Page 25 of Mafia and Gold Digger

His fingers drum slower.

I narrow my eyes. We’ve talked a few times since I arrived in New York, and he messaged me an hour ago, telling me to meet him here. “Your message was a little vague,” I prompt. Nobody is seated near us, and Christian’s soldiers will make sure to keep it that way while he’s conducting business.

He sighs and drags a hand down his face, the mask of Capo slipping slightly. “Shit’s fucked.”

I huff out a laugh. “Mildly put. Got more than that? Names? Any more leads?”

“Everyone we’ve looked into has come back clean. I’ve got names but...” His hand curls around his glass of whiskey, and he lets out another terse sigh. “No more leads so far. That’s why I’m handing it over to you now.”

“You’ve got nothing more?”

“There’s a lot of people who it could be.” He narrows his gaze on me like I’m challenging his method of handling it. “A fucking lot of them have agendas and are fucking vipers. You know that.”

I raise my hands. “I wasn’t criticizing.”

Christian nods and swills the amber liquid in his glass. “I’ll get you a list of who’s left to look into, and you’ll handle it from here. You’re in charge of this, Saint. You handle it however the hell you see fit.”

“Is it just the casino? No skimming off other revenues? The guns or whatever other pies you got your fingers in?”

“Just the casino from what I can see so far. But we need to check everything else with a fine-tooth comb, especially as it’s been a few months now too.”

I look at him carefully. “I can see the money’s an issue, but what else is going on, Christian?” I know him well enough to know there’s something else. Because although he’s been worked up about this situation each time we’ve spoken about it, it feels like there’s more going on today.

He drags a hand down his face. “There’s a rumor flying around that the Croatians are setting up a new trafficking ring to bring girls into the U.S.”

“So? We already knew they’re into that sort of shit.” While we don’t traffic people, the Croatians are well known for it.

“The rumor includes that an Italian is involved in it—investing in it and being a partner in the scheme. But someone would need a lot of money to buy into a scheme like that. And I’ve got a bad feeling that the missing money might be something to do with that.”

My mind starts ticking. “And if the Italian involved is one of our guys, then the Feds might trace the money back to the Imperiosi. And that would fucking implicate us in the human trafficking.”

Christian nods with a grim expression.

“Fucking Christ,” I mutter. This is worse than I thought. “I’ll get on it right away.”

Christian fills me in on a few more details. While he talks, my eyes flick across the casino to where Emerald leans against the bar again, tapping away on her phone.

And as I study the captivating girl in the gold dress, Christian’s fingers snap in front of my face, and I glare as my eyes swing to him. “What?”

“Got something better to be doing or can I have your attention?”

“You’ve had my attention. I was listening.”

Christian snorts. The downside of growing up alongside the man for a good part of your childhood is they know all your tells. My eyes focus on him as he leans forward to see just exactly who’s captured my attention. His brow arches. “Emerald?”

I give a noncommittal shrug. “I was just chatting to her while I got my drink. What’s her deal anyway?”

Christian settles back in the booth and shakes his head. “She’s not a bad kid. Ronnie seems to treat her well enough, or at least, I hope he does. She’s got problems though.”

“Problems?”

“Family stuff. Anyway, why are you even interested? I already told you, Emerald is best friends with my niece and practically family.”

“So?”

“So, that means she’s fucking off limits, understood?” He fixes a laser stare on me when I don’t respond. “Plus, there’s hercondition.”

“What condition?”

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