Page 33 of Vanished in Vegas

“What! How dare you accuse your uncle of such a heinous crime, Sofia? He’s your uncle. If you’re mad that I made you go to Vegas, you can be mad at me but you don’t accuse my brother of such a thing.”

“This has nothing to do with me being upset with Uncle Tino, Papa. In fact, I didn’t know until a friend told me what Uncle Tino was up to.”

“A friend? Who is this friend?”

“Do you know Manny Paloma?”

“No,” my father replied flatly. “Is that who is disgracing my brother’s name?”

“Papa, I’m sorry. Uncle Tino admitted it to me. Do you consider me a liar?”

My father fell silent. I knew he was taking my words to heart. Our family lived by an oath. Loyalty and honesty were amongst that oath.

“No,” he finally replied. “You are no liar.”

“Thank you, Papa.”

“Tell me what else you know about this.”

“I know that he’s taking money from people and telling them that they are now under the protection of the De Santis.”

“What?” It was a hushed growl.

“Yes. He’s been using De Santis' name to make money off people.”

“Sofia, your friend told you all of this?”

“Yes.”

“And you trust this… friend?”

I looked at Antonio. He stared at me with his piercing eyes. I melted like butter and realized just how hopeless I was.

“Yes. I trust my friend with every ounce of my being.” Antonio smiled at my words then kissed me softly.

“I want to speak to your friend,” my father sighed. “Give me his number.”

“Papa, I have your word that no harm will come to my friend?”

Antonio rolled his eyes and chuckled.

I guess my question probably seemed silly considering Antonio was a mob boss. However, my father worked for one of the most ruthless mob bosses on the planet. If Antonio was going to talk to my father then I wanted a guarantee that no one would fuck with him. Ever.

“If he’s no threat then he’ll be safe,” my father replied.

“No. I need a promise that he won’t be touched.”

“Sofia,” my father warned. “Give me his number.”

“I can’t. Not until I know he’ll be safe. I’ll call you back in an hour.” With that, I hung up the phone. I stared at Antonio with wide eyes. Horror washed over me.

“What’s wrong?” Antonio asked, rubbing my back.

“I’ve– I’ve never done that before.”

“Done what?”

“Hung up on my father… He’s going to kill me,” I blurted laughing.

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