“Oh shit,” Dante said. “Is that for real?”
I leaned back and nodded. “But she says her father doesn’t get along with her uncle anymore. Says they’re not in the family.”
Dante whistled and shook his head. “That’s bad,” he said. “That’s really bad. Mathis is going to be livid.”
“I hope so.”
“That’s the plan, huh? Piss off the boss?”
“Make him do something stupid,” I said.
“You two are insane,” Colleen said. “You’re talking about a mafia war like it’s nothing.”
Dante grinned and held out his hands. “Because to us, sweetheart, a mafia war is just the price of doing business.”
I smirked at her and picked up my coffee. I took a sip and enjoyed the warm, strong espresso. She stared at us then looked away, out the front window. I let her take that in and turned to Dante.
“I’m trying to decide what to do with her,” I said.
“Can’t let her go,” Dante said. “You know that.”
“I know.” I leaned back and stretched. “But nobody’s reached out about her yet.”
“Anyone know you have her?” Dante asked.
“I’ve been leaking it,” I said. “Spreading the rumor.”
“Have you heard from the Club at all?”
“No,” I said. “Which is strange. They know we did the hit, we took responsibility that night. But they haven’t said a fucking word about it.”
“I told you,” Colleen said, “my uncle doesn’t care about me.” She kept staring out the window. “They’re not going to bother talking to you before they hit you back.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “You know so much about their business now?”
She looked at me and shrugged. “Maybe I do.”
“I thought you weren’t a part of your family anymore,” Dante said.
“I’m not,” she said. “But I know my uncle well enough to know that he’s not going to talk before getting revenge. He’s just going to hit back.”
I looked at Dante, an eyebrow raised. “Maybe she really does know him,” I said.
Dante laughed. “That was your assessment too, huh?”
“That was my guess, at least,” I said. “I figured Mathis wasn’t the type to bother with diplomacy, not when I murdered three of his men in cold blood like that.”
“Well shit, Steven,” Dante said. “You’re not fucking around, are you?”
“Not at all,” I said, and looked over at Colleen. She was frowning, staring at me like she was seeing me for the first time. I tilted my head and gave her a vicious little grin.
“You want him to attack you,” she said.
“That’s right.” I sipped my coffee and put it back down. “Sooner the better.”
“Why?” she asked. “That makes no sense.”
“Here’s the thing. The Celtic Club, they’re strong, they got some good fighters working for them,” I said. “And my crew’s pretty new, so that puts us on relatively equal footing. But I work for the Leone family, which means I have more firepower and money at my disposal if a war breaks out.”
“Still, I don’t get why you’d want him to attack you,” she said, and picked up her coffee cup. She sipped it, her eyes narrowed.
I smiled and knew I had her attention.
“It’s about reputation,” I said. “If I just went in there, guns blazing, and killed every Club man I could, then I’d get a bad reputation. I’d be seen as ruthless and unstable. Nobody would want to work with me. But if I did a little hit, you know, something I could explain, but Mathis escalated everything… well, then I’d have good reason to wreck him.”
She gaped at me then shook her head. “That’s insane,” she said.
“Maybe,” I said. “But reputation matters out here. If everyone thinks I’m a piece of shit, I won’t get the other gangs to work with me, and that’ll be bad for my bottom line. So I need your uncle Mathis to do something dumb and aggressive in response.”
“Is that why you’re keeping me?” she asked. “I’m just bait to taunt him.”
I shrugged and smirked. “Haven’t decided yet,” I said.
“You asshole,” she said.
Dante laughed and I looked over at my former boss. He grinned at me, shaking his head, and sipped his coffee.
“I have to admit, Steven, I really miss you,” he said. “If I could think even two moves ahead like you do, I’d be in a much better position.”
“You have slowed down a lot since I left.”
He gave me a look. “Don’t get cocky,” he said. “I’m still the one that brought you up.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” I said.
“You two are animals,” Colleen said and glared down at her coffee before taking another long sip.
“Well look,” Dante said. “I have to go see Aida. She’s opening a new club.”
“Oh, I heard about that. I heard she’s been doing great.”
“Seriously been killing it,” he said. “Driving me insane. Speaking of getting too cocky.” He rolled his eyes. “But I got to run.”
“Good seeing you, Dante.”
“Yeah, Steven, you too. Stop by again soon. Or I’ll come find you on your own territory, make things even.”