Page 88 of Gin & Trouble

“Meriwether had good reason to want to off his ex-wife. Had she gone to the media with proof he’d beaten the shit out of her on a regular basis while they were married, his career would be over.”

I nodded to myself. “I get it. He’s a sleaze-bag that deserves whatever he gets. What about the other one?”

“Becker works for Governor Calhoun. Dahlia placed him at Enzo’s moments before the gun went off.” Marco drew a deep breath. “And he planted a bomb in Leo’s car tonight at the hospital. He’s hardly innocent.”

“Are Leo and Gunnar—”

“They’re safe.” He lowered his voice. “As for your woman—”

“She’s not my woman.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” He laughed. “As for Frankie, I put her on a plane to Trapani. Giancarlo is meeting her. From there, he’ll take her to the safe house on Alicudi.”

Of all the places in the world he could have sent her, he’d chosen Tommaso’s backyard? “Are you freaking nuts? In what universe was sending her anywhere near Sicily a good idea?”

“You’re going to have to trust me on this one. I know what I’m doing.”

I’d concede he knew more about mob politics than I did, but I knew Frankie. She had to be freaking out. Panicked people tended to do dumb things, like run. And I couldn’t allow that to happen. “I’m going after her.”

“I figured you’d say that.” Marco chuckled, which did nothing to improve my mood.

“If you knew how I’d react, why on God’s green Earth did you let her take off without me?” I debated the wisdom in committing fratricide, especially when said brother was a mob boss.

Could get messy. Too messy. And I might miss the guy in a year or six.

“You needed time to cool off before you spoke to her. Trust me, bro. Things will go smoother once the two of you have your heads on straight.” He paused as if he expected me to argue. When I didn’t, he continued, “And I need that info on Meriwether before you disappear. I have to know we aren’t jumping to the wrong conclusions.”

“If we are, it’s a hell of a coincidence.”

“Right.” He exhaled a long slow breath. “There’s been a lot ofcoincidencesinvolving Enzo, starting with Joe’s murder.”

His words stopped me cold.

Marco had a point. Joe and Rebecca’s accident had happened after they’d eaten dinner at Enzo’s restaurant. Then there had been the trouble in Sicily before and during Gabe and Maggie’s wedding. Shots fired over Enzo’s head, armed gunmen in the crowd, fires in his restaurant and Shanna’s apartment in New Orleans. Add in the business with Sophia poisoning the soup at the engagement party, and in one way, shape, or form, Enzo had been present at every dangerous turn.

My mouth went dry. “What are you saying?”

“Either Enzo has some seriously bad timing, really good luck, or is the mark of the world’s worst hitman.” He chuckled again, only this time it sounded hollow. “You should get your ass to the airport. The pilot for your chartered flight is charging me by the hour.”

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand him. Why hire a plane when I could have gone with Frankie? So what if we needed time to cool off? If we couldn’t work out our differences in eight or nine hours in a flying tin can, we never would. “Call Giancarlo and make sure Frankie doesn’t leave Trapani without me.”

“No can do. He’s willing to help keep her safe, but I’d rather not involve him in your Romeo and Juliet bullshit.”

“You realize they both died at the end of the story, right?”

“All the more reason not to tell him what’s going on. I’ll have her pilot make an unplanned stop due to mechanical issues. That should delay her for a few hours at least,” Marco said. “I’ll see you for Christmas. Don’t even think about disappointing Pops.”

The holiday was the absolute last thing on my mind, but he was right. This could very well be our dad’s last Christmas. “Hey, do me a favor. The gifts I bought are in a box at my place. Have someone bring them to Comiso.”

“Will do.” He sighed. “Use the time on your flight to get that info on Meriwether. I need it ASAP.”

And just like that, I understood his logic. He’d manipulated the situation to his advantage. Had Frankie and I flown out together, the chances of any work getting done were slim to none. Plus, by having us arrive on two separate flights, he’d given himself plausible deniability about our relationship if things went sideways with theFratellanza.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

27

Frankie

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