"Oh, I see. Yes, spider mites. Can’t let those take over. Very serious matter," he says with a faint smirk, squinting at me mockingly.
Nervously, I lick my lips as he tilts his head, his eyes pensive.
"Alright. Give me ten minutes. Meet me in my room."
He walks off, still wearing that weird mix of amusement and surprise on his face.
I curse under my breath and drag myself back to the patio, biting my lip so hard I nearly draw blood.
Why do I care? Seriously, why the hell do I care?! I press my hands to my face and rub it vigorously.
Fate, I’ve lost it.
To that guy, I’m a traitor, or at least a potential one. And here I am, worried something might’ve happened to him.
That’s not just messed up. That’s full-blown masochism.
Ten minutes later, I head to the part of the building where Eliano lives. It’s clearly separated from the rest, and everythinglooks more upscale. There are oil paintings on the walls and elegant carpets lining the hallway.
It doesn’t really feel like a guest wing. More like the private apartments of other Ferro family members.
As I pass one of the doors, I hear a voice: Rocco.
Fuck! I freeze, my heart skips a beat.
Did I forget I’m in a damn mafia mansion? Just strolling around like it’s no big deal, as if I’m not one wrong move away from getting caught by that psycho and raped for hours.
But someone’s in there too, arguing with Rocco.
Feeling a flicker of curiosity, I slow down and then stop to listen.
Reckless behavior, part two. Eavesdropping on mafiosos… didn’t I already learn my damn lesson?
But I can’t help it. The rational part of me just taps out.
To my surprise, it’s Luca there with Rocco.
And he says, "…times do I have to tell you this is a massive mistake? He’s not some random guy you can just shoot in the head without a word in the papers. This’ll be national news, hell, it could blow up globally!"
Are they talking about the 'attack' that is coming?
What am I even doing here, this is super risky!Move, Sun, move.
"What the fuck do you want me to do? I couldn’t care less about the little fucker either, but Anzo thinks it’s important, for image reasons, and ideological ones too. I’ve tried to talk him out of it over and over, but he’s dead set on doing it."
"For fuck’s sake! You’re the only one who has any influence over him. Even Ennio tried and failed. If anything goes wrong, the FBI will be all over us. This stunted little fuck is a big game. No one’s gonna let that slide. None of our contacts can help if this blows up. The mayor’s term is ending, Senate elections are this fall, and there’s no guarantee Ferguson’s gonna win. Wecould lose key advantages. Plus, there are rumors about a new police chief coming in. This is a terrible time for this."
My heart is pounding like crazy, my hands are sweaty. This sounds so fucking big, serious!
"Then go tell that to Anzo yourself. He’s been wound up for years by the leech. All the donations went into smear campaigns against that little fucker, but for the leech it wasn’t enough. You think I can undo that in a few days?"
"Then do me one favor. Keep our involvement to an absolute minimum. If anything ever goes wrong, we need deniability."
Rocco huffs, annoyed.
"What do you think I’m doing? I haven’t gone to a single squad meeting, I don’t talk on the phone about it, I haven’t even hinted at the plan to anyone. That’s the only way we survive if this shit blows up."
Luca sighs. "Good. Keep it that way. Anzo’s playing a dangerous game. He could take the whole family down with him."
