Page 59 of Filthy Little Games

And as soon as dessert is brought out by the staff, plum cake with honey mascarpone, Emilio starts his spiel before we canenjoy a single bite. “Well, you all know why I called you here tonight. It’s no secret that I blame Izaiah’s disappearance on Aiden, since he went missing in Queens.”

“Your son shouldn’t have been on my turf, but I told you. I didn’t have anything to do with him going missing, Emilio. I didn’t even know his car was there until you found it.”

“You’re lying!” Emilio pounds his fists on the table so hard, all the plates and utensils rattle.

“You would accuse me of lying no matter what I say,” Aiden replies. “But do you think I would’ve shown up tonight with my sons if I had laid a hand on your boy?”

“Maybe I’ll insist that Kai and Raiden stay here with me and my family until my son reappears.”

“Emilio,” I start. “You know the rules. Unless you have some sort of proof that ties Aiden or his family to Izaiah’s disappearance, then you can’t act against the Sannas in any way.”

“Exactly,” Weston chimes in. “For all we know, your son could’ve been snatched up by whatever dealer he was there to see.”

“You mean one of Aiden’s dealers or that corner storeputtanaof yours!” Emilio exclaims. I have no doubt that the “corner store whore” he’s referring to is Zara, which makes me want to stab my fork through the asshole’s eyeball. The only reason I don’t is because it would be an admission of guilt and start a war.

“First of all, I don’t have any whores. Furthermore, my dealers haven’t seen Izaiah or done business with Izaiah in months,” Aiden declares. “Yes, he was coming to Queens for H, but when I found out, I put a stop to it because I didn’t want him to OD on my supply and have you blame me for his stupidity.”

Oh fuck.

Emilio shoots to his feet. “Get the hell out of my house before I blow your head off!”

“Gladly. I’d rather have a falafel from a street vendor than another bite of this garbage you’re serving,” Aiden mutters as heand his two sons toss their napkins on the table and walk out the dining room.

I listen for the front door to open and close without gunfire from the guards then breathe a sigh of relief.

Fuck.

That could’ve ended badly, and it would’ve been my fault. I need to do damage control to calm Emilio down before he does something stupid.

“I thought the meal was delicious,” I tell him. “And I know I speak for everyone here when I say that we hope Izaiah turns up soon, unharmed and unaware of how worried you’ve been for him. It’s probably best if we call it a night before more tempers flare.”

“If Aiden’s responsible…” Emilio seethes.

“Then I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding the proof,” I finish for him. “Just as I plan to find the proof of everyone who was responsible for Carmine’s death.”

None of us speak a word until we’re in the car, pulling away from the curb.

“That was a goddamn disaster,” Dre grumbles from the backseat.

“And you’re about to marry into that disaster,” Tristan reminds him.

“Emilio is worried about his son. We would be, too, if we had a kid who went missing,” I tell them. “Let me know if you hear anything about what may have happened to him.”

While Emilio doesn’t seem the least bit inclined to suspect I played a hand in Izaiah’s disappearance and murder tonight, I know that could change in a heartbeat.

Nowadays, with surveillance cameras everywhere, all it wouldtake is one of them recording an image of me or my license plate to blow up my life and Zara’s.

While killing Emilio before he finds that evidence would be the best way to cover my ass, if he dies right now, it would be too suspicious.

So, for now, I’ll let my father’s former best friend live and hope he never finds his proof.

19

Zara

Iheave a sigh of relief as soon as Creed walks through the door.

Lorenzo goes to meet him in the foyer. “Everything okay?”

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