Page 145 of Stabby Little

"I slaved over my last batch and you ate it in less than a day," Benedetto grumbles. "I didn't even get to have one for dessert. You need to learn how to make your own cannoli."

Arlo grabs his two friends' hands. "Come on. Our Daddies will change their minds if we behave."

The redhead pretends to cry as Arlo and Callum lead him away. "I want cannoli. I'm going to starve."

Gianluca palms his forehead. "You're going to be the death of me."

Benedetto and Gianluca settle into the chairs across from Jagger and pick up the USB drive.

"We're concerned about the information you shared with our brother," Benedetto says. "We've run into a lot of false leads when it comes to the Diavolo family."

"How did you retrieve this?" Gianluca demands.

I explain how Jagger and I broke into Michael's office late last night. We tell them about the conspiracy website and the rumors about cages in the Diavolos' warehouse. After Michael lied to me when I confronted him, we needed to discover the truth for ourselves.

"So you broke into his fucking office?" Benedetto's eyes narrow. "Surely, you know that's dangerous."

"We didn't have a choice." Jagger's voice is firm. "The human trafficking rumors surrounding Michael were getting worse. He didn't provide my partner with a satisfactory answer when he questioned him. We needed to figure out what the fuck was going on firsthand."

Gianluca pulls out his Glock. "Listen to me. The Diavolos have fucked with us more than any other crime family. They've tried to kill our boys and in Benedetto's case, they abused Callum. We're not dicking around when it comes to hunting them down. if you're lying to us to glean information, I'll kill you right now."

"I'm not lying." I raise my hands in surrender.

"Show me what's in your pockets."

I thrust my knife, brass knuckles, and gun on the coffee table. Jagger follows suit and empties his pockets.

I stick out my right hand. "Michael cut off my pinky. That's another fucking reason why I can't trust him."

"Unwrap your bandage. Prove it."

I remove the adhesive gauze from my hand. I show the Ferraris the spot where my former digit used to be.

Gianluca sets his gun down. "You can put your bandage back on now."

Constantine turns to Jagger and questions him about the USB drive. Jagger describes what he saw in-depth and says he can pull up the files for the Ferraris to see. He also tells them about Kobe Bailey and reveals we're keeping him safe in my basement.

Benedetto furrows his brow. "You have a college student in your basement?"

“Yes. Kobe Bailey. Anton and Zaire kidnapped him while he was walking to class and brought him to Michael to interrogate. They believe Kobe murdered two of Michael's men. I'm rehabilitating him."

Gianluca furrows his brow. "Kobe Bailey?"

Jagger nods. "That's his name."

Gianluca pulls out his laptop. "Our club manager Valentin says Kobe Bailey has been coming to the Little Bunny Club every Saturday night."

“That's impossible," I say. "He's an animal science student who rarely leaves the library. He'd never step foot in a kink club."

"We have his ID in our system."

Gianluca scrolls through his laptop and pulls up Kobe Bailey's ID. My heart stops dead in my chest.

Someone else has been using Kobe's ID.

Constantine’s drink slips from his hand. “Get Callum and tell him to call Ollie.”

44

---