39. Angelo

Chapter 39

Angelo

C age feels quiet and empty when I head in through the front.

I don't recognize the bouncer. He nods at me and doesn't try to stop me though, which I think means he knows who I am. The interior is dim and there are a few customers hanging around, but it's too early for the real party. It feels like there are half the girls milling about, and even the bar looks a little understaffed.

Rodrigo appears, looking harried, which is new for him. "Angelo, I'm happy you're here. Your brother's upstairs."

I stop walking and try not to show my surprise. "Simon's here?"

"Yes, and right now he's sitting at the bar and having a drink."

"Has he done anything? Talked to anyone?"

"No and no, but you can imagine how everyone feels having the Don of the Bianco Famiglia sitting at our bar."

I grunt in reply. Simon's just fucking Simon, except now he's got that Don title tacked to his name, which makes people act all fucking weird around him.

"I'll go talk to him." I breeze past toward the steps but pause before I'm out of earshot. "And Rodrigo. I'm guessing you finished the purges?"

He grimaces and nods. "I'm in the process of finding new staff. We lost around thirty percent of our employees."

"That many?" I scowl and shake my head. "I never would've guessed."

"Tommy was a good boss. He paid on time and offered lots of bonuses and incentives. And I'll admit that I was somewhat loose in my criteria for who gets fired, since I wanted to err on the side of caution." He clears his throat and moves a little closer, his voice lowers. "Also, there's someone you should speak with. Her name is Ivona, and she knows something about Tommy you might want to hear."

"Is she working now?"

Rodrigo nods. "She's upstairs."

"I appreciate that. Good work."

I head up to the third floor. It's much quieter up here. The music is only a dull thump in the carpet, and I spot Simon sitting alone and sipping a whiskey. A few of his bodyguards are scattered around the room, keeping a close watch on him, while a few of the red-wristband girls lurk at the chairs and couches right behind him. Probably waiting for his attention.

But they'll have to wait a long time. My brother's deeply in love with his wife. Apparently, that's a new Bianco family trait these days.

"You realize you have everyone all freaked out, right?" I sit down next to Simon and ask for a beer.

"What, the Don can't unwind at a bar these days?" He shrugs at me, hiding a smile. "Did they call you in a panic?"

"No, I just happened to be heading over anyway. What are you doing here, Simon?"

"Just thought I'd check out how things were going. Seems like you've got it under control."

I do a shitty job of hiding my annoyance, but it only makes Simon grin bigger. I drink some beer and glare at my hands, picturing them wrapped around Simon's stinking neck, before giving him a noncommittal grunt.

"Cage is going to be fine," I say.

He accepts that without argument. "Davide called me right before you showed up."

"You guys talk too much."

"He's just concerned about you, that's all."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine."

"I agree, I think you're fine, too."

I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but it dies on my tongue. "You do?"

"I told Davide that even if you are distracted by your new girl, that's not necessarily a bad thing. You've been a little too focused on getting revenge, and I think it'll be good to have a distraction."

I let that rattle around my brain. "It's fucking weird how much you guys are talking about my love life."

Simon laughs and elbows my shoulder. "You're still our brother. We're just looking out for you."

"You don't need to worry. I'm being cautious, but that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Simon nods to himself and gets serious as he swirls his drink. "Look, I should be straight up with you. Tommy didn't only fuck you over. He fucked me and the Famiglia, and that's a real problem. The only reason I haven't given the order to storm that shop and take Tommy down is out of respect for you."

I know he's right. It pisses me off, but he's right. Tommy can't be left alone for much longer, not if the Famiglia has a chance to save some face. Simon needs to make an example of him, and right now, I'm holding everything up because I'm worried about Serena. Some random addict girl is keeping the most powerful crime family from gutting a traitorous fuck.

"There's someone I want to talk to, then we'll decide where to go." I finish my beer and get up from the bar. "I appreciate that you're in a tough position, and all I need is a little more time."

