Page 40 of All Your Lies
“But what about the date on the tag?”
He falls silent for a moment, and I long to catch a glimpse of his expression.
“Nothing you need to worry about right now.”
Why all the hush-hush cloak-and-dagger secrecy; is something fishy going on?
“Has anyone ever told you how cryptic you are?”
I don’t know how, but I sense his smile.
“Maybe a time or two.”
thirteen
Gage
“How’d the delivery go last night?” I ask as I turn to Vinny, my trusted enforcer and right-hand man, seated across from me at my desk in Obsidian.
As he stifles a yawn, he adjusts his posture, causing his shoulder-length black hair to brush against the top of his black suit jacket. I’m sure he’s exhausted after spending the entire night organizing everything and having to deal with the complexities of playing both sides. Despite his long-standing employment with my father, he also carries out tasks for me. Giving me all the intel I need to take my father down.
“Decent. The crates were full of AKs, Baretta’s, and revolvers. I took them to the McCormick warehouse.”
“I want them to be distributed evenly between that warehouse, the one on Westside, and the one on Industrial. Get inventory of everything so I can start making some moves.” I don’t like the idea of that much money sitting in one place, even if guards are watching it.
“Done.” The sound of paper crinkling reaches my ears as he hands me a list. I glance over at it and whistle. We stand to make a little over half a million from this stolen shipment, which belonged to my father. Though not significant by our standards, the money slowly undermines my father’s way of living. The thought brings a smirk to my face.
“Perfect. Does my father suspect me?”
He shakes his head. “Hector suspects the Bratva. He backed out of a deal he made with Alexander Petrov for port access, and now they’re at odds.”
I gaze over at Vinny with a frown. “Why would he back out? They’ve been working together for decades.”
“No clue. He’s been making changes to the organization. Getting more suspicious and keeping things closer to the vest in the past few months.”
I nod. “Makes sense with how everything is unraveling from beneath him.”
“Because of the compromised location, he’s receiving his next shipment of blow through the port in New York.”
I want that shipment and any others bound for my father’s hands. “Get ahold of Luciano for me. Tell him I want to meet. At this point, I’ll pay him triple whatever my father does to use his port.”
Vinny cringes.
“What?”
“Your father promised Luciano your sister’s hand when she’s found. That was the trade they made for him to use the port since Manuel called off the engagement when your sister ran.”
“And why the hell am I just hearing about this now?”
Vinny shrugs as if this isn’t a big deal. It is. I don’t want anything happening to my sister. “I just found out, and I didn’t think it would be an issue since you have her hiding in Indiana.”
“No way am I offering my sister up to Luciano. The fucker is in his mid-fifties by now. Money will have to do. I don’t care what it costs.”
“And the Russians?” he asks as he twirls his ever-present knife between his fingers.
“It would be foolish of me to ignore this opportunity, a chance to benefit from their conflict. It’s finally dawned on me why Alexander keeps asking for a meeting. He needs the relationship he’s always had with the Chicago Mafia. It has the potential to unlock a lot of doors for us too, but the thought of a partnership makes me uneasy. There’s a reason my father’s relationship with the Russians has spanned decades.”
“Alexander probably sees a change in the tides, with your father’s reign falling and yours soaring.”
