Page 30 of Vanished in Vegas

The tone in her voice and her facial expression were both as cold as ice. She was a woman out for blood. There’d be no stopping whatever she had planned for Tino.

My beautiful Sofia.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

SOFIA

Antonio’s guys looked at him for guidance. While the men who were with Tino looked at me. They knew at the end of the day, Tino had broken the Omerta Oath. His orders were no longer valid which now made me trump Tino and anything he said or did.

“Gabriele? Bosco? Lasciaci.” I said, looking first at Gabriele then Bosco. They both stood behind Tino.

“Si, Signorina Sofia,” Bosco replied, bowing his head. “Adiamo,” he ordered the men under him.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Tino spat.

The men ignored Tino’s words. They bowed their heads at me in acknowledgment then walked out the door. Bosco stopped in the doorway. He looked at me.

“Signorina Sofia, we will be in the hallway, if you need us,” Bosco said.

“Gratzi, Bosco,” I replied with a smile. I had no anger towards him or any of the others. They clearly didn’t know what my uncle had been up to. I could tell by the look on their faces. They were all disgusted.

There was a code to the mafia. A true mafia. You don’t hurt women or children. Ever! And my uncle had blatantly broken that code by providing women to someone, knowing they’d be killed. If I didn’t kill Tino, my father or Giuseppe De Santis himself would take his life.

The door closed quietly and Tino swallowed hard. He knew he was truly alone. No one would come to his aid. No matter how much he screamed or begged, it would all fall on deaf ears.

I grabbed a chair and pulled it beside Tino. So much anger flowed through my blood as I stared at the fat slob. For so long I had held a grudge towards him; however, this was much more than a grudge. This was hate.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Antonio sit down and gesture to his guys. They sat down without hesitation. All of their attention was on Tino and me.

“How much?” I asked Tino calmly despite how bad I wanted to rip his head off.

“How much what?” Tino groaned.

“How much did he pay you for these women? In fact, who the fuck ishe?” I looked at Antonio for that answer. “Who is the guy?”

“Manny Paloma,” Antonio replied.

“Manny Paloma,” I repeated softly. The name didn’t sound familiar but I’d remember it for the rest of my life. “You know him?”

“Yes,” Antonio nodded. “He worked for me.”

Worked for him? Anger filled me. Why would he hire someone like that? It didn’t make any sense. Antonio had been so kind to me. Was it an act? It didn’t feel like an act. His touch, the look in his eyes. All of it felt real. There had to be more to this Manny Paloma.

I took a deep breath. Thoughts rushed through my mind as I tried to piece everything together. Then the lightbulb went off.

“You’re extorting this fat fuck.” I pointed at Tino but kept my eyes on Antonio, who grinned. “Aren’t you? To get his businesses.”

“Yes.”

At least he was honest with me. I couldn’t fault him for that.

“What’s your plan after that?” I asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Hand him over to your father or De Santis.”

“You piece of shit!” Tino growled. “You’re going to hand me over after you get my hard-earned–”

“It’s just business,” Antonio chuckled, using Tino’s own words against him.

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