Lucien (The Marchesi Family 1)

“Me too, but I’m okay for now.”

“I like that you made the choice yourself. Part of me likes that you’re taking a risk, but you need to be careful.”

“I am.”

He didn’t look reassured, but he dropped the subject. “I don’t know a lot of details about Jimmy, but what I do know is he’s believing a lot of promises that aren’t likely to come true. If I had to make a guess, he’s being set up to be somebody’s scapegoat.”

“Do you know any names?”

He raised his brows. “Are you going to report what I tell you?”

“If I think it’s going to help the right people, then maybe.”

“Are there any good people in this?”

It was my turn to sigh. “I wish I knew.”

“I heard Jimmy mention a name when he was on the phone. It was loud in here, like always, but I think he said Marc or—”

“Marco?”

“That’s probably it. Why? You know a Marco he’s worked with?”

“Maybe.” Marco was the man Lucien thought had betrayed him.

“I heard him say Marco was moving against Jimmy’s old employers, and he was helping him.”

My heart raced. Jimmy owed a debt to Lucien, but had he been working for him? If so, then Lucien’s and the man he’d been talking to—Vinnie’s—suspicions were right. Marco wasn’t on their side.

“Do you know who Jimmy was working for?”

Mac shook his head. “I don’t. Problem is, you know Jimmy. He’ll jump ship faster than you can blink if he thinks he can get more money from one place than another. He’s got no sense of loyalty, and that’s probably going to get him killed.”

I agreed with my uncle. What I needed to do was figure out who Jimmy was working for before he sent me to Lucien. If it was the Marchesis, then telling what I knew might help convince Angelo I wasn’t the one leaking information. I’d overheard him when he was meeting with Lucien. They’d been yelling too loud for me not to hear since I was talking with Carla at the time.

I knew Angelo’s opinion didn’t really matter as long as Lucien believed me, but I didn’t want to come between Lucien and his brother. I felt a strong sense of loyalty to my uncle, but as far as the rest of my family went, I would choose Lucien over them any day.

Still, I didn’t share what I’d learned with Lucien right away, though it weighed on me over the next few days. Without more concrete details—or the certainty that I had the name right—the information didn’t really mean anything. Jimmy had worked for plenty of people, so even if he had worked for the Marchesis, I couldn’t be sure he was referring to them.

Lucien seemed increasingly tense as the week went on. He was more distant than he’d ever been with me, and there was something desperate in him when he came to bed each night. I asked him what was wrong, but he said he didn’t want to burden me with his business concerns.

Very early one morning, I got a call from my uncle.

“Is everything okay?” It wasn’t like him to call just to chat, especially not at that hour. He usually just texted if he had something to tell me.

“Jimmy came by yesterday afternoon and begged me for money. He seemed really shaken up. At first, I thought he was on something, then I decided it was fear making him seem crazy.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I refused to give him anything. I told him years ago he wasn’t getting anything else from me. He’s screwed me over enough by spending the money on drugs or stupid schemes that are supposed to make millions but never earn him a cent.”

“What did he say?”

“He cussed me out and stomped off. After I closed up, I stayed in my office to go over payroll. I heard something up front. It was Jimmy. The asshole was in there trying to rob the till. I told him if I saw him around again, he’d regret it. He dropped what he’d taken and ran.”

What kind of trouble was he in now? Had he betrayed Marco? “How did you get him to leave the money?”

“He knows damn well I could beat the shit out of him, and I had my Glock. You know I keep it on me when I’m working.”

I did, and it had always scared me. “You threatened to shoot him?”

“Fuck right I did. The boy was robbing me. When he ran, he dropped a piece of paper. It’s hard to make out the chicken scratch Jimmy passes off as handwriting, but I think it says DiGiulio’s and then eight o’clock.”

“Lucien’s restaurant.”

Mac hummed. “Isn’t it opening soon?”

It was, and Lucien wanted the opening to go perfectly. Was Jimmy seriously trying to fuck Lucien over again? Did he think he could get away with that? “Thank you, Uncle Mac. Are you all right?”