Page 36 of Reign of Hope

The doc takes a few minutes to check Tony’s pulse and take a look at his bandage. He gives him a couple of pain pills and tells Reno he’ll change the dressing later.

“We’re all on the line, Reno,” I hear Alessio say.

“Then let’s begin,” Reno replies.

“I’ll start,” Raffaele begins. “First, I want to reassure Tony that his sisters are safe. Say hello to your brother, girls.”

“Tony? Are you okay?” a soft, girly voice asks.

Tony leans forward. “Lucy, I’m fine. Are you all right?”

“Yeah, Lisa is scared, but I told her you’d come back for us.” Lucy sounds more cheerful.

“Hey, LeeLee,” Tony says softly. “It’s going to be fine. I’m going to see you both really soon. In the meantime, please be good and don’t give my friends there any trouble.”

“I’ll be good. Cross my heart,” an even younger-sounding voice says.

“Francesco, take the girls to play with Adriana,” Raffaele says. There’s silence for a moment, then he continues. “They’re out of the room. Shall we move on? Your parents are pieces of shit, Von Garter. They were completely stoned when we got there and told us they’d be happy to sell the kids to the highest bidders. You and your sisters are now orphans,” he growls.

Tony looks stunned at Raffaele’s words. “Dead?” he says in a harsh whisper.

Reno quirks a brow. “Don’t tell me you’re going to get emotional over two deviants who were willing to sell off their two daughters, not caring what the hell would have become of them, to finance their meth habit?”

Tony straightens as best he can in his seat, then in a firm voice, says, “No, sir. Lisa and Lucy wouldn’t have stood a chance if I weren’t around. With me gone, who knows what would have happened to them.”

“Good. Now, let’s move on to more pressing matters,” Reno decides. “Raffaele has your sisters safe and out of sight until this situation is over. We’ve discovered that the Skulls are only one of four gangs or clubs that have been approached by a larger mob organization. The target is the alliance of our families. This will not be tolerated.”

“Shit!” Tony gasps. “I don’t know anything about other gangs.” His eyes flit around the room. “I swear.”

“Relax. We don’t expect you to. What we’re looking for is the location of the leader of the Skulls. Drake, I believe is his name,” Reno tells him.

“I can get you to Spike, but Drake moves from place to place on a regular basis. Spike’s the only one close enough to know where he’ll be,” Tony confesses.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” I hear Marco jump in. “Tony, that’s your name, right?”

Tony leans forward, looking at the conference phone and speaking clearly into it. “Ah, yes, sir.”

“You were asked to come for Allegra. You need to start with why. And what was the plan?” Marco asks.

“Drake found out that Vic got out of the building. All the guards got a beating for letting that happen. JoJo ended up dead because of it. That was the only time I saw Drake, besides the day I was initiated into the gang. Drake was fucking pissed. He pointed his gun at each of our heads and said that if we failed again, we’d all be dead.” Tony glances up at Reno. “I knew he’d do it. I wanted to run, but I knew that they’d be watching Lucy and Lisa. I didn’t know what to do, so I agreed.” Tony shakes his head. “Drake said Spike would be in touch and to make sure we were ready to move when he called. Then Drake got this phone call, and the guy on the other end was yelling and cursing. Drake was shouting back, and he was so mad, he forgot we were all there. Spike was moving us out of the room, but I heard Drake call the guy. Wan Kwok. That was the name he called him. Drake said his name and told him not to threaten him or there would be hell to pay. Then Drake told him that he was pissed too because he didn’t get what he wanted out of the deal either.”

Reno asks, “What did he want?”

“Allegra,” Tony responds.

“Why?”

“For information about some family she belonged to and because he wanted to, uh…” Tony looks at me, then back to Reno, and in a low voice says, “fuck her and use her for whatever he wanted. He’s obsessed and deranged.”

My fists clench by my sides. Rage burns in the pit of my stomach, and the desire to storm out and find Drake myself is overwhelming. Elio leans in and murmurs, “Shut it down.” Easy for him to say.

“The plan?” Reno prompts, and I turn my attention back to Tony.

“We got the call from Spike, and he said we were going on a road trip. Drake heard that Reno was going to a wedding. Spike said the info was good. It was from a low-level dealer forUltimo Morte.Spike said the plan was to get Allegra before she got to the church. We saw Allegra get into the limo with Vic and another woman. Spike says the plan changes. We take both the women, and Vic dies. He’s considered a traitor,” Tony confesses.

It’s Dante’s turn to lose his mind. He steps forward and grabs Tony by the throat. “That other woman is my wife,” he growls into his face.

“Dante, let him go,” Reno orders. Reluctantly, Dante shoves Tony back into his seat. “How did you know where Allegra was?”

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