Page 91 of Vicious Little Princess

“And how does that concern me? You want me to step in, get them out?”

“If that was my goal, I would simply do it myself. No, if I go that route, it will destroy everything they’ve both worked for, their careers. It’s time to deal with the threat directly.”

“You want us to work together to wipe Santino off the board?”

“You have your ear to the ground more than most, just like me. You must know what he’s planning.”

“I’m aware, yes. He wishes to dissolve the three-families alliance and push me out. He wants unchecked power and his rule to become completely unrestricted. With the Benzinos being the voice of reason, that cannot come to pass for him with us still involved, and him still bound by the alliance. Furthermore, Marco Marchetti is also taking rash actions that risk us all.”

“Yes, the two of them are becoming unhinged. They’ll come for you. And as part of that, they’ll come for Caterina too, use her as a bargaining chip and pull her back into that which she worked so hard to escape. I also have intel on Nico Marchetti’s disillusionment with his father’s rule. You’ll be able to use that to assist you, bring him to your side, take him under your wing. But you need to hurry.”

“You believe he’ll cut and run?”

“I believe he has the means to do so, yes, but he doesn’t want to leave Caterina.”

“Ah, you’re referring to their little war? More like a mating dance, really.”

“Indeed. There’s interest there on both sides. Things point to him allying with her. That would be your window to do the same.”

“I’d need to see where things fall first.”

“Understood. But don’t drag your feet. It’s hard to see the forest through the trees where their true allies among Marchetti and Leone soldiers are concerned, so their resources will be limited. If you join forces, though, that will all shift. Your resources, them in key positions within the families to deliver damage.”

“When I’m ready to approach them, they’ll need proof that I can be trusted. You’ll be ready to forward this video you’re making at that time? It won’t work without it. Taking the risk of allying with an opposing family, which is what it will be viewed as when Santino and Marco carry out this plan to cut me out, would be a death sentence to them if I was proven untrustworthy. They’ll most definitely need verification.”

“As I’ve already said, yes, I’ll provide it when they’re ready to reach out. I would also advise you to give them a gesture of good faith.”

“Suggestion noted.”Carlo shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket, then gave a chin lift to the camera—Joseph Stover.“That concludes our business, then.”

“For now.”

The corner of Carlo’s mouth turned up.“Indeed. Until then, Joseph.”

“Be well, Carlo.”

With that, Carlo turned and walked away through the forest, fading from view.

And then the video ended.

“Shit, that was a hell of a thing,” Julian commented.

“Particularly the fact that Stover is as plugged into things as you are,” Nico told Caterina.

“Even with that video being made for our benefit, it’s clear he cares about you. His words, his tone, the vehemence… that wasn’t faked in the least,” I said. “Plus, the fact that he risked himself to do this in the first place.”

Nico nodded along, taking in everything in that usual shrewd way of his. “I’ll set a meet with Carlo.” He eyed Caterina. “I’ll need you there with me.”

“From this video and seeing what was going on with the two of them, how they’ve obviously being working close together, it’s clear now how Carlo knew so much about Cat’s skills,” Julian pointed out.

“Yeah,” Caterina said. “That’s how much Joe believes Carlo can be trusted.”

“It’s more than trust,” Nico countered. “It’s something much more stable than that.Need.Carlo needs us to work with him in order to do this. He might have the resources, but he’s currently on the outside. He needs us to bridge the gap there.”

“Basically, we can’t do it without him and vice versa,” Julian noted.

Nico fired off a text. Caterina had secured all our devices over the last few days, so we didn’t have to worry about that end of things, and it wasn’t a risk for Nico to reach out to Carlo. It couldn’t be intercepted by the Marchettis or Leones.

The actual risk would be meeting in-person.

---