He grabbed Raphael around the throat, slamming him against the wall. “Do not fucking test me on this, Raphael. I will end you and I will do so with a smile.”
“Kill the only living son of Romeo Giavanni? Go ahead, Antonio. I don’t mind. In fact, I’d gladly take death right now. Kill me. End my sorry existence. I’ll watch from hell as you’re hunted down. You think you can protect her, but you can’t. Not from the Giavanni. Come clean, Antonio. Bring her into the fold or you will be the one regretting it as you stand over her box.” Raphael stepped away from him. “Fucking pussy.” He bent down and grabbed the file.
“Have you ever had someone in your life who made you forget who you were? Who looked at you with so much … joy, that you really thought you were someone else?” he asked.
“The enforcer is asking me if I’m pussy-whipped?” Raphael asked.
“I want to know.” He turned to look at his friend. “You claim to be my friend. I know you would only piss me off and want me to kill you like a friend would, well, give it to me straight.”
Raphael sighed. “I’ve never had anyone look at me like I’m … someone special. There is a woman, she’s out of my league. I’m too high above her to lay any kind of claim on her.” He gritted his teeth. “But I watch her. I see other men watch her. She doesn’t give anyone the time of day.”
He shook his head. “No more of this. We need the funds, the evidence, and him on our payroll today. We’re already losing too much money by closing up the brothels. We’ve got a lot of high clients who want access to expensive pussy.” He slammed the file closed.
Antonio watched his friend go, seeing the real, raw pain of a man who couldn’t have what he wanted.
He didn’t know the woman Raphael spoke about, but he sensed from his observation that she was close to home. After glancing around the office, he pulled out some money and handed it to the man who’d led them inside the secure room with all the police files.
He joined Raphael in the car.
It was rare for him to do much in the way of work with a capo but with how delicate this was, it needed to be done.
“What’s your girl’s name?” Antonio asked.
“She doesn’t have a name, Antonio. Don’t think to use her against me either.”
If the girl didn’t have a name, it only meant one thing. She wasn’t born with one, and to the outside world, didn’t exist. She was a slave to the Giavanni crew.
He ran a hand down his face.
If Raphael was falling for a slave girl and his father found out, there would be murder. The women and some of the soldiers were born from slave women. They kept them in the brothels as maids and servants and used them as they saw fit. They had no voice and were just laborers. Free labor.
Shaking his head, he didn’t want to think about Raphael and his current fucked-up situation. “Does your father know?” he asked.
“No, and he will never find out. When he feels it’s the right match, I will be betrothed. My bride will be the one for me.” Raphael glanced at him. “If I was you, I’d use every single opportunity to keep your woman close. Don’t lose her, Antonio, because you like how she looks around you. How she doesn’t know your truth. You’re living a lie. One that if you’re not careful will bite you in the ass. Believe me, you don’t want that.”
They pulled up outside of the hospital. The cop in question was waiting for his wife. They spotted him taking a call outside the building. He didn’t look so put together, unlike the last time they spoke to him.
Raphael climbed out of the car and Antonio followed suit. The cop in question, Steven Hayes, looked up and laughed. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got to deal with someone.” He hung up. “Want to screw me some more, is that it?”
“I’m guessing something has gone array with your medical insurance,” Antonio said. “They won’t pay for all of your wife’s needs?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Come and talk to us,” Raphael said.
“I’m not getting in a car with you. You think I don’t know how this works?”
“Then come and talk to us and you can decide how this goes.” Raphael didn’t listen to the man telling him no and marched him down to the car, where they sat. Antonio sat in the back, one hand already on his gun.
“Your wife needs her chemo and everything to kick cancer’s ass, so we’re going to offer you a deal.”
Antonio let Raphael lead. Out of the two of them, Raphael had the most power, the higher rank. He was merely the guy who sent a message. He hurt people to keep them at bay. He thought about Ellie. What would she think of who he really was?