Ravaged By Passion

“Pretty much.” He grins and I shake my head, still smiling, even if nothing about this is funny.

It feels good to be back here with Fynn. We’ve always been close, but the last few years haven’t been great for our friendship. I’ve been pushing him and everyone else away, and the only reason we’re still talking is because he has refused to let me go full-on hermit. He kept reaching out and inviting me to these meetings, even when he knew I’d ignore him and refuse to come, and he always made it a point to stop by my place with an update on what they talked about afterwards. He kept me in the loop and kept our connection alive, even during my worst days when all I wanted was to make the world burn.

I missed all this. I miss my family and my brothers. I wish we weren’t at odds, but I’m still happy to be back in this house and not twitching with anxiety over every little sound.

“I’ll do what I can about falling in line,” I say and slap Fynn on the shoulder. “I can’t promise perfect obedience though.”

“I doubt Casso expects it.”

“Good.” I turn away and start walking, but Fynn calls out.

“I’m glad you came,” he says, nodding once. “It hasn’t been the same without you.”

I nod back. I’m glad too, even if I can’t say the words.

I head down the hall, thinking about that interaction, wondering how I can justify going against Casso’s orders while still thinking of myself as a loyal member of the Famiglia, and feeling torn between a thousand different needs and wants. I have to do right by my family, but I also have an obligation to the men that work beneath me. I want to balance those things, and maybe Fynn’s right, maybe there is a happy medium.

I could be the one to find it.

I take the stairs to the second floor. I find Jeanie’s room and knock instead of barging in for a change. She answers in a pair of soft cotton shorts and a tank top, her hair messy.

“Let’s talk,” I say, pushing past her into the room before she has the chance to invite me inside.

She sighs and shuts the door. “About what?”

“You told me that Malcolm bribed a government official to get your mother fired from her post office job. I assume that as at the Arcadia branch?”

She nods, looking surprised. “How’d you know?”

“I had a few of my guys do some digging under Romano’s supervision. Turns out, her supervisor there got a promotion to the Maricopa regional office soon after your mother got the axe, and he just so happens to be up for retirement this year. Imagine that. He’ll get his full pension on top of whatever bribe he got.”

She stares at me in surprise, taking it in, before starting to pace. I glance around the room—blankets on the couch, pillows askew—and take a deep breath through my nose. It smells like her and tastes like her in here. It’s strange how the room’s taking on her traits, like it’s fitting around her shape, and how badly I want to fit around that shape too.

“You want to follow up on him,” she says finally, tugging on her hair. “You think he’ll talk?”

“He’s the weak link in this. The guy’s name is Mark Kalinsky and he’s got a lot to lose if we go over his head to the bigwigs in the post office about one of their employees taking bribes and firing people without cause. We don’t have concrete proof, but he doesn’t know that. He’s much more likely to spill something than Malcolm.”

“Right, okay,” she says, pacing again, nervously pulling and releasing the hem of her tank. “We approach the guy and, what, just accuse him? He’s just some guy so it should be easy, right?”

I laugh softly and shake my head. It’s never easy, but I don’t tell her that. “Let me worry about the details. I want you to be there though.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow. We’ll leave early, before he heads into work.”

“I can do that.” She chews her lip and nods to herself. “I can’t believe I never thought of this. All this time and he’s been under my nose.”

“Even if you did, tracking him down wasn’t easy. You might never have pulled it off, and I only did because I’ve got people in government and friends in every little corner of this city which made it a lot easier. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“If he admits to it, then what?” She faces me, looking nervous. “We rub it in Malcolm’s face?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Whatever we learn from this guy is a wedge we can use, but we’d better move fast and be smart. My brother just told me I have two weeks to close the deal before he swoops in and takes it away.”

Her eyes widen. “What?”

“Casso’s not happy about me dragging my feet.”

“He can’t do that.” She sounds panicked.

“He’s the Don,” I say sharply, harsher than I should. I can’t blame her for losing it. This is her life too. “Don’t forget that. He’s in charge. What he says, we do.”

She curses and crosses her arms. “All right then. We’ve got two weeks. I guess we’d better get our answers from Mark tomorrow.”

“If we don’t, it’s back to square one.” I walk past her, but before heading to the door, I pause to gently slap her ass. She glares at me, blushing, and I smirk back at her. “See you bright and early.”