Page 45 of Forced By the Bratva Beast

“That bad?”

“Depends on what you call bad. I’ve got some news that’s worth me showing up for. And I have to see a horse about a dog.”

“Man about a dog,” I correct, smirking at my cousin. We work together and have formed a network of alliances between here and New York that are both good for future blackmailing purposes and business.

“No. Horse about a dog. I’m thinking about buying into horse racing, and there’s some bookies I need to see, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“What’s up?”

“I came to tell you who Ryan’s working for,” Dimitri adds.

Pushing back in my chair, I stand, walking closer to perch at the front of my desk. Finally, we’ve got some answers.

“Who?Who the fuck is it?” I ask, glad the mystery’s been solved.

“Here,” he quips dryly, handing me a glossy photograph of a short, stout Italian guy in a blue suit with a bulbous nose and a receding hairline.

“I don’t know who this guy is, but why is it his face reminds me of somebody?” I’ve seen him before, but I can’t quite place where.

Dimitri sighs. “That’s because his name is Bruno Salvatore, and you have set eyes on him at the gala event we attended.”

Slapping the photo against my palm, I stare at it once more as I bring it closer to my face. “Ah yeah, this prick. I bumped into him in the bathroom stall. He walked out when I came in. I never forget a fuckup.”

“He’s new to the scene,” Dimitri informs me.

“Why, where’s he coming from?”

“He’s here from Milan. He’s got a specific mission apparently. Too bad it’s not going to work out for him.”

“What’s the mission?”

“To take down the Bratva.”

Laughing, I stare at the picture again. “Fucking get lost! One guy?”

“Uh-uh. He’s head of the Italian Mafia syndicate called the Gravita. He’s linked in with the Lestoria Gang here and has his hooks into the New York casino racket. He’s also involved in illegal card tables, and has an underground circuit moving slowly, but I’m shutting down his venues one by one.”

“I was going to say, do your fucking job.”

“Problem is I’m doing my job a little too well, and he’s moving to greener pastures. I.e.—Chicago. You’re up, Cousin.”

“Hmm. What’s his plan here?”

“Like everyone else. He heard about the Omerta Files and that’s why he sent Ryan in. To find out how to steal it.”

“Who’s your source?”

“Lenny.” Lenny’s long been a street insider for Dimitri in New York, and as long as we keep paying him a nice fat bonus every month, he delivers.

“Ah. Lenny. But there’s more, isn’t there?”

“You bet. Guess who Bruno Salvatore’s lawyer is?”

“Who?”

“Christopher Brennan. You know this face very intimately.” Frowning, I take the second photo out of my cousin’s hands, balling up a tight fist.

“Asshole. The one Sophia went to the gala with. That’s why he invited her. He must be connected to the college somehow.”

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