Page 37 of Flawed

I think he keeps them there to further display his power and how he thinks of them as nothing more than his sex slaves.

I lock eyes with him, requesting, "Boss, the women, too."

He leers at me again, and I think he'll tell me no. My insides panic. I'd like to think I'm not intimidated by him, yet I know what he's capable of.

Jacopo's one of the greediest, nastiest, most vindictive men out there. He's not mentally stable. At any time, he can crack. I know it, and everyone around him knows it. Yet there's nothing we can do. He's the head of the family. No one dares undermine him. And if I want to take him down, I have to play his game.

He finally looks at them and snaps, "Get your asses up and out of here. Now!"

The women rise. The Black one grabs the table. It's probably from dizziness due to not eating enough. She takes an extra minute longer to catch her balance.

Jacopo throws his hand on the table. "Whore! Get out. Now."

An Asian woman grabs her by the arm and helps her out of the room.

Once the door is shut and I'm convinced nobody can hear me, I assert, "Boss, we have a problem with Benny, Sid, and Jimmy."

Jacopo stares hard at me. The silence becomes stifling.

Benny, Sid, and Jimmy are the three top men in his organization who run his gambling operations. It represents a huge portion of his profits. "What would that be?" he seethes.

My stomach flips. It always happens when I'm lying. Or when I'm setting someone up. I have to be so convincing that he believes me. My head could get chopped off right at this table if he doesn't. I've seen him do it before, so I put nothing past him.

I take a deep breath and shake my head, scowling, attempting to look as disgusted as I can. "They're traitors."

"You accuse my top men of betraying me?" he barks.

The air in my lungs thickens. I try to keep my cool, accusing, "They work for the Marinos."

Jacopo doesn't move, yet anger crawls through his expression. His nostrils flare as he questions through gritted teeth, "What proof do you have?"

"They've been in cahoots with the Marino brothers. I've seen it. I heard it."

"And what did you see and hear?"

"They're planning on moving your operation to the Marinos. All of it, including the current debt on the street."

"That's impossible," Jacopo states, yet his fingers tapping the table tell me he doesn't believe his own words.

"Boss, I can assure you that this is what's happening. They gave Dante and Gianni Marino a copy of your book."

Jacopo's face turns pale. He takes his scotch and knocks the rest of it back. He grinds his molars so hard, I wonder if his teeth will break. He finally asks, "Where and when did you discover this?"

"Last night. I was down at the docks picking up the guns. It was dark, but I spotted the three of them near the gray zone. I thought it was odd since they have no business being at the docks. Plus, they've been acting sketchy lately."

"How?"

"I can't describe it. Just a feeling I had," I claim.

Jacopo stays quiet.

I continue, "Did you send them there, boss?"

He inhales a deep breath then rises and walks to the bar. He pours two glasses of scotch, hands me one, then takes a large swig from his own.

I don't care for alcohol during the day. I prefer weed, but I drink it to appease him.

He interrogates, "How do you know they gave Dante and Gianni a copy of the book?"

---