Page 36 of Bastard Prince
“I know, Enzo,” he said solemnly, his eyes looking like he was miles away. “I know what it means to have a woman you’d burn the world for.”
CHAPTER NINE
Enzo
My thumb hovered over the button, my indecision evident in the way my knee bounced under my desk as I debated my next move. I could feel the way my whole body was wound tight, the muscles of my shoulders aching from both stress and my two nights spent on the couch in the office atSin City,where I successfully avoided my wife’s phone calls as I tossed and turned over all the shit that was going on in our lives.
Right around sunrise on Thursday was when I realized I needed to get some answers, and that there was only one person I could call to get it.
I hated to admit that I needed assistance, but it seemed like it was a week for calling in favors.
Not that reaching out to my father was a favor,per se, but it felt like I was letting him down by not being able to handle my own shit. For so long, he had talked about how proud it would make him to have me in the Organization, how much he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.
And now that I was finally there, it felt like I was fucking the whole thing up.
Shaking my head and swallowing my pride, I finally hit the button, not giving myself another chance to back out.
He answered on the third ring.
“Enzo?”
“Yeah, Pops. It’s me.”
“What’s wrong?” His voice sounded strange, like he was whispering. I could hear voices in the back ground, the low murmuring of conversation indicating that he was somewhere public. “Are you safe?”
Now that had my attention. “Why wouldn’t I be safe, Pops?”
There was a pause, the noise muffling like he was covering the phone, and then he came back to the line. “Give me a moment, son.” Louder, he said, “Yes, of course, Lisa. Just let me go outside.”
Lisa?
Now he was pretending I was his daughter just to be able to talk to me on the phone? What the actual fuck was going on over there?
I waited—not very patiently—while he moved to wherever it was he deemed safe enough to continue our conversation, and when he came back on the line, I started firing off questions.
“Pops, what the fuck? What is going on? What do you know about this shit with Don Carlo and Francesca? Areyousafe?”
“One thing at a time, Enzo, please, because we don’t have much time.” He took a breath, and I waited, clenching my jaw against the need to push him for answers. “Tell me you are both safe.”
“We are,” I replied, mentally kicking my own ass for leaving Francesca alone for two days. I’d kept in touch with Vinnie, who assured me they were fine at the Lake Las Vegas house, but still. I was such an asshole. “Not for lack of trying, however. Do you know what—”
“Good, because things here are completely fucked up.” Hearing my father swear was a rarity, as he preferred to play the refined gentleman before he stuck a gun in your mouth. “With Carlo still in a goddamn coma, Silvio is running this place like his own personal amusement park.”
“Wait, you guys appointed Silvio as Don? Are you fuckin’ mad?”
“No,” my father growled. “Silvio appointedhimselfas Don. The Commission backed him up. Fuck if I can figure out why.”
“Jesus. No wonder you’re lookin’ over your shoulder.”
“That’s not all,” he said, his sigh resigned. “Some of our guys are disappearing. Most are turning up in the East River after a day or two, but not all. No one’s seen Dino in over a week. His father’s losing his mind.” He paused, then after a moment added, “His wife is surprisingly fine with it.”
I ignored the comment, mostly because it made me wonder how Francesca would feel about my untimely demise. After the last thirty-six hours or so, I wasn’t so sure she’d be any different than Dino’s wife.
Shit.
I needed to sort my fuckin’ life out, but first, I had to try and keep us both alive.
“How many guys are we talkin’ about here, Pops?” I asked, attempting to focus on what I needed to know.
