Page 94 of Tormented Diamonds
The truth is Flynn’s account is still tangled up in a wad of external string code. Barring a divine act of God, the window to that sidecar will never open. But they don’t know that, and if I can control the narrative, they never will.
The real answers offer little reward and a shit ton of risk I’m not willing to take. I don’t trust Valentin Carrera as far as I can throw him, which preferably would be off a fucking cliff. However, I gave him my word I’d keep his name out of this. Conversely, I refuse to out Owen’s talent for sweet talking nuns into committing fraud. His connections are much too valuable to risk tarnishing that shiny badge.
However, my main reason for evasion involves an ambush by two highly driven yet short-sighted FBI agents. The fallout from the Authority finding out Becca was in an interrogation room with them would be catastrophic. It wouldn’t matter that she handled their onslaught better than any made man. Once they realized Lattimore and Gibbs connected Declan Flynn and my father to a trafficking ring, it’d be game over. They’d see her as a liability, and me as the only existing link to the bloodline that landed them on a federal radar.
It’s a battle I’d rather not fight.
Toscano’s stare digs deeper. He’s unnerving yet unreadable, like a wax figure possessed by a demon. “So how did Declan Flynn end up charcoaled at a New Jersey portwarehouse?”
Here’s where Anton and I nearly ended up throwing punches. My paranoid underboss was adamant that involving Becca in the story would open up a wormhole that’d lead back to the two FBI-shaped thorns in my ass. While plausible, I argued it was a short-sighted concern and his ability for mosaic truth needed a serious overhaul. Toscano knew Flynn was the one who attacked Becca. Any grand finalenotinvolving her would raise a lot more eyebrows.
“Because that’s where he took my wife after abducting her.”
“And you knew that … why?”
“I keep a close watch on what's valuable to me, Benny. Oh, and because I found out what my father was shipping through Providence. Hint, it wasn’t drugs.” I shift my attention back to the man with everything to lose. “Care to take a guess what that might be, Carmine?”
His glass hits the table. “Why the hell would I know?”
“I figured since you have such a vested interest in my love life, you’d have some insight to offer. After all, we were almost family.”
“Gianni…” Anton warns under his breath. I glance to the side to find his features pulled tight, his gaze lowered to where my new “ultimate fuck you” sits tucked inside my jacket. “Remember what I said about the key to longevity?”
How could I forget? It was that first day atCucciola’safter he revealed he’d aligned with Sartorre to bring down my father.
“The key to longevity is using situations and people to your advantage,”he’d said.
It’s a subtle reminder, but an important one. I’m so thirsty for Carmine’s blood that I’m swinging my sword too wildly. One wrong nick and we go down with him.
So, I press the blade to Carmine’s throat and start backinghim into a corner.
Toscano’s nostrils flare. “Are you telling me Marcello was operating a flesh trade?”
“The hits just keep coming, don’t they?” I offer dryly. “Unfortunately, my father stepped on a few toes along the way, and well, the best way to eliminate competition is from the outside; am I right, Damiano?”
The king of Connecticut scowls. “Why the fuck do you keep singling me out?”
I struggle to hold back my smirk. Guilt is a man’s worst enemy, and in Carmine’s case, his undoing. The guy’s poker face is shit. Then again, I’ve had him dancing on hot coals since my return from Providence. “Because you keep opening your mouth.”
“Christ…” Anton mutters.
“Enough, both of you,” Toscano snaps, his patience thinning. “I need confirmation of this, Gianni. That’s a serious allegation.”
Another slippery slope. One I have no choice but to roll the dice on.
“Before George Reese was murdered, he confided in Becca that while meeting with Flynn at the Port of Providence, he stumbled upon a shipping crate full of women,” I say, watching his expression harden like wet leather left out in the sun. “The only thing an effort to intervene got him was a threat to traffick his daughter.”
“Reese was killed six days ago.”
“If that’s your subtle way of asking if I knew all this during our pleasant phone call the other day, you’re probably not going to like the answer,” I say bluntly, arching an eyebrow as his hand disappears under the table. “However, before you get all trigger happy, you may want to hear the rest of the story. I promise it’s worth the price of admission.”
It’s as if I threw a brick across the table. Immediately, Carmine’s chest caves in, his white Q-tip head snapping to the side. “Benito, you can’t seriously be considering?—”
“You have thirty seconds.”
I only need ten.
“You all heard the rumors coming out of Providence for yourself. Marcello knew the writing was on the wall, so once the numbers stopped adding up, Flynn got written out of the equation. My father mapped out a plan to shift Providence onto me all while keeping his business partner in the dark.”
