Filthy: A Mafia Romance

“We need to flush the guy out,” Ethan finally said, though he was directing this at Louis, not me. “He thinks he can come around and start threatening my people—” I raised an eyebrow at being called Ethan’s people, but didn’t say anything. “—like I’m not going to retaliate. Like he’s got a fucking leg to stand on.”

“What do you want to do, boss?” Louis asked, hands folded in front of him.

Ethan ran his hand through his thick hair, thinking for just a second. After a long pause, he said, “We lure him into a trap. Set him up.”

I frowned. A trap? I really didn’t know how this whole thing worked on anything more than a basic level, but a trap sounded dangerous. And kind of ineffective, though I didn’t know Ethan’s plan yet. A trap implied someone was caught, usually in the act, but what act could Ethan hope to catch him in? It wasn’t like anyone could go to the police situation.

It dawned on me that he might be talking about taking slightly more extreme measures. Like killing the man.

I don’t know that. He could be just trying to scare him, I thought. I didn’t really believe it, though.

I gripped the armrests of the chair, wondering if I could excuse myself from the rest of the conversation. Being complacent in a drug operation was one thing, but I didn’t think I could stomach any talk of murder or breaking someone’s kneecaps. Do they really do that? My mind wondered idly, though I didn’t honestly want an answer.

Trying to figure out a good place to interrupt Ethan and get the hell out of here, I froze when the next words left his mouth.

“He clearly thinks The Cut is a weak point, otherwise he wouldn’t have threatened Diana tonight,” he told Louis.

I hadn’t really thought that and felt a little indignant about it, though that was stupid. It wasn’t like I wanted to be some hotshot in the drug world, but still. I didn’t like anyone insulting my little place.

“You wanna use the shop?” Louis asked.

I whipped my head around to shoot Louis a glare. The urge to tell him off and inform him that they would be doing no such thing disappeared instantly at Ethan’s reply. “Yeah. I think so. Tommy—or whoever the hell it was—clearly went after Diana to prove not only that he knows where my little hiding spots are, but also that he knows where to hit us. He’ll come back there, probably even try to bring Diana to his side.”

I didn’t like the way Ethan was talking about me like I wasn’t sitting right there and opened my mouth to tell him just that. “Excuse me, but think maybe I can be part of the conversation?”

He completely ignored me and kept on talking to Louis. “I think we can use that to our advantage.”

Frowning, I asked him, “What? Use what to your advantage?”

Neither he nor Louis answered me. Instead, Louis nodded and said, “We’ll need to move the stash, just in case.”

Ethan agreed. “Quickly.”

“You wanna do it tonight?”

Ethan’s eyes finally flickered to me, then moved back to Louis. “No. I don’t want to risk that Tommy’s got someone watching. He’ll have expected Diana—”

“Who is sitting right here,” I interrupted.

He didn’t miss a beat as he continued, “—to come to me immediately. I don’t want to make him think he’s got us spooked. We’ll leave it tonight, but I want you on standby. Twenty-four hour. Be ready to move our stock immediately.”

Louis nodded. “You got a plan?”

Ethan nodded and again his gaze flickered back to me. My stomach dropped and suddenly, I wished I’d made a greater effort to leave after telling him what happened. Why didn’t I just call him on the damn phone? I wondered silently. That probably would have saved me a lot of grief.

Pushing up onto my feet, I tried to excuse myself. “I should really go.”

But Ethan was staring at me now and he shook his head. “No, stay.”

I swallowed and let myself fall back into the chair. I knew it wouldn’t be so easy and cursed myself again for not calling. “I really don’t have anything to contribute,” I argued. “And my son’s waiting at home. I don’t need to be here.”

Ethan wasn’t listening, however. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest, straightening himself up to his full height. “Yes, you do. You’re involved, Diana. And I need you.”

My stomach did an involuntary flip at those words. I need you. I tried to force away the small rush of pleasure I got from that, but it was impossible.

To be needed by someone other than Cody was something I hadn’t had in my life for a long time. And I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until this moment.

And then that bastard wrecked it all by continuing. “Tommy is going to come back. He’s going to try to intimidate you. This time, I want you to let him. When he threatens you, tell him you’ll do whatever he wants. Tell him you’re sick of me and you want to work for him instead. Promise him whatever he wants.”