the dumb fuck, Isaiah,” Hunter sighed, walking in behind him. “Enzio's a dumb fuck. We know. Everyone is a dumb fuck.”
“Shut up, dumb fuck.” Isaiah turned and clipped him around the back of the head. “He's lucky to be alive this morning,” he directed to me. “Snores like a pig.”
Hunter laughed. “Yeah, I'm the one who snores. You almost took out a window.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You had a sleepover? What did you do—strip down to your underwear and have a pillow fight? Eat raw cookie dough? Watch Bridget Jones' Diary?”
“She's got sass,” Isaiah observes, cocking a thumb toward me. “I like it.”
I glared at him. I could safely say that this wasn't exactly how I imagined this conversation going. Nope, I didn't imagine Isaiah bringing the sass and swearing like a fifteen year old boy, and I didn't imagine Hunter heading straight for the coffee machine and the cookie tin.
What kind of parallel universe was I in?
“You look confused, Addy.” Hunter turned around, holding an empty coffee mug.
“Do I? I can't imagine why.”
“Probably 'cause you though I was gonna kill you, sweetheart,” Isaiah answered.
“No,” I responded flatly. “I thought we were going to bake fairy cakes together.”
He shuddered. “Fuckin' cake.”
Hunter laughed and put down the mug. His eyes found the bag on the island, and his smile twisted into a smirk. “Going somewhere?”
“I'm prepared to,” I answered, pulling the bag closer to me. “How did I know you two were coming in like you're best friends? I thought you were going to kill me.”
“Well, given that I've already tried and I failed miserably, there wasn't much of a chance of me trying to kill you a second time.” Hunter grinned.
“I can try and kill you if it'd make you feel better,” Isaiah offered. “I don't mind.”
“Uh... I think I'll pass, thanks.” I perched on the stool. “Once in a week is more than enough for me. Are you alone?”
“Did I come alone?” he questioned, and I nodded. “Yes. Your father trusts me entirely and is counting on me to kill not just you, but this shitfuck over here.” He jerked his head in Hunter's direction. “And let me tell you something, Adriana, your father is stupid.”
“Really, Isaiah, I didn't need you to tell me that. I figured that out ten years ago.”
“Yeah, that was a shit move. Cost him ten million, if you'd believe it. They gave him a week to find you, and when he couldn't, they doubled what he owed and made him pay in cash.” Isaiah pulled out a box of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. “Do you mind?”
“Uh, a little. We can go outside.” Armo smoked, so we kept an ashtray outside for whenever he was here. I stood and carried the bag to the back door. I wasn't going anywhere without the bag. It was my safety blanket in that moment.
Isaiah and Hunter followed me out, and we were joined by Darien just as Isaiah sparked a match.
“Rossi tried bringing you a dead bird,” Darien explained. “It was quite the feat to get it away from him and convince him you didn't need a crow.”
“He caught a crow?”
“Yeah, just a little one. He's probably trying to find you something else.” Darien sat down. “What are we talking about?”
“Them.” Isaiah blew out a long cloud of gray-blue smoke and tapped ash into a small tray in the middle of the table. “As I was saying, they made him pay up in cash, and that's when he expanded the family business into the darker sides that your mamma refused to. He needed to make back the money and quick, and re-establish the Romano family as something to be feared.”
“Darker sides?” I asked. “Like what?”
“Human trafficking, for one. Extortion. Blackmail. He's intercepted more than enough drug smuggling rings and paid them off. Made a shit ton that way.” He dragged on the cigarette. “Helped a cartel or two get their shit in and out for a good price. He's got a finger in every pie, but he lacks the brain cells to realize those pies are hot.”
I looked down. I wasn't surprised by that, but the human trafficking gave me chills. I knew the mafia world was full of lies and blood and darkness, but that was the one thing Mamma always refused to do. She said she'd rather die than help sick motherfuckers get their kicks out of vulnerable girls. She said that as a woman, it was her duty to protect them, not condemn them.
I