My dad pounded alcohol like a champ, downing half of the glass in one gulp. His hand shook as he raised the glass to his mouth.
Could he be more obvious?
His unease didn’t make me feel any better about this dinner. But, with dozens of people surrounding us, I doubted they would kill us during dinner. So at the very least, we had some time.
I hoped.
Technically, I had done nothing wrong.Yet. This week, I planned to make the first transfer from the Blackwell Fund to cover my dad’s losses. So I kept my head down and stopped mouthing off to Dante.
A ruse to get him off my back.
He let me do my job without questioning my every move. And since he was on board with my plan to use the Blackwell Fund to launder more illegal money, it was the perfect way to conceal the truth.
Or so I thought.
I immediately recognized the people sitting across from me. The Vitales were a rival crime family who had been at odds with the Lucianos for years. They were also the people who gave my dad a loan.
He owed both families money.
I wanted to run, to make an excuse to use the bathroom before they killed us. But Salvatore rose from the head of the table, his gaze shifting to his sons.
Then he looked over at my dad and me. “Before we eat, there’s an important matter I’d like to discuss.”
All four of the Luciano brothers stared at me. They made me think they liked me, that I was special to them.
Dante crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, enjoying my family’s demise. Angelo winked while Stefan flashed one of his boyish smiles. Nico frowned. Now I understood why he disappeared on me this morning, why his father called him so early to deal with business.
He used me for sex.
They all did.
And now…
Gasping for air, my lungs felt like they would collapse with each shallow breath I took. My hand flew to my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on breathing regularly, but my anxiety only worsened.
“Ava,” Dad said with panic in his tone. “Where’s your inhaler?”
I clutched my chest, struggling to breathe, hoping my asthma attack would save us.
It was all a game for them.
They were going to kill us.
Fuck.