“My father wouldn’t touch the cocaine trade. He deals in a lot of things I’m sure even I don’t know about, but Papa is very strict about drugs being sold in his name. It brings too much heat and makes the men stupid because they become addicted, costing us manpower and money.” This has always been Papa’s stance. “Why would Gianni think Papa would change his mind? What was he really offering?”
“That was it,” Bishop says nonchalantly. “Gianni would connect your father to the cartel, grant him access and permission to sell underground in the Metroplex and in Vegas, and all he wanted was a casino and a piece of the gambling empire your father built.”
“And when Papa told him no?” I ask. Certain I know where this is going.
“Caspien didn’t just tell Gianni no. He shamed him in front of an audience. In front of all his men and Gianni’s. Humiliated him. Caspien then contacted Maurice to tell him about Gianni’s betrayal and attempt to make backdoor deals.” His fingers tap in rhythm on the table.
“So, he took my brother as punishment.” It’s not a question.
Bishop nods. “He paid one of your brother’s guards a great deal of money to steal him away and hand him over to us.”
“Us?” I nearly choke on the word as my throat tightens with anger.
The Bishop’s hands go up in a placating manner. “I was merely a soldier following orders, Miss Drakos. I didn’t know all the details of our sins until much later.”
“Tell me.” My jaw is clenched. I fist my blade in my hand under the table. Itching to kill this bastard, but I need to know the whole story. I must know what happened to Annanias. Where is he now?
“When Gianni returned home, Alessia had discovered what he had done. She confronted Gianni about stealing a child and using him as collateral. The Venatti have strict rules about women and children, and Gianni had broken them all.” He sighs.
“Gianni beat his wife that night for her disloyalty to her husband. Gianni’s moment of greed and impulsivity was about to bring war to her father’s house, and Alessia was not going to allow it to happen.”
“She told Maurice,” I concluded.
Bishops nods again. His eyes trace the movement of the glass as he swirls the tumbler around in his hand. “When Gianni got the call the next day that Maurice was coming to dinner that evening to discuss matters with him, Gianni lost his mind. He had your brother sent away to Italy, to the Academy. A placewhere abandoned and orphaned children are sent to learn. It’s also where the Venatti pluck their soldiers from when they learn of an exceptional student … like Annanias.”
“You’re saying my brother is a Venatti soldier?”
“You’ll never learn the truth about Annanias’s whereabouts or why the Venatti thought to keep it a secret from your family.”Bash’s words come screeching back to my memory.
“Not yet. He’s an associate at the moment. But he’s working his way up the ladder,” Bishop says.
“And where is thisGianninow?” Please let him say he’s still alive so I can kill him.
“His son killed him after he watched him rape and kill his mother after discovering her betrayal.” His smile is smug. Something I don’t understand.
“If you worked for him, why would you be so pleased knowing his son killed him? Was he not a child at the time himself? How old was he? And where is his son now?” I know I sound like a crazy person shooting off all these questions, but there are still so many unknowns. So many missing pieces to the puzzle.
Before Bishop can answer, a man from across the room comes striding through quickly, pulling a gun.
Bishop’s men cover him, and I scramble to my feet, getting out of the booth. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m not about to get caught up in someone else’s bullshit. I start to run away, only to be grabbed by the drunk asshole in the booth beside me. It’s the same jerk who grabbed me earlier, only this time he’s not holding my wrist. He’s using me as a human shield. His arm is banded across my chest, his gun raised and pointed with the other.
I grip his arm with one hand, and with the other reach for the hem of my dress. He’s arguing with someone, telling them he’llkill me if they don’t let him walk out of here. Not that I’m going to let that happen.
In one quick motion, I swipe my knife and stab his forearm, forcing him to let go. I duck down and run for the exit, ready to find Stavros and get the fuck out of here. More shots are fired behind me as I exit the front door. The two doormen lay dead on the ground, and I run straight into Enzo’s hard chest, encased by his arms.
16
ENZO
When Althea’s body slams into mine, I feel an overwhelming sense of relief. Daemon had just gone inside and found the punk who owed Rossario money when shots rang out inside. Nazario, Mauro, Ang, and I were making our way into the building as backup when Althea came running out.
Nazario sent our men inside to do a sweep and find out what the fuck happened, but all I cared about was getting Thea away from the flying bullets.
“Where’s Stavros?” I ask, dragging her away from the building.
“He’s still in the SUV across the street.” She points and I follow. A pickup pulls into the lot just as we approach the SUV. I pull my gun, but Althea pushes my hand down.
“It’s Drew.” Her bodyguard. He pulls to a stop and jumps out of the vehicle.