"It can't be forever," Simon says as I walk away.

He's damn right. As much as I'm falling for Claudia, I still despise Tommy with every inch of my body, and I will see him dead for what he did to me. And if I'm lucky, he'll suffer first.

But for now, I ask around until I find Ivona in one of the back bedrooms. She's cleaning up, making the bed and straightening, and doesn't seem surprised when I shut the door behind me.

"Rodrigo said you'd want to speak with me." She glances over and her eyes are hard. They're brown with flecks of gold, and her thick auburn hair hangs in rings around her shoulders. She's dressed in a tight black outfit, hugging her athletic, curvy frame, and I'd guess she's no older than nineteen at most. Except her face looks like a woman that's been through much more.

"He tells me you're friendly with our former boss. Although not that friendly if you're still around."

She snorts, sits on the edge of the bed, and crosses her legs. She adjusts her dress, tugging it lower so that it doesn't ride up and show her underwear, though it's not leaving much to the imagination already.

"Tommy liked me," she says, tilting her head to the side almost in a challenge. When I say nothing, she continues. "He fucked me sometimes when his other woman was too busy getting high." She looks at her nails, and the way she's talking makes it sound like she's ordering groceries. "He liked me because I'm discreet, I keep my mouth shut, and I speak Serbian."

That last part gets my interest. "Why would he care about you speaking Serbian?"

"Sometimes, Tommy entertains certain men. Drug dealers, mostly. Thugs and pimps. You know the kind." Her eyebrows raise. If she's insinuating that I'm a drug dealer, a thug, and a pimp, she's not all that wrong. "A few times, after fucking me, he'd bring me along to a party and make me translate for him. I'd sit by his side all night pretending to be madly in love with him while I whispered in his ear what his drunken idiot friends were saying."

"And what did you hear?" I ask, remaining very still.

The girl shrugs. She leans back, head tilted to the side. I can see why Tommy would find her attractive. She's got the looks of a woman used to getting attention, and an attitude like a venomous snake. Some guys are into that.

"Mostly, it was bullshit. Nothing things, you know, stupid jokes and chatter and such. But once, they got all serious, and they were talking about some special job Tommy was running overseas back in the old country."

"Tommy was involved in Serbia?"

"I don't think so, not exactly. It was more like… he was going to be more involved. Like he was expanding."

My heart starts racing. "When was this?"

"Two, three months ago." She shrugs a little and licks her lips. "Is this good information? Was this useful?"

"Extremely." I'm already turning away as I digest what she told me.

"Then I need money. A little reward for being loyal, yes?" She runs fingers through her hair and tosses an innocent smile my way when I glare at her. "What, are you surprised? I don't want to spread my legs for horny idiots for the rest of my life. I have names of Serbian men he met with too, if that helps."

"Write them down and give them to Rodrigo in the next hour. I'll get the names from him. Talk to him again tomorrow morning, and he'll have something for you."

"I am very appreciative of your generosity."

I leave the girl in the room. Out in the hall, I pace back and forth as the full picture begins to resolve.

Tommy's been trafficking girls for years now. Back when I was still running the crew, back before I went to prison, that was the start of it. He likely first met the Serbians during one of our jobs and took on the pimping shit as a little side gig to earn extra cash.

Then he realized how lucrative it was and how much more money he could make if he had the perfect spot to act as a front.

That was Cage.

And that's what catalyzed my downfall.

Except that was only part of his long term goal. Working here in the States is nice, but the laws are much more malleable overseas where government officials and police officers are even easier to bribe. He could move his base of operations direct to the source of his girls and start his very own empire.

Which means that's his escape plan. The butcher shop is only a temporary safehouse.

Soon, he's going to make a break for it. Tommy knows he'll never be safe in America again, but in Serbia?

The Bianco Famiglia is powerful, but our resources only stretch so far.

He's going to run, and when he does, we'll be waiting.