Page 7 of Deathless & Divided

Dino shrugged. “I’ve got to get things in order around here before I can’t anymore.”

“Twenty years isn’t that long, Dino.”

“In a cell with bars for windows, cement walls for art, and God knows who for a bunkmate? It’s Hell.”

True enough.

“And I’m not planning on making it that far,” Dino said lower.

Damian passed a look Dino’s way. “I beg your pardon?”

Dino waved it off. “Nothing.”

“You still didn’t answer my question about why, man.”

“No, I suppose I didn’t.” Dino placed his cup to the desk before tapping one finger on the manila file he had with him earlier when Damian first arrived. “Family is important to me. Despite what the Outfit tries to project about la famiglia and all that bullshit, it means little to me. Because that’s all it is—bullshit. Every man in the Outfit is in it for him and he always has been. We’re greedy, we’re excessive, and we know it. Everybody is jealous of somebody else, Damian. You’re lucky you don’t give a damn enough to notice.”

Dino smirked, shaking his head as he added, “It wouldn’t take much at all for the Outfit to crumble in around itself, not with the way its run and all. My father, back when he was still alive, used to say the Outfit was better when they ran it with the old school rules.”

“Cosa Nostra rules, you mean.”

“Sure. Men didn’t steal from one another. Honor was held to a higher standard. Making money wasn’t the only important thing.”

Dino had a point. Even Damian had to admit the Outfit’s main focus was money, making it, and who had the most of it. But wasn’t that the mafia way?

“You can’t call something a family if we’re all enemies making nice at a dinner table,” Dino said.

Damian laughed. “Sounds exactly like my family.”

“Mine, too, as awful as that is. We put on a good show, of course, but we barely manage that.” Dino slid the file closer to Damian before he rested back in his chair and picked the cup again for another long swig. “Open it.”

Plucking the file off the desk, Damian flipped over the top and came face-to-face with the picture of a beautiful young blonde with brown eyes and a teasing smile. Underneath the picture rested papers filled with information on the smiling, carefree girl. Damian felt like he was intruding on the life of a woman he didn’t know, so instead of going through the rest of the documents, his attention was taken back to the picture on the top of the pile. The small photograph had been printed on what looked to be a postcard. Flipping it over, Damian read the words written in a messy scrawl on the back.

Wales, England.

The beer could be better. I’m loving the accents, though.

Checking in a different way this time.

Miss you, D.

Love,

Lily.

Damian took note of the full date written in the left hand corner under Lily’s name.

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Dino asked.

The question seemed innocent enough.

It rarely ever was where Dino was concerned.

“Sure,” Damian admitted.

Lily was beautiful. Wide, clear brown eyes with flecks of green and gold in her irises. Pretty pink lips curved high with her genuine happiness. Her blonde hair, waved and long, framed her features.

Damian looked away from the picture.