“When,” Roman started, “did I ask you to move a bike?”
Blackjack’s jaw tightened. “Yourcapo,your son. Salvatore. He said it came through, anonymous client, large pay, six figures. It was your containers, your men. Salvatore’s domain.”
“That may be,” Roman said. His voice had cooled. Not with anger, with something else. Confusion. “But I did not authorize any special cargo involving some motorcycle. Nor did I order my men to involve your club in such a delivery.”
“You telling me your sons are freelancing now?” Blackjack asked. No mockery, just steel.
“I am telling you,” Roman said carefully, “that this is the first I am hearing of any such transaction. No one brought me paperwork. No one asked for my blessing. If anyone is slipping things through my docks without my knowledge, I have a breach. If my own blood is making deals behind my back, I have an even bigger one.”
It was the first time I’d ever heard Roman sound off-balance. Not out of control. Just genuinely surprised. The Don of Atlantic City, the man whose fingerprints were on every dollar that mattered, had been left out of the loop.
That made my stomach drop. If he didn’t know, someone had gone rogue. Someone was dangerously playing with fire.
“One of my men is in critical condition because of this,” Blackjack said. His tone was level, but I could feel the fury coiled under it. “We walked into a hot drop blind. We think the Steel Serpents showed up on our roads. Guns were drawn. Somebody used ourbacks as shields for something, and now we could be right smack in the middle of a brewing war.”
On the other end, Roman inhaled slow. “Steel Serpents,” he repeated. “That is a name I have not heard in quite some time.”
“Old friends of your friends?” Blackjack asked.
“Old tools of theirs,” Roman said. “Ones I believed were discarded long ago.”
“Well, it looks like Philly still has a grip on the handle,” Blackjack said.
Roman didn’t argue. “You said your man is in critical condition. Who?”
“Miami,” Blackjack said. “You’ve seen him. Road Captain. Blonde. Tattoos. Pretty.”
Roman made a faint sound. Could have been recognition, could have been annoyance. “And the bike?” he asked.
“With us,” Blackjack lied.We had no idea where it was. “Which is the only reason you’re hearing about this now and not from a cop, a reporter, or a rival.”
“I want it back,” Roman said. No hesitation. “Whatever it is, I need to know why they want it. Whatever foolishness the Vincinos think they are playing at, or whoever is involved, that bike belongs to us until I know what’s going on and can get to the bottom of it. It belongs to my control.”
“Not tonight,” Blackjack said.
If there was a temperature in that room, it dropped.
“Careful,” Roman said. Still calm, butthe undertone had sharpened. “You work for my family, Alice. Do not forget that.”
“We workwithyour family,” Blackjack said as a reminder. “Don’t forget that. We bleed for your docks, your casinos, your clubs. Tonight we bled for a job thatyoudidn’t even know existed. I don’t know who’s using your ships to smuggle secrets through the city. Until I do, that bike stays in our hands, and I want heavy compensation.”
Roman was quiet long enough that I started counting heartbeats. “You are putting yourself between my family and a serious complication,” he said at last. “That is a dangerous place to stand.”
“Standing in front of gunfire is our job,” Blackjack said. “But I pick which direction I face. Whatever game the Vincinos or whoever this is are running, they dragged us into the middle without asking. They dragged you into it too.”
On the other end, paper rustled. Roman exhaled, long and slow. When he spoke again, his voice had changed. Less Don, more man.
“I will look into this,” he said. “Quietly. My sons, my consigliere. If someone moved this behind my back, Iwillfind them. To move something without my blessing, something that pays so high and is equally as hot. I don’t like it when people do things that put my empire at risk. And you know I respect our partnership. So, in the meantime, that bike, you keep it hidden. You keep it untouched. And you trust no one who comes asking for it, even if they come with myname on their tongue.”
“You can count on that,” Blackjack said.
Roman made a soft sound that might have been approval. “We will meet soon and talk more on this,” he said. “Face to face. Me, you and the truth. When your man is stable enough that your mind is not split in two, you call me. Hopefully by then I will have learned more.”
“I’ll call,” Blackjack said.
“And Alice,” Roman added. “Thank you for bringing this to me before you brought it to anyone else.”
Blackjack’s mouth quirked. “You pay us to keep your headaches private.”
