Page 20 of The Apprentice
“You don’t honestly believe he’ll tell us anything, do you?” Daire frowned at me.
I blinked up at him. “Of course not. Elio isn’t stupid, and with Pellegrini cut off from them, he won’t ever find out anything of importance from the Italian mob.”
“Why give him the extra cash?”
“To make him go away without trouble.” I shrugged. “It was worth it to know Elio’s got something we want and hasn’t told us about.”
He gave me an impressed grin. “Smart.”
“I know.” My chest swelled with smugness as I flounced to my side of the car.
He chuckled as he unlocked the vehicle, and we both got into our respective sides. As soon as he hit the ignition, Daire put his foot down, and the SUV took off back toward the main highway and home.
I stared out the window, taking in the large houses we passed and the snowy landscape of the Hamptons. Everything was slow paced here, unlike the city, where the streets were filled with cars and people. I preferred the quiet, and I loved Sloan’s home—I had since he took me in as a kid and later as his apprentice, much to my mom’s distaste, which she made sure to tell me the last time I’d talked to her. But I didn’t regret a moment, even with the punishments that came with my failures. Sloan was the only father figure I had.
“Question time,” Daire murmured. “Pellegrini. If you were the boss, what would you do with him now?”
“Hm?” I glanced at him and settled into the leather of the BMW. The seats were toasty and the inside of the cab was warm from the heater blasting. Outside, winter was in full swing, grayclouds clumped together with snow beginning to fall again. I loved the cold—it came with skiing and snowmobiling, some of my favorite hobbies, even though I hadn’t done them in a while.
“If you were in Sloan’s position, what would you do with Pellegrini now?”
I thought about my options carefully. This was the most substantive conversation Daire had shared with me in a long time, and if it meant we’d have to discuss work to get him to talk more, I would take it. Usually, when we went off to find out information about the rat, he would keep his words to the bare minimum. When we fucked, it involved a lot of grunting, groaning, and sobs, but he didn’t have a lot to say except to order me around.
“He’s basically useless. He gave the book to Folliero, and now the Italians don’t want anything to do with him. He’s a threat who could call in his cop buddies to come after us because we didn’t pay him what he wanted.” I took in Daire’s strong jaw. I couldn’t keep my eyes to myself, even if I wanted. “If I were Sloan, I’d send Ardan to deal with him. Or maybe ask Cillian, Aspen, and Rowen to take him for some fun and games.”
Daire smirked and drummed the steering wheel with his fingers, a sign I’d made the right choice. “Choose, then make the call.”
“What?” My mouth popped open in surprise. “That’s Sloan’s decision, not mine.”
“Your uncle wants you to start making some choices on your own. He trusts you, despite what you think.” His gaze slid over to me and the softness in his eyes had my stomach melting. “He wanted me to guide you to be a boss, Fionn.”
“Sloan’s going to be around for a long time,” I said in a rush, panic seizing my chest. I couldn’t imagine a life without my uncle. As far as I was concerned, Sloan was the only family I had. Mom and my brothers had all but forgotten about meonce I’d gone to live with Sloan. Mom called randomly—mostly when she wanted money. The last time I’d talked to her was a few years back. They lived in Erie, Pennsylvania, near the lake. I sent them money every month to help my two younger brothers, Diarmuid and Bellamy, with college fees and other expenses. I hadn’t actually talked to my brothers for over ten years, though. I never tried and neither did they.
“Yes, he is, but the mafia life is dangerous. You never know what’s going to happen.” Daire smiled sadly. “He wants you prepared, and you made a choice with Pellegrini, a good one. Call Ardan to take him out.”
Swallowing became difficult. I’d never made the phone call to Ardan about killing someone. I’d never needed to because Sloan always made them. The fact that Sloan trusted me enough to decide how to handle someone was both terrifying and exciting. After the outburst yesterday, I was sure I’d fucked up one too many times.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my phone from the inside pocket of my jacket and scrolled the names, finding Ardan’s, and then tapped it. A few rings later, Ardan answered.
“How can I help, sir?” Ardan’s sharp, blunt voice was sobering. On the other end of the line was an assassin, ready to kill at my orders. I would finally take another person’s life through one of our men. A first of many, probably.
Sloan was in the process of having someone design an advanced phone app that we could send secure messages on. Our last one had been compromised, so we had to go old school until everything was confidential again. The DEA and government agencies were upping their techniques on us.
I glanced at Daire from the corner of my eye and got a nod in response. Taking a deep breath, I straightened in my seat. “How are you today?”
“Good.” I heard Ardan’s controlled excitement through his voice, even though he stayed professional.
“Do you remember a man named John?” I asked, recalling the things Sloan had recently implemented to avoid directly saying what he wanted done, in case we ever had anyone listening to our calls. He’d never cared before, but the heat on us was growing.
“No sir, I don’t. What was his last name?”
“I don’t remember. He was a guy who lived across the street from me when I was younger. I think my father knew him.” I glanced at Daire, who sent me a wink. “He was a funny man. He loved a woman with the last name Pellegrini.”
“Really?” Ardan snorted. “An Italian, I presume.”
“Of course. With a name like Pellegrini, she must be, right? Last time I heard, she was living in Mastic Beach.” It was simple, to the point.
“Don’t know her. If you’ll excuse me, sir, I need to go to work.”
