“This is Shayna Costa, my mother.” Nicco took it, looking over every inch, taking in each little detail. I couldn’t fault him. I’d done the same. It somehow made her different knowing this information about her, more than I’d ever had before. I understood how it had been a ploy by Dayton to keep me from looking further. I hated how easily it had worked. He made me forget her, and she’d become nothing to me in the process, just a name rarely uttered.
Leaning against the desk, I crossed my arms. “Dayton made me believe she was a nobody outside of good family lines to pass down. Turns out he left a lot out. The Costas are a female-led family, having a matriarchal system instead of a patriarchal one. They have their toes in espionage, technology, and are what some would call Femme Fatales. Many older families looked down on them and saw them as lesser because they excelled in the softer aspects of the criminal underground. But while the men bickered, the women worked, and the Costas soon became legendary, gaining respect among their peers. Now, they’re one of the top crime syndicates in the south. They call themselves the Sirens because they lure men into traps, taking what they want and using what men see as weaknesses to their advantage.”
“So, um, your mom, she was one of these Siren women?”
“That, I don’t know. Just that she’s connected to them and possibly could’ve been sent here undercover for all I know. There’s so much Dayton covered up. It’s hard to make sense of all the lies. I mean, the fact we’re brothers just shows the lengths he went to. This was all part of a scheme, and I don’t know if pulling one card will make the whole house fall.”
“Such as if we alert them to knowing who they are and that Shayna is dead, they could potentially retaliate?”
“Yes. Though, I’m hoping they’ll hear us out and go up against the real enemy with us, or at least lend us a hand. They have the technology and resources to test the bones, since our lab technician seems to have disappeared.”
“Then I think we should do it. It sounds like there’s more to gain than lose, and we’re already losing, so what’s the downside?”
I assessed him, rolling his question over in my head. “You’re good at this, you know.” I stood, walking back around to my desk. I picked up the phone and pressed another number, and the line rang. This time it took a little longer for someone to answer, but it was 4 am.
“Hello?” a tired, feminine voice answered.
“Camila?”
“No, this is Nat. One sec.” Shuffling could be heard in the background, and then footsteps as Nat carried the phone with her. A door creaked open a moment later before I could hear her attempting to rouse my cousin.
“Cams, phone.”
“I’m asleep,” she mumbled.
“It’s the boss man.”
More covers moved before I heard the phone taken and placed against her ear. “Mr. Mascro?”
“Camila, I have a very important question for you that I need you to answer honestly.”
“Of course, anything.”
“Are you part of the Sirens?”
She sucked in a breath, and a moment of silence passed before I heard her swallow. “No.”
“But you know who they are?”
“Yes.”
“Can you get in touch with someone?”
More silence and then sounds of the sheets again. “Are you sure about this?” she asked in a whisper. “My mother was one at one time, and she tried to train me, but I didn’t really have the stomach for some of it. I went to a boot camp of sorts when I was younger and met some of my cousins then. Our cousins, I guess. They’re all intense and hard-core. I didn’t really fit in with that, you know. But I did make some friends. In fact, I’d reached out to one with the information I found on Darren before I was, you know. I, uh, I can send her another message, but…” She trailed off, her rambling running out of steam. Once she’d allowed herself to speak of them, it was like she couldn’t get it out fast enough. I heard her swallow, and I wanted to hit myself for not thinking about her mental state, but this was important.
“I didn’t understand half of what you said, but I’m sure this is the right move. It’s life or death, and I think they could be what turns the tide, especially if my father isn’t dead like he’s supposed to be.”
Camila sucked in a breath, and I realized I’d inadvertently let something slip. Shit. I needed some sleep if I was making mistakes already.
“That kinda makes sense,” she mumbled. “I’ll reach out to Cleo. Do you want them to get back with you or me?”
“Me. It’s urgent. The sooner we can verify, the better.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you. Consider your school debt paid. I’m sorry you got pulled into this.”
“You don’t have to do that. I made my own choices. Stupid ones, but it had nothing to do with you. I thought… well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.”