Page 86 of The Woman with the Wallet

“I tried to get in touch with your brother first,” Cosimo told me as I walked up to him on the street. “And Venezio.”

“I have them both doing shit for me today,” I admitted, tone apologetic, hoping he wouldn’t ask follow-up questions.

I was okay with… avoiding telling him what was going on. But I was going to struggle lying to his face.

“What do you need?” I asked, wanting to push the conversation forward toward safer topics.

“Remember we gave that crew an extension on their protection money?” he asked.

“The one who had to go out of state for a funeral?”

“Yeah, them.”

“What about them?”

“Just got word that no one died. Instead, they are trying to pay a local street crew for protection.”

“Fucking idiots,” I said with a sigh. Sure, they were probably cheaper. But they would also be less effective, less connected, and more likely to keep raising the price of protection each month, then viciously enforce that raise. “Could this be linked to the frat guy shit?”

“We’re looking into it. But in the meantime, I need some head-knocking.”

“Owners?”

“For now,” Cosimo said, jaw ticking, annoyed that anyone would go behind his back.

“Alright. How big is this crew… sorry,” I said when my phone started to ring in my pocket.

I was just reaching for it to silence it since no phone call was more important than talking to your capo when he was right in front of you. But when I saw Zeno’s name on the screen, something had my stomach twisting.

“Do you mind?” I asked.

Cosimo shrugged as I swiped the screen.

“What’s—“

“Max ran off,” Zeno said, sounding like he was running, his breath coming out fast and shallow.

“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, stomach starting to twist.

“She was making a phone call… then she just… flew out of here. Didn’t say anything.”

She said she was going to call Lil.

Even if Lil had information, Max was too smart to run out of there alone to meet with her.

Something was wrong.

Lil was in trouble.

“Tell me you’re with her,” I said, knowing Cosimo was watching me, but not giving a fuck as I turned and ran.

“She was too fast. I’m on the street, but I don’t know where I’m going.”

I was closer anyway.

But I rattled off the address for him, wanting backup just in case shit was really bad.

“I’m ten minutes out, max,” I told Zeno before hanging up and focusing on pushing my body harder and faster, not caring who I rammed into on the way, or how many car horns blew at me when I rushed across the crosswalks when the signs were red.

---