“It’s Luc,” I informed her. “Frate?”
“Aidan’s called another Summit. I assume it’s tied to his conversation with Kitty?”
“Probably. Eva called. Will loop you in in person. When’s the Summit?”
“This afternoon.”
“Cristu. Okay?—”
“He’ll send coordinates later. Where are you?”
“O’Donnelly’s building.”
“I’ll meet you there. Kitty?—”
“Comported herself beautifully.”
“Bonu. You can tell me more on the ride over to wherever the hell we’re going.”
“Speak soon,frate.” I cut the line then explained what was going down to Kitty.
“He’s acting fast.”
“He is. Too fast. Reacting instead of acting.” I pulled a face. “And you Irish say that we’re the hot-blooded ones.”
A smile danced on her lips before it faded into nothingness. “What’s going to happen, Stan?”
I cupped her chin. “There’s no way for me to answer that.”
“What do they want?”
“Inroads into the two biggest cities in the States.” I hitched a shoulder. “Even the rich and famous need access to hookers, guns, and drugs. The Albanians might be animals, but they have long-established trafficking routes and zero morals?—”
Her expression turned glacial. “This is about you.”
“I doubt it.”
“Stan, get real. Red and C-L-O?—”
“C-L-O is a closely guarded secret!”
“Just Red, then. It’s the new heroin, Stan. You single-handedly created a pandemic, and they want the cities where theSicilians have massive footholds and you have no idea how many people are addicted?—”
“It’s expensive! We priced out the majority of buyers.”
“And made it so only the elite can afford it. The elite who, for some reason, think only with their penises and their hindbrains.”
I let that sink in. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “Not only that, but it’s a drug with wider potential. Especially if it’s tweaked. Maybe instead of coming up with a cure, you need to temper its effects.”
“You wouldn’t have a problem with that?”
“Down that path lies fewer deaths. I have to find comfort in that.”
I gripped the back of my neck. “Do you want to stay here? I don’t have time to drive you home, but I can call in Luigi.”
“Nah. I’ll go back to Lucas’s. Cat sit for him while he’s out on business.”
