Page 104 of Secret Vendettay
“Risky move on his part,” I said.
“Franco thought he could trust blood.”
But I could see the offense in Lonnie’s eyes; he thought Franco should have leaned on Lonnie. Not Dominic.
“When Dominic pushed back on killing that guy, Franco made the rules clear. It was Dominic’s life or the man’s—who’d screwed him out of money. Dominic still didn’t want to go through with it—tried to get out of it—but Franco sent someone to babysit him until it was done.AndDominic’s mother. Dominic went through with it, but that’s when he finally drew the line and told Franco he was out—he didn’t want to be part of his enterprise. Which was a big slap in the face to Franco.”
“He threatened to kill Dominic.”
And I bet Lonnie wouldn’t have minded that one bit.Even criminals got jealous.
“But then Dominic claimed he had evidence against Franco, and it would come out if anything ever happened to him,” Lonnie said.
“So, Francowasn’tgoing to kill Dominic over it?”
“He was. If Dominic was found guilty, there was going to be a hit right there in the county jail that night. But Dominic was found not guilty, so Franco was going to drive him somewhere and take care ofthe situation—permanently.” He eyed me up and down. “Heard you got to Dominic first.”
How unfortunate I’d killed someone who was already a dead man walking. This was like washing your car and then having it downpour.
Not to mention, I picked the wrong family member to dispose of first—that was for damn sure. Franco Hopkins was a time bomb waiting to explode.
If Dominic knew what, when, and where this shipment was going to arrive, police could intercept everything and destroy Franco’s organization before he got it off the ground in this country. Plus, they might even be able to trace it overseas and take that organization down, too.
“Franco has people he’s accountable to overseas?” I surmised.
He nodded.
When what was probably millions of dollars on the line, if you screw it up, you don’t have to worry about going to prison. You’d be killed before that ever happened.
No wonder Franco Hopkins had been such a loose cannon. He had to make sure the evidence Dominic had threatened him with never got into the wrong hands. Everything was on the line for Franco: his new organization, his old organization, his freedom, and his life.
That’s why Luna was in so much danger.
“Final question,” I said. “When does Franco plan to kill Luna Payne?”
The guy’s brows furrowed slightly. “The lawyer chick?”
I waited.
Lonnie’s face softened into a smug smirk of arrogance, his voice taunting.
“That’s what this is about? Some stupid bitch?”
“When?” I needed a timeline to make sure I wasn’t roaming the streets of the city in pursuit of Franco while he was actually on the other side of Chicago, slaughtering Luna Payne.
“If that’s all you care about, you’re fucked.” His eyes lit up as he leaned in, savoring each word.
I brought the blade of my knife to his jugular, pressing in until a drop of blood pricked near an overgrown black hair on his skin.
“Start explaining. Now.”
He looked up at me, his smile widening, as if he had just won this battle.
“Franco put a bounty on her head yesterday. A half-dozen hit men in the city are out, hunting for her right now.”
Every muscle in my body tightened in fury.
“When they find her, they won’t kill her quickly. They’ve been ordered to torture her until she’s begging for death. Maybe even have a littlefunwith her first. I know I would,” he taunted.