the leader of a local gang in the Bronx, and during an exchange tonight he was asked if he’d seen or heard from Lucio Marino. Who apparently, is somewhere on our streets and not hiding very well.” Mase turns to me. “You’ll never guess who’s after the bastard.”
I sit up in my seat and lean forward. “Who?”
Cassidy pipes up before Mason can answer. “Misery’s Angels MC.”
Confusion sets in and I frown. This can’t bring anything good. What the hell do they want with him?
“Well, this mess keeps getting bigger and fucking bigger doesn’t it?”
I spin around to Trey, standing behind me, tattooed arms crossed over himself. “Is this guy legit? Can we rely on the intel?”
Trey’s only been with us three months and I still don’t know the guy all that well. Not as well as the others. I’d only shown up to Sunday family dinners when Ali either wasn’t going or wasn’t there yet. I’d distanced myself from the family. It wasn’t intentional it just sort of happened. I needed time to adjust to life without Ali, at least for a while. I needed time to breathe in what it was like to—for the first time years—really live without her.
That meant no checking up on her. No calling her. No anything Ali. And with our close-knit family, nothing gets by anyone. Everyone is always up in each other’s shit and I couldn’t stand to see her every fucking Sunday at family dinner. Which meant I hadn’t got to know Trey like the others had. He seems cool and he’s a part of us now, but if it’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s not to give out trust that hasn’t been earned. Trey hadn’t earned mine yet, despite Mason and Cassidy having full faith in him.
Trey nods and confidence exudes in his tone. “Yeah man. He’s all right. Low-level drug dealer I busted a few years ago while I was still working narcotics, been a CI for me ever since. Owes me his life and sure a shit won’t cross me. I believe him.”
I don’t answer right away and the tension in the room grows with the silence until Mason cuts in.
“If Trey believes him. We do too. He’s in the city, Roam. We just gotta find him.”
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s gonna be a fucking walk in the park.” I rub my hands along my jaw and nod. “All right. So what’s this bad idea you were all talking about before I came in?”
Trey runs out the words quicker than anyone can speak. “Cass suggested we bring the Angels in on this and have them work with us to find Marino. Mason said no.”
He’s like a child trying to get the first word in to a parent. If he didn’t make for good entertainment he’d probably be annoying. He’s got this whole dorky, funny guy thing going on despite having a body covered in badass tats.
Cassidy gestures a hand out to the screen on the wall, full of information relating to the case. “I just think it’ll be our best shot at getting Lucio and it wouldn’t be the first time the Angels have helped us.”
“Okay. So why is this such a bad idea? I don’t get it.”
“Well, there’s more to it. I think we need to know why the Angels really want him and they aren’t just going to tell us because we ask.” Cassidy moves toward the screen. “We’ve known for years the Angels wanted Marino’s business but they were smaller in numbers. They also didn’t have the manpower Giuseppe Marino had. With Giuseppe out of the picture that’s no longer a problem. We know they’ve taken over where Marino left off. Trey’s CI confirmed that. It’s obvious they’d want Lucio out of the way so there’s no chance the Marino family could take over again. But I think there’s more to this than we realize. There has to be a reason why Cannon has been asking around for him, wanting him alive. This goes deeper than just business. I’m sure of it. We’re just missing something. But by bringing them in and getting information from them gives us an in and will help us find Marino faster. We’ve spent three months trying to find him with no luck. It’s time to try something new.”
I keep my mouth shut as we all stare at Cass while she waits for a response. I reflect on what’s been said and fuck it. Why do we need Marino alive anyway? If they