye, please.”

“Right…”

She folded her arms.

“Who exactly is this we?” She jutted her twin towards Giacomo, towering over me.

“He’s a friend.”

“Are you cheating on Franco?”

“Skye,” I huffed, “I’m not cheating on Franco. He jilted me at the altar. You were there.”

“Yeah,” she replied, “I was there. And I remember… this big bastard was carrying you out of there while you screamed. He killed Ana.”

“Please, I’m just trying to keep my ass out of trouble.”

“And this is how you do it?”

“Skye, you promised I could come here.”

“If you finally decided to leave Franco’s ass, not if you brought another gangster here!”

Giac cleared his throat.

“I can give you money?”

Skye lost her attitude and turned to Giac with a smile.

“Now that’s what I like to hear. How much?”

“$1,000.”

“$1,000!?” Skye and I yelled at the same time.

“For one night, yes.”

Skye nodded, “Uh huh. Pay up, big boy.”

Giac reached into his pocket and sure enough, counted out ten Ben Franklins, handing them to Skye.

“Y’all come in. The basement has a guest room you can stay in.”

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