Chapter 1 Dominic #2
“We’re all curious about why you didn’t call after the FBI left your office.”
“Do you want me to call when I take a shit too?” I sit down, resolved that I’m going to have to go through this bullshit.
“Does the FBI check your shit, because if so, yes,” Marco says, his voice tight. Clearly he thinks I need to take this more seriously. It’s almost as if they forgot that Agent Ricci’s visits give me information we need.
It then that I remember they took an interest in the deal I have with Marco. “They don’t have interest in my shit, but they were intrigued by my business with you.”
Marco arches a brow.
I wave his concern away. “They took a look at a legit import manifest. They took nothing.”
Marco’s jaw tightens and I worry he might crack it. “And still you didn’t call?”
“What for? They didn’t take anything. They’re just fucking with me and as you know, I fuck with them back.”
"The FBI isn't just targeting you. They hit the Ferraza’s shipping yard two days ago. And Luca’s restaurant last week. The week before it was one of my casinos."
I raise an eyebrow, absorbing this information. "Coordinated, then."
“Over the last few years, they seemed to have focused on us individually, but now they’re coming at all of us at once,” Leo says.
I shake my head. “That’s not totally true though, right?
All that work the Blackwood guy did to try and turn your daughter against Marco.
” I glance at Leo, then turn my attention to Luca.
“Turn your sister against Marco.” I finally look at Marco.
“They’re after you. Except for Ricci, who’s always been after me. ”
“We have to consider that this has all been about taking down La Corona.”
The door opens and Roman, Marco’s second in command enters. He's not a don, but it seems likely he’ll take over Don Leo Ferraza’s business when he passes since Roman is married to Leo’s only heir, Isabella.
“Yes, yes,” I’ve heard this all before and while I don’t doubt that someone has been fucking with us, finding men in our ranks willing to betray us, I’m not convinced it’s the FBI behind it.
“You don’t think Agent Ricci looking into my business with you counts?” Marco asks.
“It’s all legit, Marco. She’d use it against me not—”
“Unless her boss has asked her to expand the scope of her investigation,” Roman says.
"Look, I'm not saying we ignore this," I lean back in my chair, deliberately casual. "But Ricci's been sniffing around my operations for years—”
“Today was the third time. In one year. Before that, how many times had the FBI been in your business?” Leo interrupts me.
I shrug. “Once, twice maybe. But more with my dad, and I don’t remember you hauling his ass into a La Corona meeting about it.”
“Three times suggests they’re hunting for something in particular,” Roman ignores my statement.
“The point is, they can look all they want in my business, they won’t find anything. Their playbook hasn’t really changed, just the scale."
“How long was she there?” Luca asks.
I can’t imagine why that info is important, but I detail the raid, leaving out the part where I hint that Agent Ricci and I should heat up the sheets. "They're fishing. If they had something concrete, they wouldn't need to turn our businesses inside out."
Leo shifts in his leather chair, exchanging a loaded glance with Marco then Luca.
“What?” I ask, my annoyance growing.
“I think you enjoy these raids,” Leo says. “I guess I can’t blame you. Agent Ricci has legs—”
“Don’t fucking talk about her legs,” I snap before I can think better of it.
“You do seem familiar with her methods,” Luca says.
I shrug, keeping my expression neutral. "Know your enemy, right? Three years of the same dance gives you a certain perspective. Besides, you know I’ve been investigating her too, looking for information we can use against them."
"A dance?" Leo’s voice carries the weight of his years. He’s the oldest of us, and the last of his generation in La Corona now that Luca’s father, Antonio retired. "Is that what you call it when the feds are circling all our necks?"
The tension crackles like static electricity, but it’s not as exciting as when it happens with Oliva. I can see it on their faces. Dominic Vitale is thinking with his dick and not taking things seriously enough.
"Perhaps if you spent less time flirting with federal agents and more time securing your operations, we wouldn't be in this position," Marco says.
My casual facade cracks. "Excuse me?"
"My sources tell me you and Agent Ricci have quite the rapport." Marco's eyes are cold. "Personal, even."
Heat rises in my chest. Who in my organization is reporting to Marco?
"You're questioning my loyalty based on what? That I can maintain my composure during a raid? That I don't immediately threaten or bribe federal agents like some amateur?"
I rise from the table, acutely aware that at this moment, I’m not maintaining my composure. "I've kept my businesses clean precisely because I understand how they operate. I watch, I learn, I adapt. While you're all hiding behind decades-old tactics, I'm evolving."
"Evolving into what?" Leo asks. "A liability? Just what is going on with this agent?"
The word stings more than I care to admit. "You think I don't understand what's at stake?" My voice drops, deadly serious now. "I was born into this life, same as all of you. The difference is I don't let fear cloud my judgment. I use any and all information I have to my advantage."
I scan their faces, seeing the doubt, the concern, the suspicion.
"I respect Agent Ricci as an opponent," I say firmly. "Nothing more, nothing less. And underestimating her would be our biggest mistake."
“Why don’t we focus on what the feds are hunting for instead of bickering amongst ourselves,” Luca wisely suggests.
“Like I said, European shipping manifests. One person brought in a Calabresi manifest, but there was nothing that would raise flags, which is why they left empty-handed."
“How’d they get a warrant?” Luca asked.
“How’d they get any warrant?” Roman asks. “Especially with flimsy information?”
“An overzealous judge, probably,” Luca says. “I can ask Gabriella—”
“I can ask Gabriella to check,” Marco says, with a hard glance at Luca.
Luca rolls his eyes. “I had the same issue at the restaurant. They spent hours in the back office going through our import records."
The realization hits me. "They're not looking for evidence of individual crimes. They're mapping our network, our entire international infrastructure."
Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t be so lackadaisical about this. "I'll handle Ricci," I say, my voice firm. "Our... interactions give me an advantage. She reveals more than she realizes."
Marco scoffs, but I hold up my hand. "This isn't about ego—”
“It’s not your ego in question, son,” Leo quips.
I ignore him. “It's strategy. She's comfortable around me, which makes her careless. I can use that."
"Be careful, Dominic," Roman warns.
I nod, accepting both the warning and the implied trust. "I'll keep our interests protected."
As I leave Marco’s my mind is swirling. I’m confident that Olivia and her FBI team won’t ever find anything to bring me down, but I may have let the game between us distract me.
The stakes have changed.
I need to stop letting her dictate the rules. I need to figure out what she's seeking and how it can bring down not just me but the rest of the families.
It’s time to stop playing the game and start controlling it.