Page 88 of Savage Enemy

“Can you believe this guy?”

I will kill that son of a bitch when Val’s safe.

“Then she’ll give me more children,” I continued. “I’ll expand my empire in New York and move into Boston. With more sons as smart and fierce as Enzo, I can achieve that more easily. Valentina’s proven she can provide what I need. To me, that’s worth ten million and opening those trade routes.”

Reducing my girl to a proven broodmare who could provide me with more children made my gut burn. Beyond that, I had no plans for Boston, but that lie didn’t bother me.

Valentina could have been unable to bear more children, and I still would have offered just as much. And Enzo could one day choose notto follow in my footsteps, and that wouldn’t make me regret this decision either.

But men like Val’s father and her twin brother, who might have looked like her but lacked her intelligence and grace, would never understand.

So, to get them to agree to my terms, I had to barter on their level and speak their asinine, archaic language to be sure they understood me word for word.

Marco jumped into the conversation.

“This may be more profitable for the family than anything the Russians can accomplish when it comes down to it. And it’s a lot cheaper… we won’t have to pay off Canadian border patrol, and I’m assuming since Vignali’s boasting about owning the customs agents, that means we wouldn’t pay those bribes either.”

I shot him a warning look. That was not the plan.

He smiled, the meaning in his expression crystal clear.

“If you want my sister, this is what it’s going to take.”

Fuck.

Don Moscatelli turned his head in Marco’s direction.

“Yes, son, but how do I know he can come through like the Russians can? You doubt them, but I do not.”

I did the intervening this time.

“You know I’ll come through because unlike the Russians, I’m an Italian, same as you, and my word is my vow, same as yours. I have a reputation to maintain?—”

“Your father squandered that reputation,” Aris spat.

I smiled, maintaining my composure. I could keep my shit together a little longer, for Val’s sake, but I wouldn’t take any bullshit from the cocky little pissant who put bruises and burns on my woman.

It didn’t matter what deal Marco and I came away with, because when this was over, I meant to kill Aris myself.

“His, not mine,” I said, “Since his death, I’ve rebuilt my family empire from the ground up. My empire is much greater in size and worth more than my father’s ever would have been.”

“Mr. Vignali…”

Moscatelli’s proper use of my name in such a calm collected manner ignited something akin to hope in my chest.

Then it died beneath the weight of his cruel glare.

“I appreciate your generous offer,” he said, “but it doesn’t change the fact that the treaty forbids exactly what you’re suggesting.”

“True enough, Mr. Moscatelli, for now. But the men who formed the treaty and the men it was designed to control are all dead. We’ve entered a new era. The world has changed. Capone is no longer an issue. Neither is Luciano.”

Moscatelli dug his elbows into the chair’s wide leather arms and formed a steeple with his fingers.

“Maybe, since you’ve rebuilt your family from nothing and have no senior members to guide you, you don’t understand the importance of tradition.”

Fucker’s looking for any excuse.

“Not at all, sir. I absolutely value tradition, provided it doesn’t impede progress or profit. The treaty was intended to prevent wars from spanning across state lines, to keep the government’s attention elsewhere.

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