Page 92 of Scandalous Kingpin
Athair wronged so many, but he did right by me and my brothers. Of course, that didn’t forgive his mistakes, and it would be naive not to acknowledge he wasn’t the man I always thought him to be, but he was gone. He could no longer cause any heartache, and that had to be the work of something bigger.
Louisa’s gaze flicked to Kingston’s and she softened.Interesting.
Before I could formulate a question, she uttered the answer to it. “It was thanks to Kingston. He’s the reason for my being. My everything.”
And there it was. She had found her rock.
My eyes darted to Juliette and Dante, who were discussing something with Kingston and my brothers, glancing out the window every so often.
“I hope Liana found someone too,” I whispered absentmindedly while another man invaded my own thoughts.
“If she hasn’t, I’ll see to it that she does.”
My head whipped to her in confusion. “What do you mean?”
She smiled, her eyes shining with slight mischief. “A friend—” She rolled her eyes and I straightened in my seat, my hand falling to my side. “I guess he’s a friend, I only met him recently. He’s going to help me find my twin.”
My eyes darted to Kingston before returning them to my sister and I flashed her a hesitant smile, unsure where she was going with this.
“Ummm, is Kingston on board with thisfriend?”
Louisa chuckled softly. “He is. We came up with the plan together and reached out to him.”
“Oh.” She seemed to know what she was doing. “Who is he and when did you meet him?”
She took my hand. Her excitement had me leaning in. “We met with Giovanni Agosti yesterday. He’s head of the Cortes empire now, which means we finally have a way in.”
My eyebrows scrunched. “Way in where?”
“Into human trafficking.” I stared at her in shock, my mouth gaped open. “Before Sofia was… executed…” She looked at me as if to judge my reaction, but she’d be waiting a lifetime; I grew up in this world. I knew how to school my features better than anyone else. “She said to get to Liana, we’d need a way in with a trusted family that participates in human trafficking.”
The latter was a hard drawn line for me. I hated nothing greater than the flesh trade. I’d come to accept certain illegal acts of the mafia, but there were certain things my brothers and I wouldn’t stand for. There might not be a lot of decency among the criminals, but this was one area most of us were in agreement on.
“I don’t follow,” I admitted, hoping I’d heard wrong. “What does Giovanni Agosti have to do with it?”
She gave me a pointed look. “He’s the head of the Cortes empire since his uncle Perez’s death.”
My mind whirled, and realization struck like lightning. “And he’s involved via the Marabella Mobster arrangements.”
“Exactly.” Then she added, “Well, Perez Cortes no longer participates in anything since I killed him.” Her lips curled in a savage smile. “Revenge is sweet.”
I told myself not to judge her. One had to do what it took to survive in the underworld, but I found myself unable to bite back my next words.
“But doesn’t that… bother you? That Giovanni’s your friend and he has a hand in human trafficking. All the innocent?—”
“Giovanni doesn’t support human trafficking,” she cut me off, slightly appalled. “He’s been working from different angles to undermine it for years.” My shoulders sagged in relief as she continued. “The whole thing with him is complicated. He only recently learned of his connection to the Cortes family. He was going to end it all when I killed his uncle, but then I asked him not to. Not yet, anyhow.”
My hands shook at the thought of her playing any part in such a sick industry, no matter her justification.
“I see.”
Louisa’s hand squeezed mine. “I know. It’s horrible that I’m standing by and watching it continue for another day, but I need to…”
Her words faltered and I covered her hand with my free one.
“I understand.” I would try to, anyway. “And I—” I glanced at my brothers. “We’re going to help you. That’s what family is for.”
Chapter Forty-Two
