My current path would take me to the trains. They wouldn’t expect me to do that. In their eyes, hailing a cab or calling for a car and going to my father to inform him of what Ricco had done would make more sense—or so I hoped. Either way, I needed to lose myself in a crowd and become invisible.
Shivers wracked my body, and my breath fogged the air. With each yard I gained, I checked off what I’d done and what had to be accomplished to disappear. The escape path had been set in motion when I’d found the key Mom had hidden for me beneath the jewelry box drawer. Once I’d figured out what it had unlocked and where, I added to the stash of money and weapons she’d left me within the locker. I’d hid the key nearby in case of an emergency that would keep me from going home.
Time passed in agonizing slowness as I sprinted down the steps to the trains, weaving around people. Once on board, I fell into a seat, careful to keep my head down. I needed a disguise—a hat, a coat, something to cover my hair. As the train sped to the next stop, I studied the passengers. It was warmer inside but not enough for people to remove their coats. A newspaper lay on one of the seats, abandoned. I leaned forward and picked it up. It would have to do. There were cameras, and I needed to stay off them so Ricco wouldn’t be able to find me.
It was a short trek from the train to the bus terminal where everything was stashed. The key was hidden nearby. It wouldn’t be long until I came to the stop where I could retrieve everything Mom and I had hidden in the locker. Thank God I’d overheard Ricco’s conversation with Dad.
There was only one place I could go to regroup: the Cayman Islands and to Nico La Rosa, the man who could be my salvation—or my ultimate destruction.
CHAPTER TWO
NICO
Dark clouds gathered miles from the Caribbean Sea’s shore, contrasting with the blue skies directly overhead. It would have been wise to stay indoors, but I’d been in meetings most of the morning and had to escape the confinement of four walls and endless bullshit. Besides, the climate fit my mood. I felt a certain symmetry with the volatile storm.
I stood at the railing of my family’s waterfront property, tracking the storm’s progression and feeling the same uncontrollable electric current building inside me but with no outlet. It’d been like that for a while, and a sense of unfulfillment gnawed at me. Something had to change. I couldn’t figure out what.
A warm breeze gusted off the choppy water, bringing a distinct chill on the backend. The temperature was dropping. My guess was about an hour until the skies opened with thunderous wrath over the island.
I still wore dress pants and a white button-down from my last meeting, but I unbuttoned the top few and rolled the sleeves to my elbows to shed the sense of constraint. After taking off my shoes and socks, I followed the steps from our property to the boardwalk that led to the beach. The worn wood beneath my feet acted as an anchor, grounding me in the moment as I took in the island’s beauty. Waves crashed against the shore, tearing at the sand and slowly revealing the coastline we would see once everything blew over. In the storm’s aftermath, there would exist a reminder of surprises around every corner.
I was concerned that the New York Mafia syndicate would be one such surprise—an unwelcome one. The Amato and Tucci families couldn’t pose a problem that we were aware of, but the Verretti family had been working with us as of late, making connections and helping out when we needed answers, particularly about the Amato family. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the toehold Dante Verretti had gained in the Chicago Mafia. It was clear that the Verrettis should be the ones running New York, speaking for the other crime families and serving as a voice in commissions.
If that happened, it would cause an uproar in Italy, where another family or two were losing power and vying to position themselves to join us in Chicago. But I couldn’t figure which was the greater of the two evils—which family would benefit ours as an ally and make us even more formidable?
Withdrawing my phone from my pocket, I pressed the contact button for Marco, my eldest sibling and the boss of our family. He picked up on the second ring, and I got right to the point.
“Have you learned any more about the Verretti family?” They were the strongest of the three New York families but nothing compared to the power mine had in Chicago.
“Not much, other than Dante held up his end of the deal and transported Guido back to his father.”
Leo Amato, Guido’s father, was the boss of the New York Mafia that we considered to be the least of a threat between the three that resided there. Guido, the former underboss, had caused nothing but problems for Luc’s wife, Summer. After everything that had gone down several weeks before in December, we all hoped that would be the last we saw of him. Because if he dared to step foot in our territory again, he would leave in a body bag.
“Something isn’t adding up. Guido Amato wants to knock off his father and assume his place in the family. That much is clear. But Dante and the Verretti family could be in league with the Tucci boss. Have you been able to confirm there isn’t a connection? Because the interactions the Five Families have had with Dante have positioned his family so they could broker an alliance with us.”
“Where’s this coming from?” Marco’s deep voice vied with the thunder that rumbled in the distance, with a few lightning strikes venturing closer. I could picture my brother shoving a hand through his dark hair as he stood to scan the perimeter visible from the window of the mansion where he lived with his wife, El.
“I’ve done some digging into the Tucci family. There was a contract offered to Dante for an arranged marriage with Mia. Has he said anything about it?”
“No. Our discussions have centered around the Amatos.” A clatter sounded as if Marco had tossed a pen onto his desk. “The few times Mia has been brought up, Dante was cagey, and lately, there’s been a hint of panic. It was brief, but I caught it. If she fled, and he’d changed his mind and planned to marry her… you could be right. He’s hiding something regarding Mia Tucci. We need to proceed with caution and do more digging before we deem them allies.”
“I wrapped up business here”—my job had been to check on the bank we owned and see what we had in the vault—“but I’m going to stay a few more days and hack the Tucci and Verretti accounts.” In my gut, I felt as if Mia was the key. But before I could determine whether that was correct, I had to dig into all their secrets. A lot could be uncovered by following the money trail.
In the background, I could hear another phone ringing. Marco asked me to hold. As I waited, I let my focus drift back to the brewing tempest, and I soaked up its turbulent, rejuvenating energy. Lightning strobed in jagged lances, striking the ground not far from the house with a deafening boom. Thunder crackled through the air as smoke rose from where the bolt had struck. A large body appeared around the corner of the house as I stood with my back to the water. It was one of the guards, rushing toward me.
A skeleton security crew was with me, staying in the guesthouse. Geo came toward me then stopped, his mouth a grim slash on his scowling face.
“The electrical panel with the security lines took a hit. Mike will work on repairing it, but it may be a day or two.”
“We should be fine.” Only my family knew I was there. I wasn’t worried and turned back to watch the storm’s progression as Geo raced back to help Mike. I should have gone in, but I wasn’t ready.
“Nico.”
I snapped back, keying in on the tension in Marco’s voice. “I’m here.”
“That was Tony. A bomb went off outside of Envy.”
Tony Caruso, Max’s brother, managed the nightclubs the Five Families owned. He’d stepped sideways in the family when his older brother returned from the dead, ultimately taking over as boss of the Caruso family.