I shrug, keeping my expression neutral. "Know your enemy, right? Three years of the same dance gives you a certain perspective. Besides, you know I’ve been investigating her too, looking for information we can use against them."
"A dance?" Leo’s voice carries the weight of his years. He’s the oldest of us, and the last of his generation in La Corona now that Luca’s father, Antonio retired. "Is that what you call it when the feds are circling all our necks?"
The tension crackles like static electricity, but it’s not as exciting as when it happens with Oliva. I can see it on their faces.Dominic Vitale is thinking with his dick and not taking things seriously enough.
"Perhaps if you spent less time flirting with federal agents and more time securing your operations, we wouldn't be in this position," Marco says.
My casual façade cracks. "Excuse me?"
"My sources tell me you and Agent Ricci have quite the rapport." Marco's eyes are cold. "Personal, even."
Heat rises in my chest. Who in my organization is reporting to Marco?
"You're questioning my loyalty based on what? That I can maintain my composure during a raid? That I don't immediately threaten or bribe federal agents like some amateur?"
I rise from the table, acutely aware that at this moment, I’m not maintaining my composure. "I've kept my businesses clean precisely because I understand how they operate. I watch, I learn, I adapt. While you're all hiding behind decades-old tactics, I'm evolving."
"Evolving into what?" Leo asks. "A liability? Just what is going on with this agent?"
The word stings more than I care to admit. "You think I don't understand what's at stake?" My voice drops, deadly serious now. "I was born into this life, same as all of you. The difference is I don't let fear cloud my judgment. I use any and all information I have to my advantage."
I scan their faces, seeing the doubt, the concern, the suspicion.
"I respect Agent Ricci as an opponent," I say firmly. "Nothing more, nothing less. And underestimating her would be our biggest mistake."
“Why don’t we focus on what the feds are hunting for instead of bickering amongst ourselves,” Luca wisely suggests.
“Like I said, European shipping manifests. One person brought in a Calabresi manifest, but there was nothing that would raise flags, which is why they left empty-handed."
“How’d they get a warrant?” Luca asked.
“How’d they get any warrant?” Roman asks. “Especially with flimsy information?”
“An overzealous judge, probably,” Luca says. “I can ask Gabriella?—”
“I can ask Gabriella to check,” Marco says, with a hard glance at Luca.
Luca rolls his eyes. “I had the same issue at the restaurant. They spent hours in the back office going through our import records."
The realization hits me. "They're not looking for evidence of individual crimes. They're mapping our network, our entire international infrastructure."
Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t be so lackadaisical about this. "I'll handle Ricci," I say, my voice firm. "Our... interactions give me an advantage. She reveals more than she realizes."
Marco scoffs, but I hold up my hand. "This isn't about ego?—”
“It’s not your ego in question, son,” Leo quips.
I ignore him. “It's strategy. She's comfortable around me, which makes her careless. I can use that."
"Be careful, Dominic," Roman warns.
I nod, accepting both the warning and the implied trust. "I'll keep our interests protected."
As I leave Marco’s my mind is swirling. I’m confident that Olivia and her FBI team won’t ever find anything to bring me down, but I may have let the game between us distract me.
The stakes have changed.
I need to stop letting her dictate the rules. I need to figure out what she's seeking and how it can bring down not just me but the rest of the families.
