“Jesus.” Lito crosses himself. “If that’s true, then he’s been playing this game for years.”
Sonny leans back and looks up, clearly thinking.
Vincenzo as the mastermind—that gets me thinking, putting the pieces together. “He could be the one feeding info to the feds. The special agent in charge knew a lot of details, especially about what happened at the wedding.”
“Anyone could’ve told her that. The place was packed,” Sonny replies.
“Yeah, but she knew it was connected to my parents. She knew the wedding was revenge. That isn’t common knowledge. In fact, I can count on one hand how many knew about it, and the only one I don’t trust is Vincenzo.”
Sonny rubs his temples. “Holy shit. Vincenzo is a rat. He got the feds to pressure you so you wouldn’t get close to discovering his secret.”
“That he had a hand in what happened to your parents,” Lucretia says.
“And that he’s in bed with the feds.” Lito crosses his arms over his chest. “This changes everything. When the families find out—”
“They won’t do shit.” I growl. “They’re too afraid.”
“They’re afraid of you,” Sonny says. “If Vincenzo goes down, there won’t be anyone strong enough to stop you from taking over, and they know it.”
“You think they’d take Vincenzo’s side even though he’s a rat?” Lito shakes his head. “No way.”
Sonny sighs. “At this point, I’d say it’s 50/50. The Gallianos and the Tuscans will want his head. The Cavelleris, Franchesis, and the Fontanas—they’re in bed with him.” He stands, suddenly looking older than I remember. “I need to make some calls and set some meetings. Everyone get ready. No matter what I can get done between now and tomorrow night, Sarita is coming, and she’s bringing as many soldiers as she can muster from her family and others. We have to be prepared for the worst.”
“What a mess.” Lucretia leans against me.
“You need rest.” I stand and scoop her into my arms.
“I can walk.”
“I know.” I kiss her cheek and carry her out of the office and to the stairs.
She looks at the extra men stationed at the front door.
“Don’t worry. All my soldiers are on alert. You’re safe.”
“I’m not worried. I just don’t want bloodshed.” She snuggles closer to me as I climb the stairs. “I’m sorry he betrayed you. I know he was like a father.”
“He was.” I carry her to our room. “But I never let him take my father’s place. I was old enough to know the difference.”
“But it still hurts, doesn’t it?” she asks.
“Yes.” I wish it didn’t. But I’ll be feeling the knife in my back for quite a long time. On top of that, Vincenzo just landed at the top of my vendetta for my parents’ murder. He was in on it all along, I can feel it in my bones.
“You’re brooding.” She runs her fingers along my brow.
“Old habits die hard.” I put her on the bed.
She reaches for me, and I drop to my knees in front of her.
“Come here.” She pulls me closer, and I put my head in her lap. Trust is a commodity in our world. Vincenzo kept mine until the last possible second, until he could shove the knife all the way in. Lucretia sees sadness in me, but all I feel is hate. Hatred for the man who took so much from me while wearing a mask and pointing the finger at everyone else. I want him to die slowly, to scream and scream until I finally remove his tongue.
She strokes my hair. “At least with my parents, they are obvious with how horrible they are. My mother, in particular. She doesn’t hide it. She’s always stabbed me right in the chest, face to face.”
I smooth my hands along her thighs. “Never again.”
“Do you still want to kill them?” she asks softly, her fingers easing along my scalp. “My parents?”
I want to tell her no, that I can let it go. But the darkest part of me still wants their blood on my hands. “For you, I would spare them. Only for you.”
She sighs. “I can’t hold their fate in my hands, Mateo. I know what they’ve done to you. What they’ve done to me. They’re bad … I just don’t know if I want them … dead. I try to think about what Ferdinand would say if he knew all the facts.”
“And?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I think he would grant them mercy. But that’s how he was. He didn’t want to run the family the way my father did. He wanted to turn the businesses around, go more legit, pull everything into the light.”
“Go legit?”
“Yes.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “He was an optimist. And he was smart. I think if he’d had the chance, he could’ve done it.”
I nuzzle her thigh, then get to my feet. “Let’s wash up.” I pull her up and lead her to the shower.