Battle lines are being drawn.
Things are shifting between the families of the American mafia, and I can’t tell which way the cards are going to fall. Not yet.
But if the daughter of the Fusco don is dead, then there’s danger in the air.
Rocco follows my gaze. “Still pining?”
“Fuck off,” I snap. Nobody else is close enough to hear Rocco’s low laugh. He’s the only one I’d allow to get away with it.
“How is our little female heir?”
His tone is mildly scornful as we fall into step, leaving the Courtyard to make our way to the dining hall. The dons insist that we maintain a routine.
We might be killing each other at four, but at five? You sit your ass down and eat dinner together likecivilized people.
“Don’t underestimate her,” I caution under my breath. Cat doesn’t look at me as we pass by, her focus entirely on what her second is telling her. “All heirs are dangerous, Rocco.”
And the woman burning daggers into my back could well be the most dangerous of all.
Chapter four Caterina
“He’s staring at you.”
Dom sounds on the edge of violence, and I cross my arms to avoid punching him in the face, just like when we were kids. “Fuck all the way off with that shit, Domenico. Anything useful to say?”
Dom tips his head, but his jaw still ticks as he shifts to block me from Dante’s view. Just to mess with him, I take a step to the right. His nostrils flare. “Cat.”
Relenting, I roll my eyes. “Worried I’ll faint away at the feel of his eyes on me? I think we’re safe.”
Dom drops his eyes to my neck. “You sure about that?”
I take a step closer. “You don’t get to lecture me about my choices, Domenico. You want to be my enforcer? Spend less time giving me the fucking puppy eyes and more time on what’s important.”
His eyes shutter. “Fine. Nicoletta Fusco was found dead. Butchered. It was violent.”
His abrupt switch makes my thoughts stumble over each other as they process. “Motherfucker.”
My mind instantly moves to Matteo, but I dismiss it. None of us go after women or children.
It’s almost sacred. There is only one exception, and it sure as fuck wasn’t the shy girl who spent most of her time with her head buried in a book. No, the only exception across the Cosa Nostra, the five crime families of mafia America… is me.
What a lucky bitch.
But my father’s words from our call earlier play through my head, and I frown. The coincidence… I can’t ignore the possibility, unpalatable as it is.
I didn’t know Nicoletta well, heavily protected as she was by her father and brother. But we met a few times over the years at pre-arranged Cosa Nostra socials, mixers, and she was always sweet.
The last thing I thought I’d ever say about a Fusco. “I didn’t see Giovanni here.”
Dom shakes his head. “Word is he’s about to burn the whole fucking country down. They’ve put everything they have on it. He left this morning.”
I can imagine. Of the five of us that make up the heirs, Gio is easily the most intense. Stefan could probably give him a run for his money, but he never says enough to really cinch the title.
“I don’t like this,” I say in a low voice, and he nods. “Watching brief.”
Dante walks past with Rocco, and we pivot, following them as they make their way to the dining hall. Everyone on campus is heading that way, a stream of bodies that block up the entrance as everyone hustles to get in. I catch a couple of my Crows in a shoving war with a few Asantes, and one of them pales as they catch my eye, stepping back and hissing at the others.
Dante passes through first, Dom and I following.
