“Anzy’s mouthy and opinionated, but she means well.” His hand landed on my shoulder. “I need you to promise me that when you two meet again, you’ll be tolerant of her, no matter how she says things or how rash she can be. Do this for me?”
I regarded the tight grip of his fingers bunching my suit, then the grim set of his features. My jaw ticked. My fists tightened, fingers digging into my palms, as I fought the urge to punch my cousin before strangling him.
“What does she mean to you?” I asked between gritted teeth.
“Just as my sister.” I exhaled. Ainsley had said the same.
The car pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road away from the prison and the nearby town. He gestured at my outfit.
“We need to get you settled and ready for tonight.”
I shook my head, leaning back. The gentle rock of the car was soothing. “What have you done?”
“What did you think I’d do? My cugi hasn’t had his dick wet in seven years. It’s my job as your second to fix that.”
“I don’t need or want you worrying about my dick.”
He shoved my shoulder. “Nah.”
“I’d rather get straight to work.”
“About that…Micah had some interesting things to say after we found him. Turns out he’d been hiding in Sacramento this whole time. The little rat didn’t even leave the state. I still think you should have had him killed before the trial.”
“My princ—”
“Yeah, your bloody principles. Lot of good they did you.”
The scenery blurred past the windows, a constant mix of shapes and colors, different yet the same. Familiar yet alien. I sighed quietly. Tore wasn’t wrong. Leaving Micah alive tofalsely testify despite the accuracy of the information had been a mistake. I hadn’t expected to get convicted though.
“Where is he?”
“Ready for some conversation. Don’t worry. No one knows we have him. We arranged a plausible suicide weeks ago after his video testimony was made. Witnesses saw him climb into a kayak at Lake Natoma. The kayak was found. He wasn’t.”
“Who’s we?”
Tore relaxed back in his seat. He twisted his watch around his wrist, his fingers twitching, probably with the need to reach for his lighter.
“You got Ainsley involved in this?” I seethed.
He licked his lips, then sighed. “Like I said. When Anzy gets something in her head, it’s hard to get it out. You’ll see.”
I would rather not. It’d be better for all of us if I never had to deal with Ainsley in person outside of formal family affairs. There was no place for her in my life, not as anything more than an adopted cousin.
“I’ve kept him on ice just for you. My little homecoming present.”
“I’m sure Ainsley had something to say about that.”
“She can hold a grudge better than anyone. She probably hates him more than you do.”
“Don’t you worry, Mr. Iannelli.” Ricco twisted in his front seat. “Ainsley’s not squeamish. She’d probably pull the trigger for you if you let her.”
I frowned. How close exactly were the two of them? Had they slept together? I stiffened my arms to keep from lashing out. “Interesting,” I ground out. “Take me to him. We’ll deal with this now.”
“Don’t be the party pooper, Renzo. The family and men have gathered. It’s been a hard few years for all of us. They need this. You need this. Live a little. Party tonight. Work tomorrow. It’snot every day a man’s record is cleared.” I stared at him deadpan. “I’ve got your every indulgence waiting.”
I wasn’t amused by his pun. Our nightclub, Indulgence, was one of the businesses I had him purchase during my incarceration. It had been a way for us to diversify the outfit’s assets during the ongoing territory disputes since I got locked up.
“It’s completely safe and reserved. As our company policy states, nonrefundable reservation.” He waggled his finger at me. “And nonnegotiable. You’re going. It’s going to be fun, and you’ll enjoy yourself.”
