Devil's Advocate: A Dark Mafia Romance (Devil's Playground Book 1) Vivi Paige (howl and other poems txt) 📖

I’d have stayed in bed with her for a while longer. Thing was, too much had happened the day before for the Don not to be informed. Duty called, as it were, and as a made man, I had no choice but to answer.

From what Sophie told me, it was next to confirmed Enzio was involved. That meant the other masked men were probably Loggia family, too. The tenuous web of peace between the six families threatened to snap. If war was brewing, we needed to get a leg up on the Loggias.

I hit the streets, frigid wind blasting me in the mush. I sneezed a couple of times and pulled my coat tighter around me. After my dip in the freezing lake yesterday, I was worried about catching a cold. I reminded myself to drink some OJ or something to load up on vitamin C.

Being as my life was in danger, I checked under my car for a surprise. Then I checked the backseat and looked up and down the street just in case. Nobody shot at me, so I went ahead and climbed inside.

Only after I’d already turned the engine over did I realize somebody could have gifted me a Clorox special. That’s when they dump bleach into your gas tank. Bleach plus gasoline equals a poor man’s napalm. It’s not guaranteed to blow up like a car bomb, but I still should have checked.

Since I didn’t die, I checked in with my big brother Flavio and told him I needed an audience with the Don. He was pretty happy I had survived my foray into acting as bait. Flavio sent me to the cathouse over in Belmont, where the Don had a working girl he was sweet on. After he’d gotten his rocks off, Don Maloik liked to play poker with the proprietor and his security.

I hit the back door and nodded at Lorenzo, a well-liked associate plagued by bad luck. Since I was a made man, he didn’t bother with patting me down for guns or wires. He toyed with a pair of loaded dice in his pocket. I could hear them clinking around as I hit the stairs leading to the office section of the establishment.

Lorenzo’s a good kid. Smart, eager, wields guns like Doc Friggin’ Holliday, but he’s unlucky. Us family types are kind of superstitious, which might have been hindering his ascension to made man status.

I put Lorenzo and his problems out of my mind. I had plenty of my own to deal with. Flavio must have called ahead to tell Don Maloik I was coming, because his dark eyes didn’t show a hint of surprise.

“Indro,” he said, gesturing at an empty spot at the table. “Have a seat. You remember Vinnie and his boys, right?”

“Sure do. How’s it hanging, Vinnie?”

“Down to my knee, as always.”

We all shared a laugh, even the Don, as I settled in. Don Maloik puffed on his stogie, giving a sinister red cast to his wizened features.

“Flavio tells me you wanted to talk. So, talk.”

I cleared my throat, stifling another sneeze. The Don sees sneezes as a sign of weakness, crazy as that sounds. When he sneezes, he gets all types of pissy. It’s not a pretty sight.

“I put myself out there as bait, just like you said, and boy, did it ever work. I got jumped by five Loggia goons.”

“You sure they were Loggias?”

I chose my words carefully. “I didn’t see any direct evidence, no. They was wearing masks over their ugly faces. I did run into Mr. Scorpion Tattoo again, though.”

“Like I said before, a tat don’t mean it really was Enzio.”

“No, but some idiot called him out by name and the rest of the goons got pissed. They even slapped the ass in the back of his head.”

Don Maloik took the cigar stub out of his mouth and crushed it out in an ashtray, clearly annoyed. Even though I knew his annoyance wasn’t directed at yours truly, I still had to repress a shudder. An annoyed Don Maloik is a dangerous Don Maloik.

“We still don’t have enough to hit the mattresses with the Loggias.” Maloik glanced over at Vinnie and his boys. “Give us a minute, will you?”

“Sure thing, Don,” Vinnie said.

“And have Lorenzo start up the car, get the heat cranking,” Don Maloik called after him. “Last time I sat on the leather seat my balls turned blue and shrank to the size of raisins.”

Don Maloik turned back to me. He took a sip of whiskey and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Indro, you know I don’t always like your cocky attitude, but I do appreciate your talent and ability. Not to mention your intelligence.”

“Thanks, Don. I’ve been trying to rein in my attitude of late.”

He waved me off as if it weren’t a great concern. “Listen, Indro. If your gut is telling you the Loggias want a war, then I’m not about to discount your concerns.”

“I thought you said we couldn’t strike at them yet.”

“I did. Jesus Fucking Christ, Indro, let a man finish, will ya? Sheesh.” Don Maloik leaned back in his seat and stared me down. I repressed the urge to swallow and fidget. “Here’s the situation. I don’t have enough evidence to start hitting them where it hurts, but I do think a summit is in order.”

I nodded. “Great idea. Might I humbly request to be present at this summit?”

“You may. This involves you most of all.” Don Maloik gestured toward the door. “Go on, get out of here. You ruined my good mood and I’ve got a feeling I’m about to lose my famous kind streak.”

“Of course, Don.” I swiftly stood up and took my leave. If the Loggias really did want a war with the Maloiks, they were either ballsy, stupid, or both.

Cause I’d rather go toe to toe with the devil himself than Don Maloik when he’s in a foul mood.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Sophie

I sat at the counsel's table, waiting for the trial to begin. I took a