Page 13 of Mafia Handbook

“You said worshipped, did she divorce him or something?”

“Things would have been easier if she had.” Kevin reached for his coffee, taking a healthy swallow. “Frank was on the brink of war with another Family. A few weeks before the baby was due, a closed meeting was set and Frank had no choice but to attend. While he was locked in this meeting, Lena went into labor. Frank’s men got word to him, but by the time he got to the hospital, his daughter was born and his wife was dead from an aneurysm.”

“Fuck.” Bash swore, rubbing the tired muscles at the back of his neck.

“Frank completely shut down, refused to let the staff take his wife to the morgue or have anything to do with his baby. His mother stepped in, took charge of the baby and arranged to have her son sedated so they could prepare his wife’s body for burial. Months later, when the state contacted the family for a name to put on the birth certificate, Frank waved them off, so his mother stepped in and named the baby after her mother. Once Frank came out of his fog, he handed his mother a pile of cash with instructions to take care of her granddaughter. A little over a year later, he met and married Skylar, moved her and her two children Oakley and Gilbert into his home. Momma Rossi tried to get Frank to take Milena, but he refused, so she kept the girl with the stipulation they attend Sunday dinner as a family. Fast forward to about three years ago when Frank got a hair up his ass and wanted to expand his business. Trouble was, another Family owned the property Frank had his eye on and had refused several lucrative offers. Frank did some digging on the leader of the other Family and then called a sit down, where he offered him something Frank knew the guy wouldn't refuse.”

“Which was?”

“His daughter, Milena.”

Leaning over the table, “He sold his own daughter?” Bash whispered, an edge of disgust coating his words.

“He tried,” mimicking Bash’s stance, Kevin looked over his shoulder to make sure the waitress remained behind the counter. “Frank may have made it a point of ignoring his daughter, however she kept up on him. When she got wind of the potential deal, Milena did a little digging of her own, found out this was the third time this Family had tried to pawn their son off.”

“Who was the Family?”

“The Cavanagh’s”

Bash held on to his uncle’s gaze as a silence fell between them. Having grown up in Boston, he was familiar with the name and their reputation.

“When she refused, Frank cut her off completely, putting out a blanket threat to anyone who offered her any type of help.”

Bash recalled his conversation with Milena and how he’d heard the bite in her words when she mentioned her father.

“What about Oakley, why not offer her instead?”

“Oakley isn't a Rossi, something Frank never lets her forget. He pays for her fancy condo and her tuition, something I’m sure Skyla bargained for when she turns a blind eye.”

“And Gilbert?”

Nodding, Kevin dropped his gaze to his fingers as they rested on the handle of his cup. “Goes by Gil, been in and out of rehab almost as many times as his mother. Frank threatened to cut him off, but last I heard he was still in school, living in some fraternity house on campus.”

Shifting his attention back to his nephew, “Is Milena in some kind of trouble?”

Bash took in a deep breath before giving his uncle an abridged version of what was going on.

“Are you going to help her?”

Bash nodded his head slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on his uncle as he raised his cup to his lips.

“There isn't a handbook when it comes to dealing with the Mafia, Bash. You know all too well how dangerous it can get if you step where you don't belong.”

“I do,” Bash agreed, unwilling to argue he’d faced men more dangerous than Rossi ever dreamed of being, and won.

“Then do me a favor.”

“Sure.”

“Send me the bill for whatever it costs to help Milena. There may be hundreds of men who are too frightened to face Ross, however I’m not one of them.”

Reaching into his pocket, Bash pulled out a wad of cash, slipping off several bills and placing them under his saucer.

“One more thing before you go,” Kevin shot out his hand, covering Bash’s. “Be nice to Milena, the two of you have more in common than you realize.”

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