Page 9 of The Taste of Deceit

“Yeah.”

Her throat works as she swallows.

“Why?”

I hold her gaze.

“Because they threatened the family. Because they went against Mikey.”

She stares at me. I can almost see the argument happening inside her head. She wants a better answer than that. She wants something that makes sense in the world she came from. Instead, all I can give her is the truth. In my world, those reasons were enough.

“Why is he so important?”

“Mikey?”

She nods.

“Because he’s responsible for everything.”

Sarah frowns.

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning every major decision goes through him.”

I rub a hand across my jaw.

“The businesses, the money, the shipments, the investments, the people working under him. If there’s a problem, Mikey deals with it.”

She stays quiet.

“When two people have a dispute, Mikey settles it. When somebody wants permission to do something, they go to Mikey. When somebody gets arrested, Mikey decides how it’s handled. When there’s a threat to the family, Mikey decides what happens next.”

Her eyebrows pull together.

“So he controls everything.”

“Pretty much.”

I shrug.

“Think about Amato Operations alone. Restaurants. Hotels. Real estate. Shipping. Investments.”

I hold her gaze.

“Now add the rest of the family business on top of that.”

Sarah is silent.

“People aren’t just afraid of Mikey because he’s powerful,” I say, shaking my head.

“They’re afraid of him because his decisions affect everybody.”

“So what happens if somebody doesn’t listen to him?”

I shrug.

“Depends.”