Page 54 of Rubies and Revenge

“This is not what I had in mind,” I grumble.

“Whatdidyou have in mind?” Darius asks.

“In my wildest imaginings?” I pick up my beer again and take a long pull. “A RICO sting that brings in half the Accardi Family for questioning and ties them up in scrutiny and court proceedings for fucking months, if not years.”

He drops onto the other end of the couch. “And all we got was more cops and more problems.”

I don’t disagree.

He falls back against the pillows. “I’d rather our people took care of this. They’ll actually keep the Den safe without scaring off half our customers.”

“We’ll make it up.” We have to.

“Will we?” He mutes the television and drops the remote. “This is just the beginning. Hell, it’s not even the worst that’ll happen. Can we handle this?”

“We can.” And I fully believe that. The Tamayo Family is more than capable of taking on the brunt of the Accardis’ wrath. Especially if it means garnering a place among the Cardinal Families.

My phone buzzes with Jimmy’s reply.Marcus’s snake and Alonso’s weasel.

“Holy shit.” I sit up straight.

“What?”

I pass the phone for Darius to read. Jimmy’s speaking in code, but it’s part of my job to know who these people are and to whom they matter. Marcus’s snake is his favorite cousin, Dan, who’s well known as the devil on Marcus’s shoulder. And Alonso’s weasel is Frank, his favorite crash and dash man, the one who “accidentally” stumbles into the wrong hotel room that just happens to be where a key councilman is having an affair with his mistress.

Not big fish, not crippling to the Accardi Family, but a kick aimed right for the gut. The wind knocked out of them.

“Okay, maybe he’s not theworst,” Darius grumbles.

“We’ll have to thank the DA.” I take my phone back andshoot a reply to Jimmy then tap it against my chin. “And with more than votes and an invite to the engagement party.”

Darius groans. “Are y’all really having a theme andenforcingit?”

“Yes.” I snort, quite sure the main reason we have a theme at all is because I refused to fuck her the other day. “And unless you want Zarina to twist your balls off with her bare hands, I suggest following it.”

“Maybe I’d like to see her try,” he muses.

I bite down on a laugh, the story Jimmy told about the handsy boy in coat check coming to mind. My gaze drifts up to the ceiling as if I can see through walls and into her room.

“She’s been awfully…absent,” Darius murmurs.

I’ve only seen her once since Thursday morning, the morning I had to walk away from the most tempting offer because my consigliere called and I couldn’t ignore it. Now it’s Saturday, and Zarina hasn’t left her room except for food, coffee, and to rip Darius and I new assholes when we pushed back on the theme for the engagement party—Wonderland. Fucking White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, and Cheshire CatWonderland. And while I might be looking forward to seeing the four most powerful men in the city dressed in costume, I am not keen on wearing one myself. But Zarina informed us both that anyone off-theme that is not security detail will be denied entry and neither of us were exempt.

“What’s she been doing on her computer?” I pick at the label on my beer bottle.

Darius shrugs. “Tech says she’s planning the engagement party and binge-watchingSense 8.”

I furrow my brow. “For three days?”

He doesn’t think much of it, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. I watch Logan fade to black and glance back up to the ceiling, to Zarina, the two of them somehow linked in this fucked up play we’re performing. One whose curtains neverwould have opened if Zarina hadn’t sought me out at the Den that night and struck a deal.

All to buy time. All to find a way out of her betrothal to the most brutal mafia prince in Louredo. And she’s just planning a party? Watching television?

I set my beer on the coffee table and stand, phone in hand. “We’re going to the Den.”

“What? Why?” Darius is dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, a direct reflection of my own outfit, both of us having thought we were in the for the night.

I shoot a message to Logan, inviting him out. “Multiple reasons. I want to keep an eye on the cops and the protestors, check in with Angie, and show District Attorney Logan Anderson our gratitude.”

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