Page 90 of Dirty Mafia Sinner
“Bing-fucking-go.”
“And I’m here because Alessandro believes I was involved.”
Tommaso snorts.
“You don’t agree?” I demand.
“I’ll give you this much. Sandro’s proud like his father. Weakness, in any shape or form—even a perceived weakness—is intolerable. Whether you knew or not, no longer matters. It’s maintaining the Beneventi name that’s important.”
Like a pin popping a balloon, any lingering hope of reconciling with the monster disintegrates into air. There is no escape.
Tommaso slides another shot toward me.
I toss it back. “Thanks, I guess.”
“Who owned your apartment building?”
Lord, he’s relentless. “Ciro claimed he did. But Emily told me the insurance company believed three investors held the deed.”
“Why did Ciro call you Triple B?”
“Alessandro asked me this, too.” My fingers tighten around the shot glass. “I believed Ciro was poking fun at my bra size. It means Beautiful Beneventi Bait.”
He nods. “She said exactly the same thing the second time around.”
“The second time? What does that mean?”
He folds his arms across his chest. “I’m curious about one thing? Did you mention your …affair… to Emily?”
I roll my lip between my teeth. “No.”
“You kept it a secret?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His question stirs up a familiar hurt. “Emily shared her issues, and I listened.”
“But you had shit you were dealing with?”
What doesn’t this man know about? “Avoiding, not dealing, okay?”
He stares at me, and then flashes me a smile. “You’ve made some piss-poor relationship choices, you realize that?”
“Piss-poor.” I gesture between us. “I liked you better when you were an Uber driver.”
His laughter rolls across the pool deck, and heads turn. “Damn it. I’m in trouble now.”
“Not as much as the trouble I’m in.” My comment begins as a joke and continues as something far more twisted. “Will he kill me?”
Tommaso chokes on his beer. “Listen, Riley. Innocent or not, I can’t help you. No one here can. Best advice is to go along with his demands until he figures everything out.”
“You mean figures out whether to toss me off this cliff?”
“I’m going to tell you something. If you betray me by repeating it, I’ll toss you off the cliff.”
My eyes widen. “Okay.”
