Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
My father turned to look at me. “Frankie?”
I stopped eating to look at him, my eyebrows raised. “I’m not qualified to have an opinion about this.”
“Yes, you are,” he said firmly. “You’re smart—and you’re a Mancini.”
I turned back to my food, taking a moment to think it over. “Customs is getting harder to manipulate. This is the second time someone’s tried to rob us this month. Some of our customers are being threatened to switch distributors. It seems like everything is going to shit, piece by piece. Having some new blood with priceless intel would be beneficial, assuming his intentions are genuine and not nefarious.”
My father’s eyes lingered on mine for a long time as his thoughts ran in the background of his mind. Then his eyes flicked back to Elio. “I’ll meet him tomorrow.”
Elio nodded in agreement. “I think that’s—”
“Let’s speak no more of this.” My father suddenly rose from his chair and grabbed his wineglass.
Everyone immediately went silent, all turning to look at him when he commanded the patio just by standing up.
He raised his glass. “To Alfonso and Mattia—we’re glad you’re still here.”
Everyone else raised their glass and took a drink, and then applause and cheers erupted.
4
WOLFE
Salvatore left the main road off the coastline near Palermo and headed inland to the outskirts of Caltanissetta, one of the cities in the center of Sicily. “You should know that Don Mancini had to be talked into this.”
“Thanks for going to bat for me.”
“And he probably won’t like you, no matter what you do or say.”
“No surprise there.”
Salvatore made a few more turns before he left the asphalt roads and the tires hit dirt. We were officially in wine country, Mount Etna miles away on the coast. It wasn’t smoking today, so that was a good sign.
At a high elevation, the sea was visible far into the distance. It was a clear day, not a cloud in the sky, and the hint of summer was on the horizon.
“You aren’t packing, right?”
“Nah. I don’t need a gun.”
Salvatore turned to look at me as he slowed the car over the dirt road. “You know the Mancinis and the rest of the syndicate don’t like Cosa Nostra, right?”
I grinned. “Why do you think I’m here?”
“Well, you were one of them up until a few days ago, so they might shoot you when you walk in.”
“Eh, I’m not worried about it.” I looked out the windshield again.
“Are you ever worried about anything?”
I rolled down the passenger window and rested my arm on the windowsill, smelling the vines and the dirt that was kicked up in the air. “Not really.” Tom Ford sunglasses sat on the bridge of my nose, and I stared at the landscape as we approached the main gate to the vineyard.
The large iron door had Mancini Vineyards written across the center, the stone walls on either side stretching far into the distance and curving around the property. I knew the Mancinis hid their criminal operations through their wine and olive oil distribution, but I knew nothing about their property or their private lives.
Salvatore honked his horn before he rolled down the window. “Gonna leave me sitting out here all day?”
I heard an audible click, and then the enormous gate swung inward, slowly revealing a three-story villa and its neighboring structures, the gardens, the winery, a beautiful property worth millions if it ever hit the market.
And there were armed men everywhere.
Some appeared to be vineyard workers, based on their attire, but a lot of them seemed to be skulking around with guns on their hips. When I looked at the gate, I saw the guys around it carrying automatic rifles, as if someone was going to pull up at any moment for a shootout.
Salvatore followed one of the dirt roads and left the villa in the rearview. It seemed to be an official parking lot out of sight of the stone buildings, so no one would have to look at the sea of cars of the workers.
Salvatore parked, and dust continued to drift into the air from the tires. “Ready for this?”
“Are you? You’re the one who’s got his panties in a bunch.”
He gave me a cold look before he started to get out of the car. “You know what? I hope Don Mancini shoots your ass.”
I got out and shut the door before I started to walk with him. “I haven’t been shot in the ass before. First time for everything, right?”
Salvatore rolled his eyes as he continued forward, emerging between two of the buildings before he came to the main road with the villa nearby. The gate was already closed, and he guided me toward the front doors that were located away from the parking area. “Something you should know…” He stopped and turned to me, getting close like he didn’t want anyone to hear. Lots of the men were staring at us like they all knew I didn’t belong there, but they were definitely out of earshot. “Whatever you do, do not stare at Frankie.”