She shakes her head. “You know I can’t.”
“I know you think you can’t. When does it stop being your job to protect your mom? When do you get to have a life?”
She takes a deep breath in and exhales. “Now. Through you. Tell me everything about those three good-looking assholes. God, I hate them for leaving.”
My gaze slides to her. I’ve always suspected she knows why they left Frank’s organization to start their own and I don’t think that was just because they were power hungry.
“They’re—I mean you know them better than I do. They were around a lot that first year you were living with Frank, right?”
“Yes, they were always around, but they didn’t talk to me.”
“So why do you miss them?”
“Fewer people got hurt. Fewer people died. They had a way of just making people fall in line.”
“Yes,” I say. “I can imagine they did.”
She looks at me over the top of my glass. “Spill the tea.”
“He likes to be in charge, and he excels at it.”
“Was it kinky?”
“A little. I don’t think I’ve experienced all there is.”
“But?”
“He can play rough.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Not in a bad way.”
“Were the other two there?”
I shake my head. It’s one of the things we’ve heard about them in the past. That they’d sometimes rented a suite and shared five or six women between them.
“Did you see Trick and Anvil?”
“Yes, they were at Connor’s house last night. I talked to them briefly, but it was because they wanted information about that robbery I told you about. Have you heard anything about that?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
She shrugs. “Not a lot of details.”
“What if you just stayed here with me?” I blurt out, wanting both our lives to change now. “C Crue owns this block. If your dad tried to send someone to get you, C Crue would have to stop it because this is part of their territory.”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t consider the Palermo princess their problem,” she says, her voice slightly slurred.
“Why don’t I ask?”
“No,” she says sharply. “No,” she adds in a softer voice. “I’m okay. I’m—as long as C McCann takes care of you, that’s enough. But if he stops protecting you, you’re moving to New York. I’ll be there soon enough anyway. We’ll both be away from here.”
“You can go anywhere,” I say. “It doesn’t have be Frank’s house to another mob guy’s.”
“Sure,” she says in a faraway voice before she lies down. “Sure.”
