This had better be good, or she's going to see a side of me she never wants to see again.
21
ANGELICA
I'm trembling as I lean into the wall.
I've never seen Dante so angry but the more I talk the more he calms down.
Still, he doesn't seem happy that I've been listening in.
I just couldn’t help that when I walked up to his office door to see if he'd like to help Sofia turn in, he was shouting.
I had to know what was going on.
"I don't need help from someone who doesn't understand how this world works."
I cross my arms more tightly, but he grabs one and starts dragging me toward his room.
"I understand more than you think." I gasp as his grip pinches me and stumble along to keep up with him.
"I worked in Antonelli's club for months. I heard things. I saw things. I know how his operation functions."
"That was six years ago. Things change."
"Some things change. But the tunnels haven't."
Just inside his room, I yank my arm away and stare at him.
I won’t back down from this.
I know I can help and it means that Sofia will be safer.
He goes completely still and narrows his eyes on me.
"What tunnels?"
I swallow hard.
He watches as my throat works around the lump there.
I'm terrified of his reaction, but he needs to hear it.
He needs an alternate route and this could work.
"The underground routes Antonelli's syndicate used to move product through the city. The authorities think they collapsed or were sealed off. But they didn’t. They're still there. And if you need alternate channels to move a shipment without Antonelli knowing, those tunnels are your best option." My arms cross over my chest and my throat works again, swallowing to loosen it.
He stares at me. "You are talking about the old smuggling routes beneath Rome."
"Yes." I blink a few times, still frightened, but I'm loosening up. "You think they're decommissioned, but why would Gerard keep them active for so long and then just let them go in the past six years? That's foolish.”
"If Gerard had a method of moving drugs and weapons that would go unnoticed by authorities, he'd never give that up. If he controls those old tunnels, then there's every chance he still has them functional."
My breath is raspy in my chest as I try to calm myself.
"How much do you remember?" he asks.
"Enough to give you a starting point. I remember three locations they mentioned repeatedly. One near the Tiber. One in Testaccio. One close to the Via Appia. If those tunnels are still operational, they'd give you a way to move product across the city without using the main roads or the ports."
