White Knight (Dirty Mafia Duet, #2)(45)

Of course he did. Because that’s what Cannon does. Save everyone. But who’s going to save him?

“How did Cannon make him listen?” I ask, wondering if that explains more of the bad blood between Cannon and Enzo, or if it comes from something else.

“Beat the hell out of him. After that, I heard Enzo tried to make Dom throw Cannon out because of it, but Dom put his foot down. Said no one tells him how to run his organization, and no one got to touch a woman against her will without consequences.”

The older man I once wanted to see rotting in prison continues to surprise me with his defense of women and his unwillingness to let violence rule his crew when he easily could.

“What do you know about the Rossettis?” I ask. “Because that’s who Cannon thinks did this.”

Tanya’s expression turns hard. “They’re no good. GTR sniffed around Teal too. She’s a magnet for bad seeds. He scares me even more than Enzo does, if you want to know the truth. There’s something not right about him. That’s another reason why Cannon had to pull Teal off working the nights we had meetings. On top of all her other issues, she attracted too much attention.” Tanya’s lips tilt to one side as she pauses to consider me. “And then he just made it worse by bringing you in and getting everyone riled up over you.”

“Who brought food? This smells a hell of a lot better than those bagels and lox Dumb and Dumber tried to get us to eat this morning.” Benny’s voice comes from the doorway of the kitchen as he follows his nose, much the same way I did.

“Benny, it’s been a long time,” Tanya says, stepping toward the old man to hug him.

“Hey, gorgeous, they finally let you out of that club?”

She grins and kisses his cheek.

The old gangster adds, “It’s about time. You gonna finally run away with me? Leave it all behind for the Florida sunshine?”

Clearly, the older man knows Tanya well. I have to assume that he was probably a cigar smoker at the club for years, which could explain the coughing fits and the blood smear on his handkerchief. One of our network execs had lung cancer, and I remember him doing the same thing. I have to wonder what Benny’s dealing with, because I have a feeling it’s not good.

“All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll leave this city behind, Benny.”

“Where’s your sister? How’s she doing these days?”

Tanya shoots me a look and bites her lip. “Hopefully, she’s in the right place to get better now, Ben. It’s a process.”

One side of his mouth pinches to the side. “Ah, man, her demons finally caught up with her?”

“Something like that. But she’s gonna be good as new once she’s done with rehab.”

“Pretty girl. She just needs to realize that’s not all she has to offer the world,” Benny says before stepping toward the aluminum trays. “Now, what’s for lunch?”





Instead of heading back to the apartment with my food, I stay in the common area and eat with the others. I’ve always been a loner, but with them, it’s easy to talk and laugh and generally distract ourselves from everything going on.

Then the conversation turns to more serious things.

“How long are you staying?” Bishop asks Cav, after telling us that he booked a flight for the next day for himself and Eden. They’re taking no chances getting back to New Orleans safe and sound.

Greer leans against Cav. “I’m not leaving until Crey is released, but I can’t imagine he’ll want to stay long, though. If I know my brother, he’ll want to get back to baby Rose as quickly as possible.”

“I don’t want to run,” Cav says, directing his comment to his wife. “But I’ll get you the hell out of here as fast as I can. I’m not taking any fucking chances with you either. One set of stitches is enough.”

My hand tightens on the laptop beside me. Now more than ever, I need to get back to my digging. There’s just one thing I can’t figure out.

“Benny, do you know what started the feud between the Cassos and the Rossettis? Cannon never told me.”

The older man looks up from a bowl of ice cream heavily laden with chocolate syrup. “The feud that’ll never die? I’m not sure anyone wants to talk about why it started. They’re just interested in finishing it.”

“But you were around when it started? Working for Dom?”

His spoon clinks against the bowl as he dives in for another bite. At this rate, the entire serving will be gone in less than five scoops. “It’s not something we talk about. Those were dark days.”

His reply tells me, more than ever, that the cause is something I need to know.

“Dark days like when I had to run for it?” Eden asks, peering into the kitchen around Bishop’s shoulder.

Benny’s attention cuts to her, and he smiles like someone who just caught a glimpse of their favorite grandkid. I wonder if that’s how Benny feels about everyone either in this building or laid up inside the hospital—that they’re family. Maybe it’s cold-blooded of me to think that’s a positive thing that I can use to find answers, but I don’t care. Right now, anything that stops more bullets from flying is worth the cost.

“Darker, kid. That’s why we don’t talk about it.” Benny drops the spoon in his bowl with a clank of metal on ceramic, shuffles to the sink to dump it out, and rinses it with hot water.