“Why would Renato mention the name of your enemy while staring me in the eye?”
Frustrated and nervous, I rubbed my chin, one hand gripping the steering wheel. “I don’t know.”
Silence. But I still felt her gaze on me. It was burning a hole through my skull. The expectation was for her to push the matter, to try to get the answers she wanted, but instead, she stared at me for a few moments longer before righting in her seat.
I had to give her something. I had to try to satisfy her need for answers, otherwise, she would dig for them in places she shouldn’t.
“Stefano Mancuso has been the enemy of our family for years. This city belonged to the Valentis for fuck knows how long, and when the Mancusos moved in on our turf, they stirred some serious shit.” I took a breath, thinking about what I wanted to say next. “Our family, we’re not saints, Doe. We do our fair share of fucked up shit. But one thing about us Valentis, we don’t tolerate drugs. In fact, my father, my grandfather, they dedicated their lives to keeping the streets of Boston clean. When the Mancusos moved in, they started soiling our streets with their cheap cocaine, ruining lives, and it has been war between our families ever since.”
I wiped down my face with the back of my hand. Just talking about the fuckers had me on edge. Even though all of them were dead, their corpses nothing more than fish bait, it still irked me just thinking about them, about how much pain and suffering they had caused our family…and Doe.
“Where are they now?” she asked softly.
I shrugged. “They sure as fuck aren’t in this town anymore.” That was for fucking sure.
“Then why did Lorik think the guy who attacked me and Karina was working for Mancuso?”
“Jesus Christ, Doe. Is this twenty fucking questions?” I snapped. I fucking snapped. The heat was too much, and this conversation was treading on dangerous ground.
“I’m sorry.” She looked down at her lap, her fingers still toying with her cuticles. “I just don’t know why Renato would mention Mancuso to me.”
“The fucker was high on pain, Doe. Don’t read too much into it.”
Another moment of silence. Awkward silence. What was the use of cutting a bastard’s tongue out when he was able to mumble shit? For fuck’s sake.
The silence between us stretched until we reached the house. I hated the silence but appreciated it as well. It was fucking with my head, this giant secret I was keeping from her.
I got out of the car, and Lorik came rushing toward me. “Jesus, bro, where have you been?”
“Out.” I slammed the car door. “Why?”
“I was trying to get hold of you for the last ten fucking minutes.”
I pulled out my phone and saw what the problem was. “Fucking battery died. What’s going on?”
Lorik’s normal cocky looking grin was absent, replaced by a look I didn’t like. “Bro, you need to come see this.” He glanced over my shoulder at Doe, who had gotten out of the car, then back at me. “Alone.”
Immediately, my insides buzzed with alarm, warning bells slamming against my skull. “Doe,” I called over my shoulder, “go wait for me in the bedroom.”
She stepped in next to me. “Is everything okay?”
“I said go wait for me in the bedroom.” With a flick of my finger, I ordered one of the guards to escort her. It was another guy I didn’t know. I was getting really fucking tired of all the unfamiliar faces around here.
With wary eyes, Doe looked back at me as she reached the door. There was a fire in her eyes which hadn’t been there before tonight. I loved it. But I also needed to be careful with it. Her newfound courage could either be a godsend, or a ticking time bomb.
As soon she left, I glared at Lorik. “What the fuck is going on?”
“We found a body.”
“A body? Where?”
“Just outside the gate of the estate.”
“What?” My voice slammed like a boulder against the walls. “What the fuck? Who is it?”
“Dunno. But there’s something else.”
“Goddammit, Lorik. Would you start talking?”