He robs Peter to pay Paul by passing money through all those different hands to make it look like each subsequent deposit or investment is built on the previous ones, but really, it’s all the same money. The Italians caught wind of this and decided to put him to work for them.
TheCosa Nostrahired him for his expertise, so he had no personal stake in extorting Liesel or kidnapping Gunter. Turns out he met Liesel at Friedrich’s firm’s Christmas party nearly three years ago. Friedrich volunteered to take care of him, and I agreed. I’m not asking for an explanation, and he’s not offering one.
Tonight, we’re focused more immediately on the O’Rourkes and Kutsenkos who targeted Liesel and Gunter, even if indirectly. We’ve decided to go after the O’Rourkes’ whiskey distillery in Ireland. We want to ensure they understand just how long our reach is. If they want to fight a proxy war with the Kutsenkos, then they can go for it, but they’re leaving my womanand her family out of it. Losing a major source of their revenue will remind them whyTres J’shas the reputation we do.
We stir shit up and fuck you over with a motherfucking smile.
Joaquin hasn’t stopped digging since before he arrived in Frankfurt. He learned it wasn’t Maks and Dillan—the bratva and mob leaders—who liaised with the different Italian factions. It’s Pasha and Finn. They’re their respective family’s accountants like I am.
Apparently, a few months ago, they had the same genius idea to commit some insider trading with the same company. It wound up bankrupting the company, having the SEC up their asses, and both of them losing a shit ton of money. They’re using the feuding Mafias to get back at each other without getting their hands dirty. I don’t give a fuck about their squabbles, but I give a fuck about them hurting Liesel and her family.
The Kutsenkos are about to have their westward expansion in Europe upended. My family doesn’t just speak Latin American Spanish. We all speak Castilian too, so Spain’s looking ripe for the taking. Since Portugal is right there next to it, we’ll take from them there too. We’ll remind him he picked the wronghombres—men—to fuck with. To remind the bratva they’re not the only ones who protect what’s theirs, we’re going to steal all the construction site materials Maks has secured on a property in Long Island.
We’re not just taking the steel beams and lumber. We’re going to take the heavy equipment as well. It’s going on a ship to Germany directly to Friedrich’s family. We’re buying more allies in Germany and Italy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all of that.
It’ll put a dent in whatever funds Pasha planned to send to theCosa NostraandMala del Brentabehind Salvatore’s back. I wouldn’t want to be Don Carosi or Don Toretta this Easter.There’s a litany of confessions for them to make before that holy day. They better pray Salvatore’s feeling forgiving.
Joaquin’s face lights up as his computer dings. “Tía’scontact came through.”
My brother’s barely slept since the flight back from Germany. He runs off less sleep than all of us, but right now it’s even less than usual. I’ll make sure Javier stays out of my garden long enough for my oldest brother to have his pick of everything. He’ll grab some vegetables, but he’ll probably take half my heliconia rostrata—hanging lobster claw, an indigenous plant to Colombia I smuggled into NYC. I grow them forMamá, and he loves nothing more than to swoop in, cut a huge bouquet, and give them to her before I can.
I fucking hate being the baby of the family. It’s a fucking rip off.
We’ve decided what we’re going to do to the bratva and mob, but we need to coordinate all of these attacks, so no one has a chance to warn the other.
“When can you get everything in place, Jorge? I hate that I have to leave for Colombia in the morning.”
I shift my focus toTíoLuis, who’s been silent alongsideTíoMatáis. I recognize mytío’stone. It’s restrained anger.
“We can start everything once Madeline, Florencia, and Liesel are taken care of. I want Liesel to stay atMamá’s.”
Madeline’s going to go there too, and Florencia’s going to Pablo’s parents’ house. This is the first time Liesel will experience me going on a mission. Madeline and Florencia have already gone through it with Javier and Pablo, but that doesn’t mean they’re any more prepared for the fear Liesel will undoubtedly experience.
It’s not like any of us believe we’re immortal. It’s not like any of us outgrow the fear that something could go wrong—thattoday could be the day we breathe our last. But we learned to compartmentalize those emotions.
I know it’s horrible being the person left behind. Talk about feeling out of control. I don’t envyMamá, mytías, or the other women in our family when they have to sit by and watch us walk out the door, then wait to discover whether we’ll come home. It’s not easy knowing we put the women in our family in that position. We all struggle with guilt from that since none of us want to cause them pain, but when duty calls, we have no choice but to answer.
We already decided what we’re doing to the O’Rourkes and Kutsenkos, but we have to hammer out the logistics. I already feel guilty about leaving Liesel, but now I’m asking my brother and cousin to do even more for me.
“Alejandro, Joaquin, are you sure you don’t mind going to Ireland? You just got back from Germany with us.”
Alejandro chuckles. “I’ll be sure to enjoy a few drams of that whiskey before it all goes poof. Joaquin and I are unattached, so we may as well enjoy the single life along with a single malt.”
My cousin thinks he’s far funnier than he is, but I appreciate his willingness, along with my brother’s, to take another international flight when we’ve barely been home.
Joaquin’s more restrained when he chimes in, but I know he doesn’t resent helping me. “We’ll set off once we finish here, that way we can arrive in Ireland with time to get our bearing.”
I nod as I sweep my gaze around the room. I want to rub my hands together like some Machiavellian cartoon villain, but I restrain myself.
“Everything kicks off tomorrow night. It’ll be late here in New York but early in Ireland. We have to ensure our attacks are simultaneous. Otherwise, word’ll get out, and Pasha will alert Finn or the other way around. The last thing we need is them working together against us.”
TíoMatáis andTíaCatalina are the most outgoing in our family, but mytíousually remains quiet during these planning meetings. It’s not that we don’t need or want his opinions, but his role in the family is to look like his nose is clean. He’s brutal and lethal like the rest of us, so he goes on missions when he has to. But tonight, he’s been more of an observer. Now he gives the fatherly advice we’re all used to.
“Bedtime,niños. All of you have early mornings, and two of you have long flights you can sleep during.” Boys.
Liesel barely noticed when I slipped into bed last night when I got home fromTíoEnrique’s. We spent the morning together, but I had things to coordinate this afternoon. Alejandro and Joaquin took off for Dublin shortly after the meeting finished last night. Once Alejandro and Joaquin got settled at their hotel in Ireland, they jumped on a video call with the rest of us, so that took up a chunk of the afternoon. We ran over all the details one last time for tonight’s multiprong attack.
Liesel and I had dinner together tonight in the garden before I took her to Queens. She took everything in stride when I explained as much as I could but left out most of the details. I believe it relieved her to go over toMamá’s, so she didn’t have to face any of this alone. Even so, I hated taking her over there, knowing it was possibly the last time I’ll see her.
