“Did your man actually see anyone from the Bertoni family?”he asks.
“No,” Carmine admits.“Just the name being thrown around.”
“Keep listening,” I tell him calmly.“But don’t move on anything yet.”
“You got it, Boss.”
I end the call.
Silence settles over the room again, thicker now.
“Bertonis,” Nico muses.
Dario pushes away from the wall and begins pacing the length of the room.“So we’ve got people using the Bertoni name while someone tries to assassinate you and start a war between the Russos and the Morettis.”
“That’s one interpretation,” Nico replies.
“It’s also the obvious one.”
“Not necessarily.”Matteo shakes his head slightly.“The obvious one is that someone wants us to believe that.”
Dario stops pacing.“Meaning?”
Matteo finally turns away from the window, his expression calm in that dangerous way it always gets when he’s already three moves ahead of the rest of us.
“Meaning whoever organized the ambush knew exactly what would happen afterward.”
He gestures faintly toward the four of us.
“We start looking at every family in Texas.Every alliance.”
His gaze settles on me.
“And one of the most important corridors in the state runs straight through Brownsville.”
That’s the truth of it.
Anyone who controls Brownsville controls half the movement of goods, people, and money between Texas and Mexico.
The Bertonis matter, which is why my father had invited them to be part of the Four Corners Alliance.
Matteo’s voice lowers slightly.“And that’s exactly why we’re not letting suspicion dictate our next move.”
“So what’s the move, big brother?”Dario watches him carefully.
Matteo doesn’t hesitate.
“We strengthen the alliance.”
The words land heavily.
Dario already knows what he means, and his eyes narrow.“Fuck no.”
As if he hadn’t spoken, Matteo goes on.“Giuseppe Bertoni has held that corridor for three decades.His son Emilio knows every mile of it, every checkpoint, every unofficial crossing.If someone is trying to use that territory without permission, Giuseppe will want to know just as badly as we do.”
Dario exhales through his nose.
Matteo’s eyes are uncompromising.“There’s one more alliance our family needs to secure.”
