Page 14 of Curse

I roll my eyes. Franco always wants to control the narrative, to steer the ship. But not this time.

“Sure, Franco,” I say, my tone breezy as I type the address into my phone’s GPS. “I’ll do that.”

8

Matti

When Franco’s number pops up on my phone, I send it straight to voicemail. I don’t like Franco, I don’t like talking to Franco, and now is most definitely not the time for his bullshit.

I’m just pulling up to Dragovari Tower, the building I own and live in in Tribeca, after traveling all day, and all I want is a shower and a change of clothes before dinner.

Franco calls back, and I send the call to voicemail not just once or twice but three times. He keeps calling. Finally, I answer it.

“What.”

Franco sounds out of breath, and he’s already talking when I answer the phone. “—sister, Siena, has a flash drive. I told her to bring it to me, but she’s a real cunt, and she’s not listening to me.”

My blood boils immediately hearing him call Siena a cunt. “Franco, what the fuck are you talking about?”

Franco takes a deep breath. “My sister, Siena. She went down to SouthCarolina—“

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“She found a flash drive. She called me. She asked about One Pearl Park.” Franco is still trying to catch his breath.

Well, that’s something I didn’t know.

I let the silence hang on the line. This fucking guy. While I wait for the moron to get the words out, I see Siena in my mind’s eye again, sad and tough and fucking beautiful. How is it possible that she’s related to this asshole?

Franco gulps in another breath. “She said ‘I think I know why Mikey was killed.’”

“Why would she think Mikey was killed, Franco,” I keep my voice even so that my question sounds like a statement. It’s obvious that Mikey was killed, but we could always play it like it was an accident as long as people like Franco don’t run their mouths. “And why would you want to talk about that on thephone?”

Not only is this guy going to get himself killed one day, he’s going to fuck us all up in the process. He’s a mess, talking business on the phone, and he’s far too emotional to be useful for long.

For all I know, he’s recording the call. No, he’s not smart enough for that. But someone else on the job might have gotten wind of his double life and decided to trap him and tap his phone, putting us all in jeopardy.

“I mean, uh…”

I clench my fist. I can practically hear Franco’s wheels turning. If Aurelio would just give me the green light, I would take this fucking moron out in a heartbeat. With the way he’s talking about Siena, I may just do it anyway. He’s not a made guy. There’s no code protecting him.

Franco coughs. “I, uh, I just thought you’d want to know. Imean, she might fuck us up if she ends up talking to the wrong people. It could cause… problems.”

I end the call, frustration and urgency rippling through me in turns. Of course Siena found the damn thing I spent all day looking for. I have to get it back from her before she gives it to the wrong person—like Franco.

The thought tightens like a vise around my chest. Franco is Aurelio’s bitch, and he would surely hand it right over to him, along with all the details of how he got it. That right there is enough to end Siena’s life. Aurelio doesn’t like loose ends, and he sure as hell doesn’t like complications that could trace back to him, especially ones that could fuck up a job that has been in the works for months now.

His beef with Mikey isn’t exactly a secret. No one but him and Mikey know exactly what is on that flash drive, but everyone knows it has information that Aurelio doesn’t want to get out. We all knew Mikey went on the run because of it. If it gets out that the flash drive is back in New York and Mikey, a made guy in Aurelio’s own family, is dead, everyone will assume that Aurelio is the one who did it. He will be on the defensive, scrambling to clear his name in order to avoid a revolt from his men.

The best way to do that? Pin the murder on someone else. And who better than the person who has the flash drive in her possession? Especially if that person is a Bellamorte.

Dammit. If Franco puts this on Aurelio’s radar, it’s going to get messy. Very messy. The kind of messy that Siena won’t walk away from unscathed. That can’t happen. The only way to protect her is to find her and get the flash drive back myself.

I call Vin, and he picks up on the first ring. “What’s up?” he grunts, his words muffled like he’s eating.

“Was Mikey working the Pearl Park job?” I ask, cutting straight to it.

“Yeah, Aurelio had me doing advance work, so I put him on surveillance.” Vin keeps chomping, oblivious to the storm brewing on my end.

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