Page 109 of Dominance

“Son of a bitch, you mean.”

“I didn’t know his mother, actually, so I don’t know. He always reminded me of a skinny tree, though.”

The levity does help for once, keeping me from spiraling into a pit of my worst fears and worries.

“I think he’s using me to get revenge on us. Keep your enemy closest, you know? Along the way I’m bound to slip up, get into his debt. Or he’s just too pragmatic to kill us off. Wants to keep the twins and me around as figureheads, supporting his changes.”

“From everything we’ve seen so far, those changes are going to cause massive losses for certain people. Huge gains for others. Or he’s setting up his rivals and his allies alike to take the fall for him.” Isabella posits.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if Dom put contingencies in place like a trap door under anyone who works with him. Especially if Giuliano is right, and Dom was more than just a rat, that he was more deeply involved with the FBI somehow.”

“That would explain the two years in some ways too. Maybe he was under their protection,” Aless offers.

“I didn’t get that impression from Weller.”

“And you think we could ever trust a cop?” Ciro scoffs.

“Not entirely. But he knew Uncle Giancarlo, seemed to have a lot of respect for the old man.”

“My question is how Giuliano found out about Dom fleeing from the FBI in the first place.” Aless chews his lip.

“He said it was a slip on Dom’s part when he was seeking asylum. Just a hint that made Carcosa curious enough to contact some of his sources in international affairs. Besides, it’s too coincidental that two completely isolated incidents, one of whom Dom wanted us to wipe off the map, knew that specific fact. I think it tracks.”

“Then why did Giuliano and others back him or help him at all.”

“Simple. They all hated us,” Ciro says around a mouthful of pastry.

“That’s…” Isabella shakes her head, baffled.

“Pretty accurate, unfortunately,” Aless finishes, shrugging at his wife. “Mostly due to the fact that the Diamantes have been on top for so long.”

“Also why we got complacent…let our guard down,” Ero snaps, frowning.

The five of us stew over it for a while, the mood more than a little dour. Finally, Isabella perks up, catching my eye and smirking ruefully.

“So … tell us more about Gloria.”

“Yeah, like can she be trusted?”

Isa smacked Aless’s arm. “No, just…what is she like?”

Part of me wants to clam up. Shut down. But Isabella’s eager, bright eyes and possibly the fact that I genuinely haven’t had anyone to talk to in months, cracks my defensive barrier.

“Gloria is ridiculously smart. And adaptable, dynamic. One minute I think I’ve got her figured out, the next, she flips everything around on me.”

“She’s really got you all twisted up in knots. Ero and I have been saying it all along.”

“No we haven’t.”

“Fuck off. But she kind of does. Especially when she opens up, when we banter. I would swear she’s this funny, vibrant, genuine person. Then Dom shows up and she’s the spitting image of him.”

“You said you thought he had something on her, though. Maybe this is her way of surviving.”

“Have you just asked her? Put her on the spot?”

“Right, because that would have been the smart thing to do. Things have been too chaotic. And I’ve been too stuck in my head to think straight.”

“Especially when she’s traipsing around in those low-cut blouses,” Ciro snarks, winking at me.

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