Page 97 of Dangerous Rhythm

Curtis snorted. “With a bloodthirsty mother? No shit.”

“She must love her children or we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Lina reminded them. “It isn’t easy for a single mom with young children to lead any business, let alone the barbaric type like hers. I can see why she had to be merciless. She was protecting her children. If she had let another faction swoop in to take over after her husband died, the reality was she and her children would’ve been slaughtered.”

There was a heavy pause in the air. Could they be feeling sorry for Serafina?

“Well, the present reality is Serafina is a mamma bear who lost one of her cubs, and she is looking for someone to pay for it.” Marcus said. “Since you left the country, I’ve gotten my intel.”

Unlike Ken and his wondrous tech team, Marcus’ team gathered intel on the ground through a network of underground characters.

“She’s not getting what she wants. She ordered a war against the Murphys for the obvious reason, but Junior put a stop to that. His going directly against his mother must’ve caused a big rift in the family,” Marcus said. “Junior has been working on turning the Stilettos’ assets and businesses legitimate.”

“My team’s findings concur with that.” Ken pointed at something on his laptop screen. “So far, he’s done that to sixty percent of their business.”

“He still has a lot to do. It’ll take years,” Lina noted.

“Oh, it took him years to do what he managed.” Marcus smiled. “I reckon he’s not keen on how Rocco killing Sean Murphy and now Serafina’s war have brought more unwanted attention to them.

“It could ruin everything he’s been working for,” he concluded.

Lina’s gaze sharpened on Marcus’ face. “That’s our way in. Tony Jr. We can ask him to put a stop to his mother’s unwarranted vendetta against Curtis.”

“You don’t just go ask a mob guy to do something for you,” Dean pointed out.

“You need leverage,” Curtis chimed in. “What leverage do we have?”

“I don’t think we need leverage. We need to show Junior it is imperative for him to take over the leadership of the Stiletto family,” Marcus suggested.

“Oust his mother?” Lina said. “They’re Italians. Mothers are holy. He’ll never do it.”

“We’ll have to present it delicately. Make sure he sees it’ll be the best for his mother, too. She really shouldn’t be this stressed in her golden years, should she?”

“The woman is still in her prime,” Lina argued.

“Is she though?” Marcus said. “She’s ordering a war against their main competitor, risking a delicate truce in an old family feud. If she gets everything she wants—the fights with theMurphys, Curtis—it will bring more problems to the family and their business holdings that they may not recover from.

“The Murphys aren’t small-timers. They are in almost anything if not more than the Stilettos, but they are now almost entirely clean. Connor Murphy—the young head of the family, just like Tony Jr.—has been modernizing his family’s holding. He’s done with the older generation’s way of doing business. And he has the backing of his family, unlike Junior.”

thirty-eight

Listening to Marcus talk about the Murphys tickled a memory in the back of Curtis’ brain. He couldn’t quite grasp it, though.

“Tell us more about the Murphys. What is this feud you’re talking about?” Curtis asked. “Is that why Rocco killed Sean Murphy?”

“Rocco never said much when he was in custody before he got killed himself,” Marcus said. “So I can’t say why Rocco broke the truce between the families. Though the two families never became exactly friendly over the years, they mostly coexist okay.

“The feud started a couple of generations ago. Connor’s grandfather and Junior’s grandmother were engaged. Long story short, Junior’s grandfather stole grandma from Connor’s grandpa. The love triangle left the Murphys bitter, and they didn’t take the disrespect lightly. Hence the long-standing feud between the families, resulting in numerous turf wars and casualties. It cooled down during Tony Sr.’s time. I still don’tknow what he did to manage it, but somehow a truce was formed between him and Connor’s father,” Marcus finished.

All the talk about family feuds, love triangles, and the Stilettos’ grandma nudged the memory out, and Curtis blurted, “There’s a girl involved.”

“It’s a love triangle, Curtis. Yes, there was a girl involved,” Marcus quipped.

Curtis shook his head. “No. The Rocco-Sean case. There’s a girl involved.”

Closing his eyes, Curtis brought himself back into that staircase, trying to remember every detail. “Ugh, it went so fucking fast. I think I told the police everything I remembered. It seemed insignificant.”

“Nothing in a murder case is insignificant,” Ken said.

“What about this girl you’re talking about?” Lina asked gently. She took his hand. “Do you need help to remember?”

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