Jude turns the water on, and seems to size up the dimensions of the shower. It’s actually quite large, but enough to fit four people? That may be a little difficult. Still, he shrugs and pokes his head out of the bathroom, calling for Nario and Nicolo—his Stars. The fact he’s here with us, that he’s claimed me as his Flower, and my lovers as his Stars, nothing can be better than this. So if it means we’re a little cozy as we shower, I don’t give afuck. Not when he’s here with us. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll sleep with us tonight. I’m not ready to let him go…
“Don’t worry, Bello, I’m staying here tonight.” He taps my forehead and I lean into him. Fuck. I don’t even have the energy to blush. At least, he’s not leaving. That’s what matters. I’ll have all of my loves right next to me, and for once, all will be right in my life.
“I’m getting sick and tired of always looking over our shoulder.” Roman asks, “Did anyone get picked up?” He crosses his arms over his chest as he waits for Jude’s response.
Jude shakes his head. “No, because we’re better prepared, but we can’t afford for them to hit any of our extra stash houses. We thankfully have the O’Connel properties in play now, but still. Between the three Families, and all the product and people being moved around, sooner or later, our luck is going to end.”
Roman curses out loud. “How many dealers have we moved from Dad?”
“About half, which is more than I estimated,” Jude responds.
Roman nods slowly. “Okay, good. I won’t push for more there. Lio and the Martellis have been able to move all of their weapons operations to our side, as well as their whores. Even with only half of the Amato drug profit coming in, we should beokay. We don’t have a foothold in sex work, but I think we can be an equally contributing partner with things as they currently are.”
“They don’t have a market in the drug world,” Jude points out. “What little they do have, they left to Allesandro. So the balance of what revenue stream you have is the same. I shot my numbers off to Lio to get his opinion, but between the De Luca operations, and bringing our exclusive weapons clients with us, paired with the Martelli-O’Connel connections in the weapons and sex work business, we’re not doing too bad for ourselves. Will we have to start over in some places, and build a reputation, of course, but you would have had to do that anyway when you took over from Cristian. This just expedited the process.”
Roman chews his lip, mulling over Jude’s words. “Okay. Do what you have to in order to make sure our people are safe. They’re already in upheaval because of Dad and Allesandro; the last thing they need is more cops bearing down on them.”
Waving my hand, I get their attention. “Leandro and I have already been combing over the cops that were on scene at the latest raid. Most of them are familiar to us, so it’s confirmation that it wasn’t random, but targeted from whoever is after us. We’re in the process of doing deep dives into their lives, seeing if they’re being paid off, leveraged, or just hate us that much. The motivations of the cops won’t help, but might give us something to stumble upon, especially those being leveraged or paid to fuck with us.”
“They’ve been covering their tracks too fucking well,” Roman says, his signs animated as anger burns in his eyes.
“They have,” I agree. “But I’m better. They think they have the advantage, that they’re untouchable…they’re very fucking wrong.”
“What about the Jamaicans?” Roman asks. “I’m surprised Ten hasn’t been antsy over not being able to stake Campbell.”
I huff in annoyance. “I don’t know what they fucking did, but they’ve managed to hide him well. At this point, I’m about to let Tennant loose to torture his location out of someone.”
The bastard needs to pay for helping orchestrate Tennant’s arrest. That whole incident scared ten years off my life, and the fuckerwillbe paying for it. There’s not an inch of this Earth where he can hide that I won’t find him eventually.
“Anything else?”
I shake my head. “Not on my agenda.” We both turn to Jude, who shrugs.
“Great. I’d like to go see Ignacio now. I’ve been given the all-clear for more visits from Dr. Ranlen, now that they’re letting him move around more. As long as I don’t ‘do anything reckless that’ll set my progress back’, I’m allowed to visit him.”
“Good, how’s your pain levels?”
“More manageable now. I still have weeks of healing on my ribs, but the pain isn’t as sharp, so long as I don’t move the wrong way. My leg and arm are annoying, because it makes getting around difficult, but I’m adjusting. I’m just hoping I don’t need further surgery on my wrist. It’s hard enough as it is to sign with the fucking cast on, and it’s my dominant hand…”
“You’re managing just fine,” Jude tells him. “I can understand you, even if your signs are slower at the moment. We’ll figure it out when the ortho comes back to check on you in a few weeks, okay?”
“Yeah…” Roman signs and then sighs.
“Want us to help you into the chair?” I ask.
“I’ve got it. Leandro’s been showing me how to transfer. But can you push me? I can’t maneuver much, even if I try to use both hands, which is hard with the cast.”
“Of course.”
Once Roman is with Ignacio, Jude and I see ourselves out of the medical suite. “Are you busy right now?” I ask him.
He shakes his head. “I should probably see if anything needs my attention, but that can wait a few minutes, why?”
“Come with me.”
I lead him to the office Leandro and I have taken over, grateful my son isn’t in the room. Jude shuts the door behind himself and I lean against the desk, watching him for a moment before asking the question that’s been on my mind for days now. “Are you leaving us, Agnellino?”
“No,” he’s quick to say, his fingers closing rapidly a few times. “No, I’m not. But…Antonio needs me. You never have.”
