Page 36 of Broken Saint

14

Rock

"Did the warrant for the wiretap come through?" I asked, as I took a seat next to the technician with headphones on.

"Yeah, finally. Judge gave us so much shit about it though. I swear to God these mafia assholes have connections with connections. It's getting damned impossible to find a judge not already in their pocket."

I nodded absently as I grabbed the extra pair of headphones. I really wasn't in the mood to think about these fuckers and the rabbit holes they sent us down. My attempt at having a normal date with Nova had gone so far south, I hadn't decided which way to go next. Although, I was about to infringe on the rights of freedom of her father, so maybe I would find some direction after this.

"Who's with him now?"

"Ronin Kavanaugh. Can you believe it? I guess that research you did yesterday is about to pay off. Did you know something the rest of us didn't?"

Hopefully his team had no idea. He'd kept the nights he spent with Nova discreet, and the fact that she was Anthony Cullotta's daughter was something he'd kept under wraps. She'd done a fair job of keeping that information secret. He just happened to be better at digging up the truth than she was hiding it.

"Let's save the analysis for later and get this show on the road. You recording yet?"

The tech nodded. "As soon as the warrant came through, but this is the first sign of anything interesting." he flipped a few switches and the fucker's voice came through my headphones as if I sat right next to him.

"You sure she is willing to go through with this?" He asked.

"Oh, you can count on it. My daughter is nothing if not loyal to her family."

"Is that why she keeps her identity a secret?"

"She wanted to make something of herself without any help. It was my understanding she didn't want to trade on the Cullotta name."

I heard Ronin's scoff and imagined him trying to hide a laugh. Between what I'd read about him and what I'd witnessed at the party, I doubted he'd make it through this meeting without insulting Cullotta. It also sounded like the older man was full of shit.

There was a lot more behind Nova's apparent exile from her family than he was letting on.

I made a mental note to dig through that a little more. There had to be some witnesses somewhere who'd known the Cullotta's before Nova moved out. He'd put out some feelers in the Vegas informant network to see if he could shake something loose.

"Why do I feel like I'm getting the short end of this deal?" Ronin asked.

"Are you trying to insult me? Catherine is my firstborn and most valuable and intelligent daughter. She may not be a virgin, but that shouldn't be a big deal to someone like you. Your reputation implies that you would be more suited to a sexually experienced woman. Did I misunderstand the information I was given?"

Fuck. I wanted to punch that bastard for talking about his daughter like that. These two assholes didn't even deserve to breathe the same air as her.

I heard the scrape of a chair and what sounded like a scuffle. "We need eyes in that room." I sat up and leaned into the equipment as if that would somehow make the audio equipment tell me more.

"No can do. Judge gave us audio only. You want visuals, we gotta go back into court and try again."

"You ever talk like that about her again, and I will end you." Ronin's voice had lowered into a menacing growl. "She may be your daughter, but now that our deal has been signed, she is mine. You already exiled her once, now you need to forget she exists. I will never allow her to step foot in this house again."

Exiled. That sounded like information I needed to know. For Anthony Cullotta to exile his first-born daughter, something serious must have happened.

"This deal is supposed to bridge our two families, not divide us further. Did your father not explain the terms?"

I didn't have to see Ronin's face to know that Cullotta's words were like a slap in the face. Which left the real question—why was Cullotta still alive? Every scrap of research on Ronin had shown he was neither forgiving or particularly patient. If his intention was to kill Cullotta, the man should already be dead.

"I am familiar with every detail. But if you think a piece of paper and a handshake is going to allow you to disparage my fiancée, you'd be wrong. Stay away from her. Far away from her."

A sharp bang sounded from the room and I guessed that Ronin had slammed his fist down somewhere in the vicinity of Anthony Cullotta to punctuate his point.

"Otherwise, I'm coming for you personally."

"Jesus. This guy has some serious balls," the tech whispered. "Do I need someone to look into this woman? Uhh—" he glanced down on the paper he'd taken notes on. "Catherine, right? I don't remember seeing anything about her in the family history. Not sure how we missed that."

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