then I suggest you never let your woman out of your sight in a nightclub. What my father is doing is replacing the date rape drug with something a lot stronger and longer-lasting.”
He had Antonio’s attention. “What makes you believe that?”
“My father has an entire science department, Antonio. Don’t play stupid. You know how he works, what he’s truly like.”
“Romeo Giavanni is a great man.”
“Romeo Giavanni is a monster, a rapist, and a child abuser,” Raphael said. He’d never once spoken those words aloud.
“No, he’s a good man. He’s united all of the capos. People follow him. I know what I’m doing.”
“No, you’re nothing but a paid lackey, Antonio. I know for a fact there are two girls in his room, no older than fifteen,” he said.
Antonio paced. “How do you know that?”
“I put them there at his request.”
Antonio grabbed him, throwing him up against the wall. “You know what I should do with you? I should report you. Let him know what you’re doing with the missing slave girl.”
“Look into the capos who ended up dead because of bad deeds. I have it on good authority they refused to follow my father’s orders. What you’re doing, what you’re allowing means that drug will end up on the street. Imagine Ellie being the one to take a drink with it in it. She’d be taken, used for however long it lasts, and not even remember. My father is not the great man you know.”
He shoved Antonio’s hands away.
“He didn’t kill Ellie,” he said. “He enjoys her company.”
“To pacify you. You’re his prize. Not her. She’s nothing. If she’d been given to a mere soldier or a capo, he’d have killed her. You’re his minion.”
“Be careful, Raphael. Our friendship only extends so far right now.”
“I know, but you have your doubts. I’m going to go. I’ll let you figure out the rest on your own.”
He left the bathroom. Ellie didn’t even try to hide her eavesdropping.
“Please be careful,” he said. “When you’re in the company of my father, don’t let your guard down.”
She only nodded.
He got all the way to the door when Antonio called his name. He turned to see the man standing in the doorway, a towel in his grip secured around his waist. About time. He didn’t want to keep on staring at his ugly dick.
“Your father has a tail on you. He keeps a close eye on you. You haven’t been coming around to his place, and he wants to know what you’re hiding.”
“Thank you.” He was already aware of the man following him. It was why whenever he went up to his apartment, he closed the curtains and locked his doors. He put all the necessary precautions in place so no one fucked with him.
After leaving the apartment, he went to his car and climbed in.
If he didn’t move quickly to take over his father, he was going to end up dead.
Pulling out his cell phone and moving to the secure line, he put a call through to his contact. It was one of the capos who’d reached out to him a couple of years ago with his doubts on his father and his ability to rule and to remain in charge. Rumors of his declining health had been spread but it had all been bullshit. His father was healthy.
For Raphael, it was the first time he became aware of his father’s love of young girls. He’d also started researching his mother’s death. He had a feeling she found her husband in bed with a teenager, and it had cost her her life. His father always seemed to have a way of manipulating the truth to make himself look like the fucking king.
He finished the call, not any happier than when he’d started it. The capo only had half of all of the families on board. What they hoped to do with Giavanni’s death was overthrow his power, force those who followed him to turn their loyalty to him.
Some of the men didn’t trust him. They felt he was too young and cocksure to lead. He’d been fucking up left and right. Sure, he’d chased pussy while also conducting as much investigation on his to take out his father as he could. The last thing he wanted to do was have his father question why he no longer liked to fuck. It wouldn’t be good for his image or what to do.
Pocketing his cell phone, he slammed his fist against the door.
Pissed off.
Angry.
Annoyed.
He turned over the