Page 45 of Prince of Malice

“Well then, it sounds like we’re all on pretty equal footing then,” Dad says. “Plead your case.”

Antonio places his glass on the coffeetable in front of him and sits forward in his chair. “Look,” he begins. “Every single one of us here knows that your whole wedding with the Rossis is all for show and that your alliance is fresh.” His words are strange, almost rehearsed from a script someone else wrote. “What we want to offer you is a better option.”

“And what makes you a better option?” I ask, shooting the question straight to the mystery man.

Instead of answering, he decides to hide behind the bangs of his dark brown hair.

“Well, our methods align better with yours. The Rossi’s tendency for taking things by force isn’t right for your preferences for formal matters,” Antonio continues to explain. “And I’m sure a man like yourself knows that the Rossi reputation isn’t something you want to associate yourself with.”

My father pauses, taking another sip of his drink and contemplates how to answer. “What about their reputation?”

“Well, they’re known for their violence, recklessness, and their all too public illegal activities,” Antonio elaborates. “Is that reallythe kind of people you want to associate with?”

“We all know that none of us are completely clean in the eyes of the law,” I defend. “To me, it just sounds like they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty. Isn’t that needed sometimes?” I taunt them.

“Doing what needs to be done is one thing, but street races in downtown Montcove and fight clubs in the dead of night are another.” The stranger speaks for the first time, and his monotone voice sends a chill down my spine, tearing me from the space around me and throwing me straight back to the locker room last night. This is the same guy. But who is he?

“Is this true?” my dad asks Antonio, who nods back in confirmation.

I push my way back into the conversation. “Do you have any actual proof of this? How can we know you’re not making all of this up just to get what you want?”

Before I even seem to finish talking, the conspirator pulls a phone from his jacket pocket and displays a readied set of photos of all of Dominic’s escapades: Dominicgripping the steering wheel of a luxurious sports car, the very same car tearing down a city street with cop cars in hot pursuit, and Dominic throwing heavy punches at the fighter from last night the one of Dominic lying on the floor out cold.

I was there last night too. For all I know, they have pictures of my attendance, so I need to tread carefully here. They have me playing their game in my own home.

“These activities are only growing more severe and frequent as time passes. He’s showing no signs of stopping.” The man delivers the end of his speech with a proud smirk on his face.

My father looks at me, wondering if I had any knowledge of this, and if so, why I hadn’t told him. “Thank you for bringing all of this to our attention.”

“Of course,” Antonio remarks.

“Do you have anything else for us?” I sneer.

“We’ll leave the next step to you. You know where to find us.” The stranger stands, and Antontio immediately follows.

“We certainly do.”

The moon commands its control of the night sky, cresting high over the many surrounding buildings, taunting the stars like that man did to me for the entire meeting.

Stepping from the car, I call back to the driver, “Have a good night, Filo.” My tone is tired, and I feel drained both physically and mentally. Everything has become too much throughout this entire week, and I haven’t had any kind of distraction yet today.

“You, too, Luca.” His words cut out once I shut the car door lazily behind me and stagger away from the curb.

The short trek from the parking lot to my dorm building has never felt so far, each step seeming to make no headway in my journey.

Rising into the edge of my eyesight, Dominic rears his head into my vision. Standing outside his own dorm, his faint blur of a face still clearly calls for my attention.

He’s in danger. I need to handle it myself, but so far, I’ve only made things worse.

There is not a single part of me that can bear to face him tonight. So I won’t.

Turning from his direction entirely, I fakeignorance and head back to my room, leaving him behind by himself.

I hate that I keep having to do this, but I can’t do anything until I know more about this.

15

DOMINIC

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