Page 35 of Little Bird (Advantage Play 3)

Go to hell, bastard.

“Alright, alright. I’ll step in,” my brother interrupts, not bothering to contain his amusement. He’s always been a cocky sonofabitch. I always thought I hated that about him, but right now, I want to cheer him on with a set of pom-poms and a catchy tune that gets the crowd as invested as I am.

“Dex came to me recently. Can you believe that, Burlone?” Kingston asks though he’s addressing the whole room. Hell, he’s commanding it. “Your own right-hand man? I thought it was a little out of character too, but Dex felt the need to voice a suspicion he had about his dear old boss. Secret meetings. Intentionally botched drop-offs. I found it fascinating, so I decided to do a little research of my own. What I found was…interesting, to say the least.”

Burlone shakes his head in disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about, King?”

Yeah, what the hell are you talking about? I want to ask. My eyes find Dex’s. He gives me a subtle wink, silently reminding me that everything is going to be okay before turning his attention back to Burlone.

“I’m talking about your association with the FBI and your plan to incriminate everyone at this table tonight as soon as they handed over their money for the beautiful women you’ve found.” The way King says the word found is enough to insinuate the opposite.

Burlone sputters, “What the hell does that mean?”

“Dex,” King calls while ignoring Burlone completely.

Gun at his side, Dex steps out of the shadows. “Yeah, Boss?”

“Were the women in this room handled differently than usual?”

“Yeah.”

“Care to expand?” My brother prods with a dry laugh.

Dex joins in before explaining, “The men were explicitly told not to touch them. In fact, Burlone brought me in and ordered me to keep them from being spoiled before they were officially purchased, which he’s never done before. If we’re being honest, he’s usually one of the first to break them in.”

The men around the room all laugh, and my brother joins in, pretending to be one of them when I know for a fact that he finds the situation just as despicable as Dex does.

“And why do you think they were being protected?” Kingston probes.

“Because he didn’t want any incriminating evidence on the Allegretti family. Only his associates.”

“And why is that?”

“Because he cut a deal with the Feds,” Dex finishes, matter-of-factly.

Burlone’s outrage is palpable as he shoves his chair away from the table a few inches but stays seated in the process. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. Gentlemen, why would I talk to the Feds? It’s not logical.”

“It is if they’ve got incriminating evidence against you like your former soldier just stated,” Mr. Carbonne pipes in while crossing his arms over his large, round chest. “It makes sense for you to work out a deal with the Feds to help them gather evidence against your associates instead of arresting you. Selfish, Burlone. But smart. If you hadn’t been caught.”

Burlone rolls his eyes. “That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. What kind of evidence do you have? You can’t honestly believe the high and mighty Romano family over one of your own?”

Another man interrupts next to Kingston. He’s got to be almost sixty years old and looks like an old bulldog, his jowls hanging off his face. “Interestingly, I would normally agree with you, Burlone. But then I heard from one of my associates who informed me of a little incident a few weeks ago. One where you had set up a drop-off on Kingston’s turf but didn’t show up with the women. However, the Feds did know where you were meeting and were there to greet him. The only reason my associate didn’t get caught was because the Romano family stepped in and screwed up your plans. I assume that’s why you personally named Kingston Romano in the email invitation to this tournament. To incriminate him when we all know he’s never been one to dabble in the skin trade. You wanted to use the email against him in a court of law.”

This was the night Kingston warned me to stay home. It was the night I snuck out to meet Ace at Dottie’s. It was the night I was kidnapped.

“This is all hearsay. There’s no proof,” Burlone defends, but I can feel the tide turning in our favor. I think everyone can.

“And if there was proof?” Kingston interrupts the conversation, taking control of the room with a simple question.

Do they have proof? What kind of proof? What the hell is going on?

Burlone’s face gets splotchy and red. His mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, playing right into Kingston’s hands. “I-it’s not possible.”

“I’m going to have to respectfully disagree, my friend.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dex

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