Page 324 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“Okay, fine,” I say. “Say I do believe you? How the fuck am I supposed to stop them?”

“They’re planning to hit you again tonight. You need to be ready for them. You need to move your shit before they show up. Get things outta that storage room as soon as possible.”

“And why the hell are you telling me? They’ll kill you if they find out.”

Frankie lets out a dry laugh. “I’m dead either way. Nobody will work with me because of my dad. I’m no use to the Volkovs now that I’ve already delivered for them. I should be the one rotting in jail,” he mutters.

“So I hear,” I say.

He looks up at me, his breathing labored. His eyes are heavy, riddled with anger and dejection. They used to be full of fire, but now they’re just filled with defeat. “You don’t know what it was like, Roman. To be yanked out of a life you loved and thrown into a new one. A fucking horrible one where you constantly have to look over your shoulder because you never knew when someone might jump out and slit your throat. All because of shit your father did.” He takes a deep, shuddering breath. “Do you know how many times I needed to run into the fire because of some shit he pulled? I bailed him out so many times because if I didn’t, I knew my mother and Chella would get hurt. Or worse. I know Chella thinks I’m just like him, but the reality is, I needed to be, so I could stay a step ahead of him.”

“What the hell happened with the Volkovs, then? Why’d you do it?”

“I was desperate,” he mumbles. “We had no money, shit was being repossessed left and right. We’d just lost Mama. I just snapped, I guess. I was tired of always being the one to bail out Papa and I figured this could be an easy way to make some quick cash. I had buyers lined up.” He shrugs. “The car was supposed to be empty. It wasn’t. The soldier manning the stash saw my face so I knew if I didn’t kill him, the Volkovs would come back for us. Papa got there just in time to save my ass from the cops. He took the fall, I don’t know, I guess because he thought my life was worth more than his on the outside.” He lifts an eyebrow. “Guess not, huh?”

I kneel down in front of him, looking at the beaten, broken down man who used to be my best friend so many years ago.

I give a swift nod. “I’ll be ready.”

“You can’t be there,” he says, his forehead pinched.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“If you’re there, they’ll know I told you about it. And they’ll come after Marchella and my dad and kill us all. You need to stay with her. I know you can protect her.”

“Why should I give a damn what happens to you or your father?” I growl.

“You shouldn’t. But you won’t hurt Chella like that,” he says. “You won’t let her lose the rest of her family. I know you, Roman.”

“Not anymore you don’t.” I hover over him. “You’re a piece of shit, Frankie. And I don’t owe you a goddamn thing. But Chella doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“You have the power to keep her safe and to keep her from getting hurt again,” Frankie mutters. “Don’t let the Volkovs win. I told you what you need to know. Get your guys on it and watch over my sister.”

I stare at him for a long minute, my arms folded over my chest before meeting Bobby’s gaze. “Make the call,” I grunt. He nods and pulls out his phone to give the order as he walks out of the room.

The corners of Frankie’s lips curl slightly upward. “What are you out to prove this time, Roman?” he says. “That baby bro can actually deliver for the family? That he’s just as much of a badass as the rest of the Villani men? That he can keep the empire protected?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I growl.

“You were always looking for your time to shine. You fucked around a lot because you knew you could get away with it. But then when you wanted to be taken seriously, nobody believed you’d amount to anything.” He lets out a menacing laugh. “I remember it all. You rebelling and then trying to find your place in a family that thought you were a useless fucking peon.”

“Fuck you!” I bellow, pulling him up from the chair and grabbing him by the shirt collar.

“You’re as weak and stupid now as you were back then,” he snarls, clearly not giving a damn that I’ve got a gun and he can’t protect himself at all.

I turn and throw him against the cement wall, letting out a loud roar that reverberates in the space.

And the sonofabitch just laughs.

At me.

The one thing I’ve been trying for so long to overcome is the one insecurity he just tore open like a wound that’s been scabbed over for over a decade.

“You really think I’d help you, Roman? Huh? After you fucked me over and kicked me to the curb back in Sicily? Little fucking prince. You knew who was gonna butter your bread and you weren’t gonna do anything to screw up your place!”

I launch my fist backward, ready to let it fly against his already bruised and swollen jaw.

Then I remember his wrists are taped together.

---