GangstaGuy:thx for the tip. Yeah I made it there
Pepperoni_lover:You get anything? Might have something for you if you did…
It takes me a few minutes to work through my feelings on that one. Alessandro long since deleted the footage I had of him that night, and even if I still had it, I wouldn’t post it, no way. I could never post something that might harm him.
I could never do anything,ever, that might harm him. In fact…
In fact, I really am considering shutting downCute Crimsfor good.
What he said was true. It’s a security hazard for him, and I’ve seen for myself how dangerous his life can be. If he were ever to come to harm based on somethingIposted…
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
GangstaGuy:it was a bust
But Pepperoni_lover comes back straight away with another message, one that makes me sit up a little straighter in my chair.
Pepperoni_lover:I’m feeling generous. I heard the other day that Ciro went down over frankie serra
GangstaGuy:???
Pepperoni_lover:undercover agent. A fed. KIA
Killed in action? So Ciro Castellani found out there was an undercover federal agent in the Family and had him eliminated? I press for more, but Pepperoni_lover has logged off.
Shit. This could be important. Another avenue for Alessandro to investigate. But how do I get the information to him? I don’t want to call that driver and havehimpass on the message—and if I get him to take me back to Redwood, there’s no guarantee that Alessandro will even be there.
I’m not going to trust Miller with it again, that’s for sure.
And whataboutRoxanne Rochford’s engagement party; is Alessandro going to bother checking out that tip about Lina Lamond? Does he even know about it? If Miller and Jack kept it to themselves, that means Alessandro doesn’t know at all.
And it means he won’t be there at the party to follow it up.
I jump up and pace the room, thinking hard. And then I send off a few DMs and a few emails to some of myCute Crimscontacts, asking for help.
The wheels start spinning fast.
Six hours and a lot of not-entirely-legal help later from a bunch ofCute Crimsmembers, I have a plan.
CHAPTER37
SANDRO
“This is a bad,badidea, Boss.”
I glance at Jacopo in the mirror. He’s visible across the room, slumped against the dresser with his arms folded across the tuxedo jacket. He arrived with bad news two times over—nothing new on Teddy MacCallum’s background, and no way to recover any information from the cell phone I pulled out of the incinerator.
He’s annoyed. I’m annoyed. That makes us snappy with each other, a little more than usual.
“Stand up straight,” I tell him. “I don’t want to be standing next to some crumpled mess when we go in.”
He just glares at me. “I didn’t want to come in the first place, so you can take me as I am or not at all.”
I give a soft snort. “If I had my way, Jacopo—”
“Yeah, yeah. I’d already be dead, blah blah.” He sounds fed up. “Unless you’re gonna throw down with me tonight, let’s focus, eh? Miller told me about some of the Hollywood folks who’ll be there. You want their details?”
“Not particularly.”
