Page 24 of Ivory Crown

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he replied tersely, the undercurrent of strain in his voice as clear as the blade he always kept concealed.

Behind him, Luca walked in. He was our cousin in all but blood, one of my most trusted capos, and right now, I needed that trust more than ever.

“Let’s not waste time,” I said, gesturing them both toward the leather chairs before my desk. “So, someone’s been tailing you.”

My words were blunt, straightforward—the only way to speak when every shadow could harbor a knife waiting to plunge into your back.

“Could be a rat,” Marco suggested, his eyes hard as flint. “If there’s a leak, we plug it—permanently.”

I stared at him. “Kind of weird you jumped to a rat instead of one of our known enemies’ men…”

Marco’s eyes met mine, heavy with the weight of his words. “I don’t jump to conclusions, Dante. I consider all possibilities. Rat or rival, it doesn’t matter. They pose a threat.”

“I agree,” Luca chimed in - his voice was the verbal equivalent of a steel door closing, final and definitive. “We need to take action. Find out who’s behind this.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I mean, you might consider all the possibilities, but I definitely think it’s Caruso.”

“No way,” Marco said. “He’s ambitious, but that’s suicidal. Enzo would’ve already put a bullet in his brain if he thought he was trailing Mom.”

“But Enzo doesn’t know everything,” I countered, leaning back in my chair. “And Caruso’s cunning. He could sniff out a weak spot and pounce without Enzo even realizing he’d been betrayed. And after what we pulled, turning his low-level men against him…”

“No offense, man, but we haven’t pulled anything yet,” Marco said. “We have the routes for the drugs ready to go between labs, but until they start using them to steal product under his nose, do you really think they’re going to turn on him? And how would he find out?”

I clenched my fist, feeling the familiar sting of frustration. “We’re not dealing with usual street thugs here, Marco,” I retorted, my voice echoing through the expansive office. “Caruso’s men are loyal to him, but they’re also greedy. The chance at a lucrative cut from the drug trade directly from our labs will have them chomping at the bit. And if Caruso gets wind of that...”

“Giovanni would kill them if they leaked it to him,” Marco said.

“Or,” Luca countered. “He just wouldn’t know. Caruso is smart. He’s probably working his people somehow.”

“Yeah, but he’s also an egotistical narcissist,” I said. “It’s kind of what I was counting on. Making sure that he wouldn’t talk to his mid-level people because he doesn’t care enough about them.”

“But someone could surely become a made man if they went to him with this information?” Marco countered, leaning against the wall.

We sat in silence for a moment, letting the weight of our words fill the room. The hum of the city outside was a faint murmur against the heavy drapes, a world away from all this shit.

“Should we tell Dad that we met with Caruso’s men?” Marco finally said.

I snapped my head to look at him. “Do you want him to kill us?”

Marco’s lips twitched into a defiant grin. “Maybe it’s what he needs to know, Dante. We’re changing the game here – protecting our family, our empire.”

I sighed, rubbing my temples as if I could erase the impending headache. “We’re not telling Enzo anything until we have concrete proof. Do you understand? He’d burn everything to the ground, and us with it, if he suspected a rat among us. And we knew going to Giovanni was a risky play when we did it. We knew it would be difficult. But we…we have to make it work. So Dad doesn’t kill us, right?”

Marco shook his head, grimacing. “You’ve got a way of making me feel like I’m walking through a minefield, Dante. One wrong step...” He didn’t need to finish the sentence. We both knew the kind of devastation that could follow.

“It is a fucking minefield,” I said. “And that’s why you need to be careful.”

Marco rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Right, well, I’m going to go home and wash the adrenaline off.”

“Alright. Text me when you get home.”

He nodded. “Sure. You got it, big bro.”

“Stay safe, Marco,” I said. “I mean it. If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

He smiled. “I love you too, man,” he said. “Bye, Luca.”

“Goodbye, Marco,” Luca responded in his typically quiet manner as Marco left the room, leaving just the two of us in the dim light of my office.

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