Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
I shower in my room before changing into a suit and head towards my study. Vance and Dutch are waiting outside the door.
“There’s something I want to show you,” Vance says, nodding at me.
“Okay. Show me.”
He whips out his phone and hits play on the screen. There’s a video of Federico and Rosalia having hot, passionate sex. I only watch for a few seconds before pushing the screen away. “Vance, why did you record this?”
“You had a deal,” he says. “He broke it.”
“You’re right.” I nod before pushing my way into the room. Roberto and Federico are waiting for me.
They rush to their feet when I walk in. “Good morning.”
“Get that fool on the phone.”
Roberto sits across from me and pulls out a phone. I watch his fingers move quickly on the screen, and then it rings for a moment before a gruff voice speaks.
“Who the fuck is this?” he barks.
“Hello, Boga.”
“Valentino,” he mutters a few shocked seconds later.
“You haven’t paid for the olive oil you’ve stolen yet,” I say quietly.
He goes completely silent and I’m glad he’s not stupid enough to try and deny it.
“Do know how I deal with thieves?”
“Uh…”
“I tend to kill them, but I don’t want you dead. I kinda like your mother. She has a good attitude to life. Her poor knees give her hell, but she’s always smiling, always so damn proud of her successful son. All those lovely pictures of you and her grandchildren in her living room. Sweet, really.”
He goes deathly quiet.
“And because,” I continue, “I’m hoping this was all an oversight on the part of your accountant and a warning will suffice. Will a warning be enough, Boga?”
“Yes. Yes. It was all a bad misunderstanding, a mistake by my accountant. I will pay.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. I’ll get my accountant to resend you the bill for what you have bought and if you’re smart, you’ll pay it quickly and our paths will never have to cross again.”
“Yes, I will pay it,” he says thickly.
“Good.” I end the call and turn to Dutch. “Get Vinny on the phone for me.”
Dutch comes forward with the phone.
“Vinny,” I say warmly.
“Valentino,” he replies with equal warmth. No one listening to us could ever guess that we are natural enemies.
“Sal is after what belongs to me, and I want to take him down.”
“You don’t need me for that,” the cunning fox says. “You can take him down yourself.”
“He wants Terra de Barbieri,” I say quietly. “So he’s going out of his way to form what he thinks are strong alliances.”
And just like that he understood that I knew.
“He will never get it,” I continue, “but I’m giving you a chance to get into a really juicy deal.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Good.”
There’s another long pause. “What are you proposing?”
“Where can we meet?” I ask. “I’m not speaking about this over the phone.”
“You want us to meet so you can kill me?”
“You’re of no use to me dead.”
“Let me think about this,” he says. “It’s too big of a risk.”
“You have till the end of the day,” I say and hang up.
“He will take the offer,” Federico says. “He’s too greedy not to.”
“You look well,” I tell Roberto. “Did you enjoy Rosalia?”
Roberto’s face falls. “She rejected me.”
“That’s because you have no game,” I scoff and throw a sideways glance at Federico. “If it wasn’t for our deal, I’m sure Federico would have scored with her.”
Federico coughs and clears his throat. “You’re right. The girls love me.”
“How is your wife?” I ask.
“Fine,” he says with a frown, then snaps his mouth shut.
Roberto’s gaze volleys between us for a moment before he slumps in the chair. He knows me enough to know something is wrong, but he dare not ask.
The phone in Dutch’s hands rings, and he glances down at it with a smirk. “Vinny.”
I nod. “Give it to me.”
“Valentino,” Vinny says. “Before I take your deal, tell me what my share of Terra de Barbieri is?”
“Nothing.”
He sucks in an angry breath. “What the fuck?”
“It’s going to be a bustling fifteen-minute city. Many thousands of people will live there. Someone has to run the drugs and set up the brothels. You get to call all the other bosses and bring the deal to the table. Even better, you get to pick the sweetest cherries for yourself and share out the rest. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
Vinny knows a great deal when he sees it. He pounces on it instantly.
“I’ll take it. When can we meet?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
VALENTINO
Imeet Vinny two hours later in a modern cafe in town. He refused to meet me at any of my clubs so I’d let him choose the location since that was what made him feel safe. I’m not scared of Vinny and I walk into the cafe alone, but Roberto, Dutch, and Vance have eyes on me. If I die, I’m taking him down to hell with me.