“After what happened, I wanted to be.” A long silence followed. The words I’m sorry may have fit here nicely. I’m sorry for almost killing you. Hell, they might even be true, but I couldn’t go there. I hated the Benedetti family. I hated all of them. And that had to include Salvatore.

Quiet.

“I heard they found a body. Mateo Castellano. Did Roman order the killing?”

Salvatore sighed. “I think it’s pretty obvious, don’t you?”

“I thought the Castellano family was under Franco’s protection.”

“Me too. Father’s pissed. Not sure how Roman will survive this.”

Snakes always slithered out just when you thought you had them cornered. But this time, I was sure it wasn’t Roman. “He’s not being set up?”

“I don’t know. I talked to him, but I can’t be sure.”

“Do you know any details?”

“I don’t care about the details. That’s why I’m here, in Florida, out of that life. Keeping my family out of that life. I’ve already been brought in for questioning twice, and I’ll tell you what I told them. Roman and I talk twice a year. I called him about this for my own peace of mind. He claims it wasn’t him.”

“Do you believe him?”

He sighed and took a moment to answer. “Look, I’m not involved anymore. Period. And now I’m telling you that neither are you. Best thing you did was getting the hell away from our father.”

“Your father.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should count your lucky fucking stars.”

“It was a brutal killing.”

“I know you and Mateo were friends once, but you can’t get involved. You can’t get back into it. Let Franco handle it.”

Salvatore always had this way of beating you over the head with shit, especially if he thought he was doing it for your own good. That hadn’t changed, apparently.

“I’m not really out of it, Salvatore.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Mateo has a sister.”

“Who disappeared a few days after he did, and who’s probably dead.”

“No, she’s not.”

“Shit, Dominic. What are you talking about?”

“Look, I just needed to know if Roman ordered the killing. Is he covering his ass now that the body’s been found? Because that opens up a whole other can of worms.”

“What can?” he asked tightly.

I knew he was waiting for me to fill in the blanks. I wondered if he knew I hadn’t talked to Roman in over five years. And how did I tell him how I knew Gia Castellano was alive and that I had her here?

“I know for a fact it was Victor Scava who put the bullet in Mateo Castellano’s head,” I said.