“So you…” Frustrated, he growls. “What? You tossed her to the fuckin’ wolves?Here, Boss. She did it, not me. Don’t hurt me.”
“No, dickhead. Agosti was the last of his family, which means no one is out here looking to punish his killer. Minka, on her own, is not a target for anyone in New York. But one family hitting another? ItforcesCordoza to act. If I separate Minka from the family, his obligation to squish people I care about ceases.”
“So instead of having her back, you toss her in the trash?” He throws his hands in the air. “This is worse than when I just thought you were a stubborn mule. This is worse than‘hey, my wife killed a guy, and I’m cranky about it, so imma need a minute’.”
“You need to calm the fuck down.” I cast a wary glance toward the door. “You’re inside a police station right now, Charlie.”
“Your wife did somethinggoodfor society. Putting the law and ethics and personal opinions aside, Agosti was a predator and a piece of shit. We saw firsthand the little girls he’d swept off the street and sold to someone else. My daughter is almost the same age as the youngest in that group, Arch! Mayet did what others were not brave enough to do, but instead of herhusband backing her up, he tucks his tail and kowtows to the don?”
“I kowtow to no one,” I snarl, stalking three paces forward and meeting his furious eyes. “But I will walk the line to ensure we both live. Cordoza favors her, so he’s pulling strings in New York and smoothing some shit out. In the meantime, I’m wiping the table clean every time she finds a mark and sets him up to be chopped down. I’m working two sides right now, and if I slip, it all comes undone.”
“Cordozagaveyou permission to whack those guys on the list?” he sneers. “Agosti is off-limits, but you have the old dude’s blessing to delete the rest?”
“None of the names belong to a New York founding family, so Cordoza has no clue what I’m doing, and wouldn’t care even if he did. Minka doesn’t know what I’m doing, either. But that’s why I look tired, asshole. That’s why I’m stressed. And that’s why I’m keeping her away. I’m juggling chainsaws right now, and if you shoutMinkaordeleteone more fucking time while we’re standing inside a police precinct, I might be inclined to put your name on the list, too. Don’t fret about Mia; she’ll always have a home with Cato. And since he’ssoselfless and kind, he’ll probably lead Fifi toward his bed. Ya know, to keep the family intact.”
“Remember the other day when I rearranged your fuckin’ face?” His nostrils flare with unconcealed rage. “I’m ready for round two.”
“So swing.” I glance at his swollen, adrenaline-filled chest, then further down to his balled fists. “Swing on me and get us both suspended. Fabian’s already looking for a reason to knock our skulls together. If I’m going down, I wouldn’t mind havingyour blood on my knuckles while we’re sitting in the holding cells.”
“Getting my ass arrested only furthers Cato’s mission of romancing Sera and adopting my daughter.” He makes a show of unclenching his hands, of stretching his fingers, and cracking his knuckles. “I’d rather do something safer. Like help you hunt the pricks Minka is hunting.” He turns on his heels, his shoulders jacked and pumped full of blood. Circling the table and sweeping up the marker, he peers back and smirks. “Can I help?”
I choke on a scoff and crush my palms to my eyes. Because I honestly thought we were gonna roll, and the adrenaline sizzling in my veins only makes my knees shake more. “Fuck.” I draw a noisy, lung-aching breath. Then I drop my hands and exhale. “I’ve set up an auction for tonight.”
He lowers into the chair he began in, flopping down and dropping his legs open wide. “An auction for what?”
“Girls.” I tilt my head left and wait for the pop of my neck. Then I go right and do the same on the other side. “Soph conveniently collated a list of buyers just for me, and I have the details of seventeen girls these pricks wanna buy. Agosti disappeared with their money, as far as they’re concerned, but the stock is still in the city.”
“Because they’re on the news.” He tilts his head forward, sighing and resting his chin on his chest. “Okay. So you’ve reached out to the buyers and invited them to an auction. Is this an on-the-book, Fabian-approved police sting? Or is it the kind of thing we never tell the brass about, ever?”
“The second. I removed one last night and made it appear like he packed up and ran. As the girls’ investigation proceedsand these details are discovered, it’ll appear as though Abate got spooked and went into hiding.”
“Where is he really?”
I flash a wild, wide smile. “Industrial warehouse by the train depot. They were pouring fresh concrete yesterday.” I shrug. “I have it on good authority he stumbled and fell in.”
“Jesus.” He snorts. “Ya know, most of the time, you’re just you. Little ol’ Detective Malone. My best friend. The coolest uncle who knows the power of buying a little girl’s affection with an ice cream cone. But sometimes…” He brings his eyes up, locking onto mine. “Sometimes you’re Timothy Malone the Second’s son. It would do me well to never forget that.”
“You’re safe, ‘cos I love your daughter. Detective Banks, on the other hand, is about to swallow concrete if he doesn’t stop looking at me sideways every time we’re in the same room.”
“Well…” Fletch’s lips quirk into a crooked smile. “To be entirely fair, his problem with you is that he suspects you’re dirty, ‘cos of where you come from. Bad seeds, bad apples, ya know?”
“I’m not dirty!”
“And to prove it,” he brushes his hand over his lips, hiding his smile, “you threaten to put him in a concrete slab.”
“I’m…” I stop and frown. “Shut up.”
“I’m just sayin’!” he laughs. “If we’re looking at this objectively, he might be the good guy and you, my dear friend, may be the villain with a scar on his face.”
MINKA
“Oh… well…” Disappointment warms my blood as Mia races across my apartment, and, on the other end of the line, Mihalisclears his throat.Geez, it’s almost like I was genuinely looking forward to our date.“That’s too bad. I washed my hair and everything.”
Cato perches on the counter just two feet from where I stand, shooting nasty, vein-popping glares my way.
“I was looking forward to our evening together. Are you sure you can’t reschedule?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t. Something has come up, and it’s one of those can’t-be-repeated kinds of opportunities. But I wouldloveto see you another time.” His voice drops into a sultry, thinks-he’s-seductive tenor. “I could call you later tonight and see what you’re up to. A late dinner might be nice. Or we could do breakfast.” He exhales a soft, hungry-like groan into the phone. “I won’t lie… I haven’t stopped thinking about you all day. If I had this my way, I’d buy you dinner tonightandbreakfast in the m?—”
