Page 9 of Ties That Bind Us

“Then I’m not seeing what the problem is. You hate the morning after. Why aren’t you jumping for joy about this? She was an awesome shag and completely detached. In fact, are you sure you didn’t dream this? It seems too good to be true.” Leo smiled slyly.

“The problem is, I’ve never been ghosted before. No one has ever walked out on me like that,” I grumbled, shoving down some of my breakfast.

“Or the problem is you actually want to see this girl again.” Leo arched an eyebrow at me. It irked me how observant he was sometimes. It was hopeless to try to hide anything from my brother.

“Can we just drop this please?” This was only making me more irritated. Hopefully, Zane would have something for me soon.

“Drop what?” My father’s voice came over my shoulder. He walked around my side of the booth and slid in next to Leo. Gio Caponelli was an intimidating man. He stood tall at six foot six, and had a piercing glare that could make a person crumble on sight. He was fearsome and evoked an uneasiness in people who weren’t familiar with him. Most people chose to just stay out of his way entirely. He was a good father, but he always demanded the most out of us, and only now that I was an adult could I understand why. This life wasn’t for everyone, and he was doing his best to prepare the three of us to continue his legacy.

“Nothing,” I snapped, certainly not wanting to explain the entire story to my father. He would have all kinds of unsolicited opinions I wasn’t sure I could stomach this morning. They’d probably be along the lines of me cleaning up my act and settling down with someone. That was one of his conditions for me taking over, and something I wanted nothing to do with.

“Don’t mind him, Dad.” Leo laughed. “He’s a little moody this morning.”

“I’m not moody. I’m dealing with a small crisis and I would appreciate a little sympathy.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What kind of crisis?” my dad asked, eyeing me suspiciously. I knew he was thinking this had something to do with the business.

“Oh please. You not being able to get in touch with your booty call is not a crisis.” Leo rolled his eyes and I kicked him under the table. What the fuck? I thought I made it clear I didn’t want to talk about this anymore? Especially in front of our father.

“Booty call?” My dad sighed heavily. “Don’t you think it’s time you grow up a little?” And there it was.

I rubbed my chin harshly, careful about my response. I didn’t want to piss my dad off but I didn’t really like what he was insinuating. My sex life was none of his business, and I certainly didn’t need to curtail it in order to run this group. I was more than capable, and his assumptions were way off base.

“It’s not a big deal. We have a lot going on at the warehouse this week that I’m stressed out about. That’s all.” We ran a legitimate shipping company that masked most of our illegal activity. By day we imported and exported all kinds of goods out of South America, and by night, we brought in heavy ammo and artillery under the disguise of livestock shipments. Port authorities used scent dogs, and the animals always threw them off the scent of the illegal shit. It was the perfect setup. Until I took over for my father, I was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the shipping business. I knew the purpose of it, but all it really was a headache to me.

My dad contemplated my words before nodding and filling his cup with coffee. At least that was sufficient for now. “Right. That’s what I wanted to speak to you both about anyway.”

“What’s going on?” Leo asked. He was mostly in charge of shipments coming in at the dock and then transporting them to the warehouse. Once at the warehouse, they were sorted and sent out to our clients. I handled the redistribution.

“I think we have a rat.”

“What?” Leo and I both hissed at the same time. A traitor? There was no way. Our men were loyal almost to a fault, and we didn’t bring anyone new on without serious vetting. My dad had always been sure to make an example out of anyone who crossed us so no one would ever risk it. We had good relationships with all of our men and treated them well. Had something slipped through the cracks?

“I don’t know for sure and I don’t know where. But somewhere between the docks and when the shipments are getting back to the warehouse, we’re coming up short. Just a little at a time. I have a feeling it might be a supplier, but I want to be sure before we do anything.”

“How? I’ve been checking them in myself,” Leo said.

“Somewhere along the line before redistribution. We need to keep a close eye on things these next few weeks and see where the problem is. I don’t want to draw any attention to it right now, just see how everything shakes out and then we’ll go from there.” My dad’s expression was serious. He was genuinely concerned about this, which was nerve-racking. He didn’t get disturbed very often, so when he did, it was a big deal.

“And in the meantime?” I asked. “How will we make up the loose ends? We can’t send our shipments out short.”

“In the meantime, I’ve asked the Morettis for additional support.” He sighed heavily. “They deal with a few mutual suppliers, and Alessandro said they’re having some of the same issues.”

“You’re working with the Morettis?” This was absolutely absurd. Signing a deal with them was like signing a deal with the devil.

“We’re working with the Morettis,” he corrected me. “It’s only temporary, and we’re all on the same side here.”

“I don’t like this one fucking bit.” Leo groaned.

“You don’t have to like it, Leo. We just need to figure out what’s going on and go from there. We’ll both be monitoring our own groups and then meet in a few weeks and see what we can figure out.” Dad checked his watch. “I’ve got to run. You two behave yourselves.”

He slugged back the rest of his coffee and slammed the cup back on the table.

“And you,” he said pointing at me. “No more booty calls. Find yourself a nice woman that your mother will approve of.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

“Easier said than done.” Leo laughed, taking my side for the first time in this whole conversation.

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