Page 94 of The Apprentice
In those months, a lot had happened in the Company, which meant our resources were spread thin. Sloan had sent two of our best men, Cillian and Aspen, along with Jamie Shannon, to Miami to send a message to Thiago Reyes. They killed Thiago’s cousin, Joaquin, in retaliation, and that meant Sloan was prepared for even more attacks from Reyes’s men.
“What did you work out?” I asked from where I lay on the bed beside Fionn, who was curled over the book that Folliero had given him. The code had driven Fionn crazy, and it had takenevery part of my Daddy-ness to distract him when he needed a break.
Fionn turned to me, eyes bright with pride. “A meeting time, date, and place. There was a phone number, too, but it was a burner phone and out of service now. It was all too long ago.”
“So what’s the next step, boy?” I stroked my fingers down his naked back, tracing the ridges of his spine until I reached his tailbone. “That’s over eight years ago. Too long.”
He sent me a grin. “Usually, yes, but I know something you don’t, Daddy.”
“What?” I shuffled to sit up and cuddled in closer to him. Laying my head on his shoulder, I stared down at a pile of numbers and words on the legal pad he was using. My gaze met the date and address that he’d finally figured out.
“This—” He tapped the address with the end of his pen. “—is a parking garage across from an independent bank. Real Time Financial.Thatbank is owned and run by Ciro Armetta, the cousin of Alonzo Armetta.”
“One of the five families’ bosses,” I said.
In New York City, there were five Italian families. Folliero was the kingpin of them all, but they each had their own territory. They belonged to Sloan in a lot of ways. They couldn’t do anything that would affect the balance of power in the city without the permission of Elio, then Sloan. There was a lot of tension between the families, which had been the cause of some gunfights and, ultimately, the Giordanos trying to invade Folliero’s dominion. It was a mess that Sloan had to fix.
“Right. Well, I say cousin, but if you want to get technical, he’s Alonzo’s first cousin once removed. The son of Alonzo’s cousin.” Fionn tapped the pen harder against the legal pad. “What you may not know is that Ciro is paranoid. He believes everyone is out to get him, and I also think he’s one of those preppers. Last I heard, he even has a bunker.” He rolled his eyes.“Anyway, he is renowned for keeping all his security footage.Allof it. Which means that even though this meeting happened an eternity ago, he probably still has what we want.”
I stared at him in awe. “How do you know all of this, boy?”
A flush spread across his pale cheeks even though he grinned. “Because I like to know who we’re dealing with, and that includes family members. I don’t trust Alonzo as far as I can throw him because that man is a psycho. Have you seen how he treats his own son?” He shook his head. “So, I did a deep dive, and I have dossiers on each member of the five families...and the Sabbatinis in St. Loren, the Leawoods in Ft. Leawood, and the Scullys in Dallas. Actually, I have dossiers onallour allies and enemies. Anyone who has anything to do with the Company.”
I frowned and turned him so our chests were touching. “Does Sloan know this?”
He shrugged, his blush deepening. “Yes and no. When he wants data about someone, I give it to him, but I don’t think he’s aware of how much I dig. I know everything, from how much money they have in their bank accounts to when they take a shit.”
“How?” This was entirely new information about Fionn, and I was thrown for a loop.
He laughed. “Guys in the Company mock me, but there are those outside who respect me enough to work for me. Diaz had informants and so do I.”
“Fuck, boy. You make me so proud.” I dragged him in for a deep kiss, and he moaned, eyes slipping closed as he rocked his hardening length against me.
I took him apart, making him cry out as I bent him over and ate him out, and he came with the kind of force that made me miss being young. But the sight alone had me painting his ass and lower back with my cum.
Then, I wiped him down, and we dressed. We headed out of my penthouse to my car, which I used to drive us to the bank in the middle of Manhattan Valley. Fionn walked like a man on a mission, and I merely followed—his shadow and soldier. I was his in every way, both in body and loyalty. My life belonged to him, and every day I saw him in a new light. He was stronger than he let our men believe. He was also cunning, but he was quieter than Sloan about it.
A few choice words from Fionn, and the employee he talked to practically fell over her own feet to run and get the manager.
As soon as the door she disappeared through opened again, I sized up the man who stepped out. Ciro wasn’t what I’d imagined. Helookedlike a young man with short dark hair, light green-blue eyes, and a five-o’clock shadow. He was taller with a sinewy build. He had to be older than Fionn. If he’d owned the bank for over ten years, he’d have to at least be in his mid-thirties. His gaze was suspicious.
Fionn greeted him with a nod. “Ciro Armetta.”
He frowned at Fionn as he came to a stop in front of him. “Fionn Killough. What are you doing here?”
“Is that how you say hello?” Fionn grinned and held out his hand.
Ciro hesitated before he shook the offered palm. “Hello, and how can I help you?”
I narrowed my eyes at him and gave him a once-over. Was he seriously a prepper? He seemed too...calm. Reserved.
Fionn released his hand and pointed at the entrance we’d come through a moment before. “There’s a parking garage across from this bank, and we need video footage from eight years ago. I know you keep all the security footage, and I want a copy.”
Ciro stared at Fionn for a long moment, tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek. His gaze cut across the bank, almost asif he was searching for someone, before he tilted his head to silently ask for us to follow him.
He took us inside the building and down a wide hallway with other office-like doors attached. He stopped in front of the farthest, down at the very end, and typed a code into a keypad. The door opened, and he gestured us inside. Once we were past the threshold, he followed us in and closed the door behind us. Numerous locks engaged, and the sound was ominous, but Fionn didn’t seem surprised as he casually took a seat at a table. The area reminded me of a police interrogation room without the two-way mirror. The décor was plain and boring, all whites and creams, and there was only a table and four chairs, two on each side, as furniture. There was, however, a wall of televisions with live footage from inside the bank and outside, too, including the garage across the street.
“It’s safer in here,” Ciro said as he marched over to a seat on the opposite side of the table from Fionn. He collapsed and sighed in relief. “That was close. There’s always ears everywhere. You can never be too careful.” He gave me a look and waved his hand at the chair beside Fionn. “Sit, sit!”
