I flinch at the truth of her words. Michael was always scary to me. Danny had known I was afraid of Michael and never left me alone with him. Years before Michael died, Danny feared he was going to get himself killed one day. Danny had been a mid-level grifter and thief. At first, he was proud Michael wanted to gain entry into the mafia, only to realize what Michael was willing to do was beyond Danny’s comfort zone.
“I’m not saying Tony is a saint. But he is a far better person than some of the people in this city who proclaim to be. Some of those families were probably relieved when Tony killed their kid or husband.”
Her hands tighten on mine, “If you kill him, if you manage to kill him and get away with it, Dominic and his incredibly loyal men will hunt you down and kill you too. Is it worth it? You had a run of bad luck this year, that’s all. I cannot imagine the pain of losing your baby, another one, but killing Tony Sabatini won’t fix anything.”
I’m up, pacing as I try to find the words to make her understand. “I wanted to kill Tony Sabatini before she ever asked me to.”
“What?”
It’s not easy to keep from crying at my remembered hatred of Tony Sabatini. “He ruined my life, too. When Danny died, my mom got five times worse. It was hell for almost a year. There were beatings almost daily. If we didn’t eat at school, we didn’t eat. I wanted to kill him for months after Danny died. At night I dreamed about how to do it.”
Lisa’s eyes go wide. “You wanted to kill him when you were ten years old?”
Hearing it out loud, it’s crazy, but true. “If he hadn’t been in prison, I swear I would have found a way to do it. Hell, Lisa. I went through hell for almost a year after Danny died. And every day of that hell, I wanted to kill Tony Sabatini. It wasn’t until my dad picked us up one weekend and saw the bruises covering all three of us that he lost his shit and finally put a stop to it. He drove straight through the night to his mom in Missouri for her to take care of us.”
“I remember you telling me all of that after we finally got in touch again. It always scared me how you were there one day then gone. Your mom refused to say where you were. You said it was bad but—I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry, Christy.”
Shaking my head, “I don’t need you to be sorry for me. I need you to help me. I get you think it’s crazy. I understand you don’t want me to do it, but I’m going to find a way—with or without your help. I owe this to ten-year-old me. Not my mom, but me and my brothers who suffered through all of it with me. Jason is gone, but Ricky is still here. The day after Danny died, she broke Ricky’s arm for a second time and his nose for the fourth time. All of us paid for what Tony Sabatini did.”
Closing her eyes, Lisa shakes her head. “Tony didn’t make Danny kill himself. Danny was weak. You aren’t weak, and you aren’t going to get stronger by killing Tony.”
“So you aren’t going to help me?”
She starts crying and I hate myself for putting her through this. “I’ll help you because I can’t stand the idea of your death on my conscious. Maybe you’ll survive this if I help you.”
I honestly hadn’t thought beyond pulling the trigger. Hearing her say it again, I shiver as I contemplate what will come after I kill Tony Sabatini. She said Dominic, his son, and his men would come after me. I’ve heard far more things about his son than I had been able to find out about Tony. His son is extremely scary. The idea of Dominic Sabatini coming after me causes my stomach to twist painfully. “What do you think I should do?”
“You are going to have to get very close to Tony. Close enough he lets his guard down. Tony is very careful. I told you he has cameras all around and inside his house. They almost never get turned off. And when he’s out of his house, he has men around him pretty much all the time.”
Taking a deep breath, she lets it out slowly. “I heard he’s on the hunt for a new mistress. I’m thinking you need to say you want to work for him. His last two mistresses, they came to work, but he liked them so much he asked them to be his woman instead.”
My jaw drops at her suggestion. I can’t believe she’s serious.
“It’s the only way to get close to him. Tony adores women, like straight-up worships his woman. Once you’ve hooked him, he’ll do almost anything to please you, in bed and out of it. The man is a dream in bed. Everyone who has fucked him has said they wish all men fucked like he did.”
Lisa chuckles at my shock. “He’s huge, nine inches and thick as fuck, but he’s not one of those assholes who thinks having a big dick
