Page 135 of Filthy Little Regrets

With another round of curses, he sets the weapon on the ground. I lift an eyebrow, holding Vito’s gaze. “Your turn.”

He chuckles, jaw clenching, and he calls off his men with a singular nod of his head. Most fall back, guns held at their sides, but the one with the weapon to my head waits a full three seconds before doing the same. My throat bobs. I’ll have to keep an eye on him.

They all still have guns, but I know this is as close as I’ll get to disarming them. I stand, eyeing them like they’re about to shoot, then take a step toward Vito. Though the men shift, they all keep their guns down, except for the one. His hardened eyes sear into my soul, and in that instant, I see all the blood on his hands. All the people he’s killed without even flinching.

Dread sucks the air out of my lungs and my heart starts tohammer.

Maybe Death has changed its mind, or rather, maybe he changed Death’s mind.

“Alec.”

The man in front of me, Alec, steps back as quickly as he had stepped forward, gun dangling loosely at his side, but he’s fooling exactly no one. He’ll be the first to shoot me.

Chewing on my cheek, I close the distance between me and Vito, keenly aware of Alec’s hawklike gaze pinned on me. Tony is practically on top of me by the time we stop at Vito’s table. This is probably way outside of his pay grade.

Vito’s pretty date is staring, mouth agape, eyes round and full of fear.

“First time?” I ask her.

She snaps her mouth shut and glares at me. Vito sends a warning look in her direction, and she quickly glances at her hands in her lap.

“Morozov,” Vito demands. Meaty fingers pressing into the white tablecloth, his half-eaten pasta sits between his hands.

“They’ve bought an entire logistics company. Freight, barge, planes, trucks.”

“And what about it?” Despite his questions, I can tell the wheels are already spinning.

This is the part where I’m gambling, but the odds are on my side. The Marinos are known for a lot of things, but mainly cocaine. “Morozov’s nephews just started working at Red Hook Container Terminal.” How that slipped by his attention, I’ll never know. Remy texted me a summary of the bratva’s movements over the last year. Everything points to them trying to push Vito out of the port.

Vito’s gaze darkens, the threat to his territory clear. I don’t know much about mafia-bratva relations, but I’m guessing they’re not good, especially not when they’re in competing markets. “How do you know this?”

Sighing, I reach into the bag. The guns come back up, but I only stiffen when I sense Alec stepping toward me. “I’m grabbing some papers.”

“Slowly,” Vito commands.

I draw the papers out, side-eyeing Alec, whose jaw is set and eyes narrowed. My heart trembles, but I stay steady, despite how terrifying this whole situation is.I have to save Mace.With that steely resolve straightening my spine, I rip my attention off him and focus on Vito.

“Darius betrayed you,” I tell him, handing off the contracts. “Struck a deal with Morozov.” Giving him a second to read, I glance at his date again, who is sitting like a good little pet. Quiet. Subdued. It’s kind of sad, but she knows who she’s dating. Or if she didn’t, she sure as hell does now.

“Fucking Astor. Is this real?” he asks, flipping through the contract.

“Straight from Darius’s personal safe.”

Vito’s eyes lift to meet mine. “Is that so?”

“You can stop this. Darius is with Morozov’s men now, getting ready to sign the contract.” I conveniently leave Adalie out of it because there’s no way I’m giving this asshole any bargaining chips.

Vito tosses the contract onto his plate, the red sauce splattering all over the tablecloth. “What do you want?”

“They have Mace,” I tell him, fighting to keep my voice from wobbling. “All I want is for you and your men to go take care of your rodents before you have an infestation.”

“How do I know Mace isn’t a part of his father’s plan?”

I lift an eyebrow. “You know he’s not.”

“So, he’s innocent?”

“It’s not his name on the contract,” I remind him. “Darius is the head of the family. Mace didn’t even know about the contracts until I...found them.” I’m not sure why I hesitate to admit I stole the paperwork. Revealing this sort of skill to the mafia feels like a bad idea. The last thing I want is for Vito to think of me as another tool.

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