Page 94 of Mafia Kings: Dario

“That was understandable when your father was alive,” the Turk replied. “But since his death, I have to wonder if 20% is really worth it.”

His words were beyond rude.

Adriano, hothead that he was, leapt to his feet.“Vaffanculo, pezzo di merda!”

Fuck you, piece of shit!

The Turk raised his hands. “I did not mean to give offense. My Italian is not the best. I was simply stating what I see as the reality of the situation.”

“The reality of the situation,” Niccolo said coldly, “doesn’t include insulting our family.”

“Am I, though? After your father’s death, the family’s territory was split between you and your uncle, no? So the once-formidable Rosolini empire is now broken in two. Am I incorrect in stating it thus?” the Turk said, his choice of words a bit stiff and formal.

Adriano, Niccolo, and Roberto looked at me to see my reaction.

I kept my temper. I already disliked the Turk, but I wasn’t going to quibble over percentages. Not when there were far more pressing questions.

“I’m more interested in exactly what kind of ‘wares’ you’ll be providing to the Agrellas,” I said.

“Drugs, for one,” the Turk said. “We have opium and heroin from Turkey, plus I have a connection from South America for cocaine. And we have methamphetamine labs throughout Serbia and Croatia. Then there are the girls we bring in from Eastern Europe – ”

“I can stop you right there,” I said coldly. “We don’t deal with sex trafficking anymore, and we’re out of the drug trade as well.”

The Turk looked at me as though I’d gone insane. “Since when?”

“Since the death of my father and the empire was broken in two,” I said sardonically.

“But… your father dealt in all those things – Iknowhe did – ”

“Yes, well, today is a new day, I am the new don of the family, and we choose not to sully our hands.”

The Turk’s cheeks flushed with anger. “Are you sayingmyhands are sullied, then?”

“What – am I incorrect in stating it thus?” I asked sarcastically as I threw his own words back in his face.

The Turk’s voice grew colder. “If I may be so bold – if you are completely out of the sex and drug trade, then whatdoyou deal in?”

I gestured at Roberto to take over.

He nodded and turned to the Turk. “As you stated earlier, our primary strengths are political influence and our connections in the police and court system. We also control ports along the western coast, including the smuggling of stolen goods. Then there’s gambling, which we intend to make our main source of revenue over the next two years.”

“Gambling,” the Turk scoffed. “That’s nowhere near as big as whatIcan offer you.”

“We’llworry about that,” I said. “As you can see, your aims are incompatible with ours… which means we won’t be doing business.”

“How am I supposed to get my goods into Florence?” the Turk snarled.

“Fly them in. I don’t control the airways.”

“Look, all I need is land transportation – ”

“If the Agrellas want to hire local girls to be sex workers, I can’t control that,” I snapped. “But youwon’t be trafficking women acrossmyterritory. The same goes for drugs.”

The Turk shook his head and scoffed. “Your unclesaidyou’d gone soft.”

My anger grew even hotter when I heard his words.

Whatever disagreements Fausto and I had had in the past, my uncle should haveneverspoken against family like that.

---