Page 99 of Beni

Beni stilled in the booth, a thought popping into his head without warning. It wasn’t at all strange to him that Cory knew about the cocaine, and shipment coming in considering Theo was his uncle, and he worked closely with the Outfit’s top men to do his job. A lot like his brother.

Sure, Beni hadn’t been told about the cocaine, but he had to wonder …

“What’s rolling around in that head of yours? I can practically see your wheels turning.”

Beni made a noise under his breath. “How come they didn’t tell me about the shipment coming in, you know, considering I’m supposed to be finding who is causing the issues within the crew and with the gang?”

“Loose lips sink ships. The less people that know about something like this, the better. It’s always been that way. We don’t advertise our business and dealings because we don’t want other people in our business. You know what I mean?”

Yeah, sure …

But what if the cocaine was the goal?

And everything else …

Was that just a distraction?

Beni was surprised to find a few guys hanging around the warehouse when he arrived later that day to speak with the Capo. Typically, by this time, the guys were done with their work, and back to whatever holes they crawled out of.

Then again, nothing was normal about this crew lately. Honing in on the fact that they were all suspects in the problems happening, he suspected some thought if they worked harder, and showed up more, then the Capo would believe it wasn’t them. And for others, they were just so fucking bitter to be caught up in this mess at all that they were constantly in a mood.

Made work fun.

Not.

He wouldn’t usually speak with the Capo where someone could see him approach the man privately, especially seeing as how the crew was supposed to think he was just another guy like them … but he didn’t have much of a choice today. Here they were, and he had an idea that he wanted to put to work.

About the cocaine, that was.

Who knew when that shipment would arrive?

He didn’t have time to wait.

One of the guys sitting on the hood of a car that had to be at least twenty years old, and in serious need of body work, nodded to Beni before he headed inside the warehouse. Figuring it was better to be kind, given the current circumstances, he nodded back.

After all, he hadn’t forgotten what the Capo’s little favorite—Neil—told him a while back. Nobody here could be trusted, and they were all out for what was best for them. They didn’t give a shit about Beni at the end of the day.

Words to live by.

Speaking of Neil …

Beni found him standing on the opposite side of Jerome’s beat up desk when he entered the back office of the warehouse. Not that he even bothered to pass Beni a glance, let alone a proper fucking greeting.

He didn’t care.

“Didn’t expect to see you tonight,” Jerome muttered, leaning back in his chair. “What’s up?”

Beni passed Neil a look before giving his attention the Capo. “Do you have a minute to chat?”

The man waved a hand. “Floor is free, go on ahead.”

No.

He wasn’t going to do that with Neil right there. To be honest, he wasn’t sure exactly how much Neil knew about Beni’s reason for being put on this crew, or if he was aware of the true purpose. And he hadn’t forgotten what Cory told him earlier, either.

Loose lips sink ships.

His little plan—he was determined to figure out if the cocaine was the goal for the gang, which meant everything else was a distraction—would only work if everything else went according to plan, too. As few people as possible needed to know.