Sure enough, one of them comes to me, speaking low in my ear that his boss wants to see me. I shrug, and seemingly very compliant, I follow him to the back.
He opens a door for me to step in, before closing it in his wake.
It seems I'm being regaled with a private audience.
The room is dark, a low lamp on the desk in the back allowing just enough light to see the silhouette of a man. Smoke is coming from what I assume is a cigar, and glinting eyes watch me attentively.
"You've been trying to get my attention for a while, Agosti," he rumbles, his voice a deep, rough growl from decades of smoking.
"I'd say it worked," I joke.
It's imperative to keep my playful mask on, even though I suspect the man in front of me might know the truth.
"Take a seat," he motions in front of him, and I oblige.
He wasn't an easy man to find, and this wasn't my first attempt. But it would be worth it in the end—even if I'm selling my soul to the devil.
"I'm surprised you took the bait this time," I say, inclining my head and lighting a cigarette of my own.
"I felt sorry for you, boy. You've been to... what? Ten of my casinos in the last year? And you're always counting cards... tsk, tsk. I thought you would have learned your lesson after the shootout or the beatings, but here you are—again." His tone is filled with amusement, so I know that even though we're technically enemies, he might admire my perseverance.
"You know," he continues, leaning back in the shadows, "initially I thought this was about your sister. But it's not, is it?"
"No. It's not," I reply, even though it takes everything in me to put that tidbit of information out of my mind. It had been even harder to put my thirst for revenge aside so I could bargain with him. But I find that for Allegra, there's nothing Iwouldn'tdo.
Even join hands with the person who had my sister killed.
He's the only one with the interests and resources to help me achieve what I want—total annihilation of the Agosti empire.
"Of course," he smiles, "you wouldn't be sitting so calmly across from me then. But I figured this out before I invited you in. You see, you fascinate me, Mr. Agosti."
"Do I?"
"There's something about you that doesn't fit the mold. I must say, I'm rarely surprised by people. But you've managed to do just that," he rises from his seat, his back to me as he stares out the window into the night. "Is your wife worth all this?" he asks, and I'm momentarily stunned. But then I realize who I'mtalking to—one of the most elusive drug lords in America. Of course he'd have earseverywhere.
"She is. She is my heart," I reply, unashamed of what Allegra means to me.
"I envy you. Maybe if my heart had been alive I wouldn't be here either…" he trails off. Taking a deep breath, he turns to me, stepping from the shadows so I get my first glimpse of him.
He's a handsome man, even in his fifties, with a strong physique and shrewd eyes that seem to see through everything.
"Let's talk business, shall we?" His open invitation is all I needed to put my offer on the table.
"I'll go straight to the point. I'll give you New York as long as you help me take down Rocco and the Marchesi. I want them to never see it coming—to hit where it hurts."
Once I'd found out the circumstances of Romina's death, I'd been able to piece togetherwhyshe'd had to die. And the list of suspects had narrowed significantly.
But there's only one person powerful enough to dare something like that, and desperate enough to attempt it—Arturo Jimenez.
He'd correctly assumed that Romina's death would drive a wedge between Agosti and Lastra, and further leave the five families in shambles, going at each other's throats and not noticing a smaller presence slowly entrenching itself in their territories.
Jimenez had long wanted to move his business to New York, and I'll just make his dream come true.
"That's a rather generous offer," he raises an eyebrow, doubt clear in his gaze.
"I don't care about the famiglia as long as I get my revenge," I add.
"Hmm," he narrows his eyes at me. "The made men I've encountered in my time would rather die a painful death thanbetray the famiglia. Why should I trust you? This could very well be a trap."
