n us and the Morellis, a big one.”
“I mean, you guys aren’t exactly friends, are you?”
“Not exactly, but there’s no war between us, either. Someone wants there to be.”
Thinking aloud more than talking to Salvatore, Ethan said, “Who would benefit from that?”
Salvatore shrugged. “Someone who wants both of us weaker, maybe so they can take over? There’s been rumblings, people who’d like to see a new regime in power. Morelli’s too powerful to take on at this point, he has too much money, too much influence, and the right guys on his payroll; his guys almost never get caught.”
“Joey Morelli got busted a few years back.”
Salvatore rolled his eyes. “That was stupid shit, he’s out soon. Nothing like what could be, though. All that he’s into…” Salvatore trailed off, shaking his head.
“Yeah, he’s a fucking sociopath,” Ethan agreed.
Salvatore shrugged one shoulder, looking a little resigned. “It is what it is. He’s not as bad as his old man. He’s got his hands in a lot more legitimate business though, he’s getting too big to topple.”
“Well…”
“What?”
“I mean, he’s not bulletproof,” Ethan reasoned.
“Guy doesn’t trust his fucking shadow; no one’s putting a bullet in him anytime soon. Even if they did, they’d have to take out half his family or the retribution would be…” Salvatore shook his head, looking almost disgusted.
The whole situation made Ethan uneasy.
“Well, listen, we don’t want to get involved with this shit. I can’t get involved with this shit.”
“I just need to know what you know about Tito. When did you last talk to him, where was he last? Anything that could help. Anything that may pop up now that you think about the time you spent there, either one of you.” Finally he glanced at Willow, but he seemed remotely uncomfortable.
Willow swallowed, shaking her head. “I try not to think about any of that, but… honestly, my interaction with Tito was pretty minimal. My interaction with anyone but the other girls was pretty limited, and even the girls… they just cried and didn’t really move from the beds.”
“There was the one girl, the plant,” Ethan pointed out.
“Yeah, but she’s dead,” Willow replied, casually considering what she was saying, what she had witnessed.
Ethan grimaced, not wanting to consider the ways Willow must have desensitized since everything happened. They’d barely gotten past her nightmares, the last thing she needed was to stir up memories of that time.
“I don’t think Willow can help you,” Ethan said, looking to Salvatore. “I’ll think back, look over my files, see if I can pull anything up, but… I think it’s best to leave Willow out of it.”
“Well, we need to work quick,” Salvatore stated. “Morelli has a sister, as well, and there was an incident the other day… It’s possible they haven’t given up turning us against each other.”
Back to frowning, Ethan said, “Why are you so worried about the Morellis?”
“That’s none of your business.” Then, with a level glance at Willow, he added, “Just like your thing is none of Dad’s business, huh? All of this stays between us.”
“Dad doesn’t know?”
Salvatore shook his head, wordless, but immovable.
“You don’t want me to tell him,” she said, catching on.
“That would probably be for the best.”
Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she said, “Why?”
Narrowing his right back, he said, “’Cause it sure would be a shame if it slipped my mind to keep your secrets.”