Isaac looked at the younger man, and judging by the terrified look on his face, he was on the verge of running away. Still far from accepting who the Falcone men were. To think that a couple of years ago he’d acted the same with Lynette. Being told time and time again about her possible mafia connections, he’d had no other way but to be cautious around her.
"Don’t mind my brother. He is rarely in the mood to attend meetings."
Noah’s voice was calm but radiated the dominance that Flavio was supposed to pick up on. He was the boss, not the other way around. And brother or not, he still had to respect him and follow the rules.
His rules.
"I would be if it wasn’t in the name of this stupid girl." He really did hate Lynette.
Drew’s eyes froze on the man, mad at the way Flavio was speaking about her. The Capostood up, turning his head to look at his brother. But there was no anger in his eyes. He sighed at the words that came out of his mouth. Noah had never had any real feelings towards Lynette and he couldn’t imagine what would have happened if the marriage had occurred. She was the last girl he would see as more than a one-night stand. It had always been strictly about business for him.
Upon seeing the calm on his older brother’s face, the Underboss gave up on trying to reason with him. He leaned back against the wall once more, carefully observing the people in the room.
"What are we doing here? What is so important that we needed to discuss it before searching for Lyn? She’s still out there, probably scared out of her mind."
They heard a laugh escape Noah’s lips. "I can assure you that she’s anything but scared. She has seen too many horrifying things to let fear control her ever again."
"You would know, wouldn’t you?"
It was Inéz who bravely confronted him.
Flavio thought of it as a foolish act which could have a steep price - her life - if Noah snapped.
"Believe me, Inéz, that as much as I admire your dedication when it comes to your friends, it won’t save you if you use that tone with me one more fucking time," the Capogroaned.
If it had been a man speaking to him like that, he would be crawling on the ground, begging and bleeding by now. But since she was a woman, he gave her the chance to reconsider her behavior. Some mafia families might go easy on women, but his wasn’t one to do that. Woman or not, they would pay for their wrongdoings ifnecessary. With either body or blood. It didn’t matter to Noah either way.
Inéz must have realized how shaky the ground she was walking on was. Seeing Noah’s piercing eyes, imminent danger gleaming in them, she knew he wouldn’t hold back on her. Yet for some reason, his behavior turned her on more than terrified her. She bit her lower lip.
"You can’t help me if you’re not among my people. No matter the cause." Noah said simply resting his hands against the table. "I’m usually not one to grant an outsider a position, but I am willing to make an exception."
They didn’t know how to react to his words. They weren’t what they had been expecting.
"You want us to become Made Men?" asked Drew carefully, unable to take his eyes off him. The shock on his face was clear as day.
"Yes,"
"Why?"
"I can hardly show you my line of work, if you will go blab it out to your father, an FBI agent, nonetheless. And as it turns out, I need a new hacker to work for me. The last one got laid off," his eyes questioningly rested on Isaac.
No one in their right state of mind would actually believe that someone could be simply laid off in the underworld. It was simply the euphemism to getting killed, or, knowing Noah, slaughtered, for doing something wrong.
Noah reached out for the file that lay on the shelf behind him. With one fluid movement, he sent the file across the table and into Isaac’s hands. He took it and looked through the papers. His face fell with every other word he read.
"An impressive client portfolio. And an even more impressive rap sheet if you ask me. It’s just one call away from seeing the light of day," he smirked at Isaac, triumph written all over his face.
"So you threaten us to get your way? What kind of person are you?" asked Inéz withdisgust.
She still didn’t understand what kind of organization the mafia was.
"The worst one you will ever meet, cara," he winked at her. "And that was only for Isaac to see that I have reached all the people he has ever done a favor for. They were really forthcoming with information after a brief meeting with one of my Enforcers."
"Yes, so Isaac might be in a shitty position right now, but you have nothing on me," she was once more annoying him.
"Do I really need to start researching your whole life? Because I am fairly sure that there will be something for me to find. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to betray and abandon your friends. That’s enough for me. It’s not like I am going to make you one of my soldiers. Women have no place among my men."
The words were mainly meant to heat things up. Noah was many things but a chauvinist wasn’t one, and he knew what kind of part many women played in his soldiers' lives. They pulled the strings from behind the curtains.
Inéz opened her mouth with a gasp. Noah knew her better than she would ever admit. She was
