Family Ties

Michael

“That’s what I thought.” Demetri placed his glass on the table in front of us then sat up straighter. “Mr. Rossi has been treading dangerously close for years. With this development, he has a plan in place. One that I don’t want to see happen at all.”

The formality of Sal’s name wasn’t a good sign. It was as if Demetri wasn’t dealing with a person, but an item. One to be disposed of.

“I agree,” Fredrick said.

Demetri turned to me, ignoring my brother. Fredrick was a loud-mouth on a daily basis but when he was drinking it was worse. And his memory tended to fade. I knew I’d have to remind him about this conversation tomorrow.

When it came to these deals, Demetri dealt exclusively with me. He loved my brother but even I tired of his lackadaisical attitude.

“What I don’t understand is why he came to me,” I said. “Even if he didn’t know my relationship with you, Demetri, if he did any research he’d know that Fredrick was my brother.” Demetri had put the club in Fredrick’s name fro