Page 37 of Broken Saint

"No!" I hadn't meant to yell, but the idea that anyone else would take on the responsibility of digging into Catherine's past nearly unhinged me. Other than my boss, no one else knew anything about her. Because five years ago, she ceased to exist. And until I understood why and how involved she was in her father's organization, I wasn't going to blow her cover.

The tech eyed him warily, but he said nothing more about Catherine. Since I oversaw this entire op, I knew the team would defer to my judgement. I just needed to be more careful about who and what I let get to me.

My attention had wandered, and I'd missed Cullotta's response to being threatened by Ronin. It also sounded like Ronin had already left Anthony's office. Indicated by the older man calling in his lieutenant. I'd have to go back and listen to the tapes to discover what I'd missed. I could not afford to get distracted on this case. We were getting close to something, I could feel it. I just hoped someone was going to eventually lead me to those fucking diamonds. The fact they'd disappeared was driving me fucking crazy. Without them, I didn't have a chance in hell of an international conspiracy charge, and that was the goal on this case.

"Get Luca in here," Anthony screamed, either into a phone or through his door. I still wanted visuals. Since I heard no response to Cullotta's demand, I assumed he'd been speaking into the phone.

"I'm here boss." I recognized Luca's voice. Luca Altobelli, Anthony Cullotta's current right-hand man. Current because lately the Cullotta's had been having a loyalty issue and paranoid Anthony had a pattern of blaming his right hand for every transgression on his family. He'd tell them they were fired and they'd turn up dead or go missing. Mostly dead, though. Anthony liked making a bloody public point to his people. He wasn't exactly creative about it, but sometimes that wasn't necessary. Habits and routines could backfire on a man in his position.

"I want a man on Kavanaugh at all times. Who the fuck does he think he is coming in here and threatening me over my own daughter?"

"We could always call off the deal. I could take care of that piece of trash and leave his carcass in the desert for the animals to pick off. That would certainly send a message to his family."

"It would also start a war. With this situation between us and Romeo Rossi going down, I don't think we need to pick a fight with a rival family right now. There's enough tension already. But I do want to know what that fucker is up to. I don't trust him, or his family, and I wouldn't put it past them to double cross us."

There was a lot to unpack in what Cullotta said to Luca. But what I really needed him to do was to talk more about his dealing with Romeo Rossi. The diamonds had originated in Italy, and that had to remain my focus. More than this latest drama with Kavanaugh. Despite my personal feelings about the jackass.

"What about the diamonds?" Luca asked.

I perked up. Jackpot. The tech went on alert as well. The team may not have been briefed on every aspect of this case, but they did all know the endgame was all about those fucking blood diamonds. I was going to find out who had them and make sure they went down for smuggling them into the country. Honestly, I could look the other way on a fair number of illegal happenings with the mob, but there were certain activities, like funding terrorists, that weren't going to happen on my watch.

I only hoped I didn't have to take Vincent down with the rest of them. The champion boxer had enough to deal with. My interactions with the couple had been limited, and some were less than friendly. But they were close with Houston, and he continued to vouch for Vincent. It was enough to give me pause when it came to lumping him in with his father. I fully understood not wanting to be blamed for the sins of my father.

Cullotta had yet to answer Luca, and I could only imagine what I was missing. I glanced over to the tech. "Get the paperwork started for video. I'll get it in front of the judge again."

"On it now," he answered.

"The diamonds should have been on that plane. My money is on Romeo's new son as the person responsible for their disappearance. He can play the innocent boxer all he wants, but I've seen him fight, and I've watched him deal with his opponents. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty, and it was his goddamned plane. It's the only thing that makes sense."

Funny how, so far, neither of them had mentioned the missing manager. Since I believed he was the one who'd orchestrated the use of Vincent's plane, it stood to reason that he would be the most likely candidate for keeping the diamonds for himself. Unless he was dead, which is what I suspected had happened. Neither Cullotta or Rossi had a reputation for patience, and if they thought you were disloyal, then you were dealt with, immediately. They didn't wait to hear evidence. They turned judge, jury, and executioner on the regular.

"We're going to find them, boss. I guarantee it. We've got recordings from the night in question headed our way, as we speak. There's going to be a video that shows every single person who got on and off that plane that night."

I looked over at my tech who shrugged and started typing at his keyboard. No doubt looking into whatever surveillance tapes Luca was talking about. If those existed they should have been handed over to us for processing.

Fucking criminals. I was sick and tired of them running this town, and law enforcement running around them with our dicks in hand. I wanted these men off the streets. Especially Cullotta. Whatever he'd done five years ago to exile his daughter probably had a heartbreaking story. Was she really kicked out of the family at age eighteen? My blood pressure rose. I wanted nothing more right now than to go to her and demand she tell me what happened to her.

But I couldn't do that. Not without compromising my case. She wasn't even supposed to know who I was. I should already have reported that she did to my superior.

"What about Nova? Do you want me to schedule a meet?"

"No. I am going to talk to my daughter, but it won't be with any advance warning. Bring her to me, but make it discreet. Don't alert Kavanaugh in any way. No one tells me when I can and can't see my daughter. Especially not some Irish trash."

If I were Luca, I would have had a hard time not pointing out to my boss that bringing the Irish trash to town was his doing. And if he hated them so much, why the hell was he giving his daughter to them?

“Oh, and make it soon, but make sure she is alone so we can have a proper reunion. The sooner I get her in line the better. And for God’s sake, don't trigger any alarm bells at The Sinclair. We don't need them calling the feds into this."

I glanced down at my watch, noting the time. I knew for a fact that Nova was currently at her shop working on final fittings again for her fashion show. I'd looked at her calendar the last time I'd been in her suite. Unlike most of the world, she stayed old school with her to do lists and her schedule, opting for this monstrosity paper notebook she lugged around in her bag that she took everywhere.

I had a few hours to add some extra surveillance at The Sinclair, if we were able to get the proper clearance. Otherwise, I was going to be on my own. No way in hell did I want that bitch Luca anywhere near Nova without me at her back.

Fuck. This was getting complicated.

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