Page 96 of Mob Knight

“Hola,jefe, la patrona.” Santiago’s tone is deferential. Barely.

“Espinoza.”

Enrique’s mocking the younger man the same way he often does me. He did Joey a favor by using her preferred last name rather than the one she should go by and the one he uses to address Santiago.

Throughout this exchange, his wife remains unflappable. Either she’s naturally the most perfectly matched woman to her groom, or Enrique’s trained her not to react to anything or anyone tonight. Either way, I’ll warn my family she’s possibly even more formidable than Laura Kutsenko.

“Ms. Bracero, there’s someone I think you should meet this evening.”

Enrique points to Olivia Mancinelli, the Mafia underboss’s wife. She and her husband, Luca, just walked in with the rest of the Mancinellis.

Meet?

Why would he say that? Joey and Santiago are Olivia’s cousins.

Joey and I were the last of my family to move through the receiving line, so we’re still standing with Enrique and his wife when Salvatore, the don, and his wife, Sylvia, walk up. Salvatore’s gaze meets Joey’s as I introduce them. I can tell he’s girding his loins for something. He has that expression where he looks like he needs half a bottle of fiber.

Joey’s and Olivia’s matching gasps tell me why he looks so uncomfortable. I swing my attention to Enrique, who doesn’t bother to hide his smirk. Seeing the two women togethermakes me question how I didn’t guess Joey’s family connection immediately.

They’re near mirrors of each other, except for their hair and eye color. Olivia’s blonde, and Joey’s a dark brunette. Olivia’s got a unique shade of brown hazel she inherited from her father while Joey’s are deepening bands of brown. Otherwise, they could be sisters. The same height. Same build. Same shocked expressions.

Joey looks up at me, panicked, before looking at Santiago. He’s as stunned as his sister. She turns back to me, and I wrap my arm around her waist. Luca does the same to his wife as Olivia stares up at him. Luca doesn’t appear surprised by Joey but rather his wife’s reaction.

“Joey, has it been a while since you’ve seen Olivia?”

She doesn’t answer me, instead speaking to Olivia. “Who are you?”

“Who’re you?”

Olivia’s expression hardens into a look becoming the futurela madrona—Godmother. It’s suspicious and superior. It takes only a second for Joey to revert to the haughtiness only a woman from as much wealth and status as Joey grew up with can command.

They stare at each other, and the tension crackles in the air. Clearly, they don’t know each other, and clearly, neither wants to get to know the other. Their suspiciousness is understandable given their respective positions in two of the world’s most powerful syndicates.

It’s Santiago who broaches the truth, and it surprises me how gently he speaks to both women. But only after shooting Enrique a glare that promises retribution for putting his sister in such an uncomfortable position on purpose. The older man did it for sport. His wife finally looks confused.

“Mrs. Mancinelli, you must be our cousin. I can’t think of any way you and my sister could look more alike unless you were our sibling, which I know you aren’t.”

“I don’t have any cousins.”

“But you have an uncle, Jesus Espinoza, don’t you?”

Olivia’s face drains of all color, and she sags against Luca. He pulls his wife closer, twisting to shield her from Santiago and Joey. He barely spares my girlfriend a glance before fixing Santiago with a menacing glare. The scar that runs from his cheekbone to below his collar only accentuates the harshness. I’ve known the man since we were in preschool. He means every bit of his silent threat.

“Did your father send you?”

Before Santiago can answer, Joey speaks up. Her voice trembles, but her expression doesn’t waver as she watches Olivia.

“Our father had a sister, but she died decades ago. She wasn’t old enough to have had children, and you aren’t old enough to be his sister.”

“My mother is alive and well. Your father’s a liar.”

“And your husband and every man in your family aren’t?”

Joey’s confidence is back as she pulls away from me. She casts her gaze over Luca, then Salvatore before sweeping it over the other Mancinellis who strain to hear what’s happening. I know the men in my family have conveniently crept closer. The Kutsenkos and their Andreyev cousins are keeping a close eye on this situation as they sip their cocktails.

“What the men in my family are, is no concern of yours. You should call yourpapíand ask him your questions. Let him know my opinion of him is even lower than it was when we had the misfortune of meeting.”

Joey shifts to square her shoulders, and Olivia does the same. If they were men, I’d expect them to pull guns on each other. Iwatch both women place their hands on their purses. I already know Joey has a knife in hers, and I expect Olivia has one too. This is escalating too fast. I dart my gaze to Luca at the same time he looks at me. We put our hands at our women’s lower back, but neither responds to us.

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