Page 264 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I need to show them that I can get what I want and not have to use brute force to grasp it.

So I won’t kill Frankie. Yet.

I’ll use him, instead.

He’s gonna find the guys who financed Sal and his crew to pull off this heist and he’s gonna get back everything he stole. They have our drugs, and my pride, in their fucking back pockets. I just need a plan to force Frankie into cooperating with me.

Or leverage.

“Sal has to be punished,” I grunt. “He can’t get away with this, especially after he was fired by Matteo. He can’t walk outta here. He needs to be carried out. In a fucking bag.”

Ray nods.

I stroke my chin. “But Frankie…I have a different plan for him. We need him to find out who orchestrated this whole thing. Let’s face it, Sal ain’t that smart. Someone else is behind it, and Frankie can find them.”

“How do you know he won’t cut and run?” Ray asks. “If he knows what you did to Sal and Dario, he won’t wait around for you to take a crack at him.”

I glance at Sal who is slumped over in the chair, bawling like a baby.

“Frankie’s sister,” I murmur. “She may be just the bargaining chip we need to win this whole game.”

Ray nods. “Great, how do we find her?”

“Sal will do just about anything right now to stay alive. I’m gonna make him a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“A deal where I dangle freedom in front of his ugly ass face in exchange for information…and cooperation,” I say, a plan hatching in my mind as I speak. A sinister smile plays at my lips.

Oh, yeah, it’smygame now.

I rake a hand through my hair, my brain now fizzling with ideas as if I’ve just been injected with some serious caffeine.

I stop in front of Sal. “So you want the rest of your crew to go down in flames, huh?”

He glares at me, his eyes red and puffy. He couldn’t lead a crew out of a goddamn paper bag. But I’ll humor him. For now.

“They deserve it. I didn’t steal anything. I just fucked around with one of your girls.”

I jab a finger at his chest. “You organize this shit show, Sal?”

“No! It was Frankie, I swear!” he cries out. “And I already made sure he’ll be at that meeting spot you gave me. If you let me go, I’ll help you find whoever else he was working with! Let me show you that I can be loyal to you again!”

Wow, this guy has really done a complete one-eighty in the past few minutes. Now he thinks he can actually have his job back, too? Does he really believe I’d ever go along with that? Eh. Fuck it. Let him believe what he wants, as long as I get my drugs and handle the traitors quickly and somewhat cleanly.

“I want what was stolen, too,” I say through gritted teeth. “All of it.”

“I can get it for you,” he says. “Please, Roman. Give me a chance to make this right!”

I pretend to think about it before responding. “Okay, Sal. I’ll give you a shot. But you know what’s going to happen if you fuck up, right? Do I need to show you?—?”

“No!” he yelps. “I’ve got it. And if Frankie needs some more convincing, his sister works at the Grammercy Tap Room. I’ve only seen her once in the whole time I’ve known Frankie. He doesn’t let any of us get near her. I only know where she works because I saw the caller ID on his phone one night when she was working.”

Frankie is the one I want to punish most, that cocksucker. I want to do it for Matteo, for my family, but especially for my father. My former best friend is now my mortal enemy, and he’s the one who will pay the steep price for this betrayal. And if I know Frankie, he will definitely try to run as soon as he gets the chance. So I need my leverage.

Sal is singing like a fucking fat canary right now, and I should be happy. Thrilled, even. He’s about to sell everyone out, and he’s practically paving a path back to my money.

But a knot in my gut tightens when I hear her name, and I’m suddenly back at the restaurant with booze puddling in my lap as I gaze up at her snarky grin and get lost in her blue-green eyes.

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