Page 88 of Brutal Legacy

He pulled out the chair across from me, waving me off when I went to rise.

“Don’t get up, Christ. You look like you could drop dead if you moved too quickly.”

I shrugged. “I’m tougher than I seem.”

He studied me. “So I see. How is it in here?”

“How do you think?” I asked. “How long have you been back?”

Renato sat back. Half the inmates in the place were glancing at him fearfully. The young, calculating Mafia heir who would inherit a dynasty.

“Honestly, I came as soon as Zio Sal told me some of what happened. I’m not really clear on it, except that you got on the wrong side of the prosecutor, and he’ll make sure you pay for that.”

“Georgia. Have you seen her?” I asked quickly, desperate for any shred of news.

Renato shook his head slowly. There was something in his eyes that was hard to look at. Something terrible.

“I’ve not seen her personally,” he said. “But she’s partly why I’m here.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Renato took his time. He had a manila envelope on the desk beside him, and a newspaper, folded neatly.

“Alfredo Bellisario has it out for you, and considering your relationship with his daughter, I can imagine why. I don’t know the details, I only know what Zio Sal knows… You took a bag containing drugs and money from the De Sanctis house and the cops found it on you. Alfredo means to keep you here… until you die.”

I stared at Renato.Die?It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was.

“I’m here because I don’t like Bellisario or men like him. Hypocrites. My uncle has a relationship with him, but I have none. I don’t like to see men like him get what they want.”

“Can you get me out?”

Renato shook his head. “It’s not that easy. I’m not the boss… yet. Still, there is something I can do.”

I held my tongue and waited to see where Renato was going with this.

“I’m here to offer you a deal.”

“A deal?”

Renato nodded. “I know talent when I see it, and I’ll be damned if I want to see someone I consider a friend die in a place like this.” He glanced around. “The police have real evidence on you, so I can’t get too involved with all of this… but I can swapyou one sentence for another. You leave here and enlist in theEsercito Italiano. My contact will make sure you end up in the right place. You serve your country for however long you can stomach it… and when you’re done, then you come to America and become a De Sanctis. I need men I can trust around me.”

Esercito Italiano. The Italian Army.

“What about Georgia? I can’t make any deals that affect her. I have to see her as soon as I get out of here,” I told him, hope quickening my pulse.

There was that look again. Dark and terrifying. Renato dropped my gaze and picked up the newspaper.

“I brought you something. Don’t give me your answer until you see it.” His voice was carefully cool.

I opened the paper, and the headline slapped me across the face.

It was a regional rag, the kind of publication that thought local weddings were a big deal.

This time, they were right. It was a big deal.

There was a black-and-white photo of a couple standing in front of a courthouse, Alfredo Bellisario clapping in the background. Doves were captured in flight over the heads of the happy couple.

Local Millionaire Claims His Bride

---