Page 92 of Depraved
“It’s the drugs,” Luca pipes in, crossing his arms and sitting against the desk.
Antonio walks to the small bar in the corner and grabs the bottle of scotch. “That makes sense. He’s been starving her family. Only allowing them to make enough, so that he keeps them begging him—willing to do whatever he wants.”
Dom’s eyes grow wider as he connects more dots. “He’s giving crumbs. Her family is so desperate for pennies that he’s been using them to do his dirty work, dangling the fulfillment of the drug buy-in over their head. But why?”
Luca shakes his head. “Sarah’s been a sick hobby until now, probably something to satisfy his cruelty.”
I put my hands behind my head, letting out a breath before I speak. “The deal he made for her was behind closed doors. Nobody knew—he couldn’t exactly get everyone involved to search for her without raising questions. So, he used her family. The question is what’s changed…why now?”
Antonio pours himself a glass and looks up. “From what we pieced together with our guy in Boston, Declan took the crew by blood. He killed anyone who stood in his way during his climb, and we think that his sudden immediate interest in Sarah has more to do with who she’s in bed with…he came for her to start a war with us. She’s a means to an end.”
Motherfucker.
“All this time, she worried she was bringing trouble to our door, but it’s us who brought it to hers,” I say to myself before speaking louder. “He wants our streets for his filthy drugs. And he knew that if he laid down this ultimatum, I’d push back, and we’d go to war. He could blame me and go unaccountable—not having to answer to the other families in his crew,” I add, rapping my knuckles against the desk.
Luca takes a swig of his drink and levels a look at me. “And if our backs are turned in the middle of a war, shit slips through. We know how much he likes to pull that distraction shit. Chicago would be his before we even fought for her.”
I let out a small huff as we all sit in silence, letting it sink in. Declan would’ve had us.
“He’s smart,” Luca muses. “We just have to be smarter.”
My phone buzzes, and I look down to see it’s Nico. “Everything okay?”
“Golden. Girls are dropped and protected. She’s good, Dante—worried about you, but all good. She left her purse and phone at Church, but the other two have theirs. She wanted me to tell you that.”
“Thank you. Get back, you’re needed.”
“Done.”
I hang up and look up at the room. “Girls are good.”
Nobody responds, just gives a nod as we get back to business. The more everyone speaks, the more my mind flips through scenarios. I recline back in my chair, listening to Antonio and Luca debate whether or not to consult with the other families on the Irish side, when a thought begins to form.
“What’s in your head, Dante?” Dom questions, tilting his head in to listen but not disrupt the others.
“It’s something Luca said when Declan was here…he said we’d cut the head off the snake. Declan’s an arrogant cocksucker. He came in here with only two men. How’d he know you two weren’t carrying? He cleared everyone with that explosion, but he knew the three of us were together.”
Dom rubs his jaw as he answers. “You think he’s bought into the idea that he’s powerful? That he walked in assuming you’d have to respect him because he’s another boss.”
I nod, running a hand over my head. “Yes. He’s not one of us…he doesn’t come from tradition. Declan doesn’t know how shit works. Take what Antonio was saying—he bloodied the ladder his entire climb, and that makes him the kind of person who isn’t very popular with those he leads, because he isn’t really one them.”
Dom tenses, seeing my thoughts before I say them.
“You want to take him first? Bet on that everyone will back down once he’s taken care of, but…”
I cut him off, answering honestly, still working through the idea.
“Clipping Declan could mean the kind of war that makes everyone fair game; because if I’m wrong, there’ll be no holds barred.”
“Are you willing to risk her?” Dom looks at me, waiting for my answer. I can see the worry in his eyes. He’s not sure I won’t do just that.
It’s fair. There was a time when I would have made that move for the sake of my family, but now, she stands protected above all.
“I’m never willing to do that.”
Relief and pride.
That’s what I see in my brother’s eyes.
