I sat down in one of the chairs opposite her desk, and Carmine closed the door before moving over to stand behind her to the right. “I assume your return means that everything is in order.”
I nodded. “It is. I gave Ashton the truth, or most of it anyway and—”
“And he offered you a ring?” she finished.
Carmine took a few steps forward and peered down at my hand before his eyes came up to meet mine. “What’s that?”
I looked down at the diamond ring on my finger and smiled. “Wishful thinking.” I dropped my hand and looked back at Illiana. “No, I was going to say, I gave him the truth and sent him back to his dad to plant the seed for the ambush. He’s going to text me when he’s done finalizing the plan, but Anthony will take the bait. He’s stupid and appreciates low-hanging fruit.”
“You’ve learned a lot in your time, slinking between the families,” Illiana said. “Pity. If only I had more time with you, I might send you out to the Skullys or Ghiardos to see what you could do with them. You’re even better at this than I thought.”
“When you spend your whole life between the lines, you learn how to blend in,” I responded. “Besides,”—I looked over at Carmine—“you already have your moles for those families. So you should be set.”
Illiana grinned widely at me. “You know, when you first came back, you were very prim and proper. I thought to myself, ‘Now who is this girl?MyDenise was brooding, snarky, if not a bit rude.’ It’s interesting what can happen when you fall in love.” Her teeth flashed as her smile grew. “And even more interesting what can happen when you have to defend it.”
“I’ll make things perfectly clear here. I want Anthony Carducci in the ground. He’s had my life between his teeth for a little too long for my comfort, and as long as he’s around, there will always be a peg anchoring Ashton to him. If it will make sure that man bleeds and Ashton lives, however it happens is fine. So you just tell me what role you want me to play, and I’ll play it.”
She grinned. “For once, I’d like you to play no roles. Just be there by my side. Be Denise, be a Costa, and when the dust shakes out, if I’m satisfied with the outcome of this elaborate chess match you’ve laid out, I’ll be perfectly happy to let you go to your happily ever after. Now, about how many men do you believe we should bring?”
“Anthony’s army is smaller than yours, but he will probably bring them all,” I replied. “I say, arm yourselves fully.”
She scoffed. “Benny’s gonna be over the moon. He’s been looking for a chance to have a little bit of fun.”
I tried not to show my disgust at that statement. “Anthony and Arturo like big guns. They carry the traditional pistol on them, but storming into battle like that, they’ll both have assault rifles without question. A good number of their men will too.”
She nodded. “Well, we certainly know how to hold our own inthatring, don’t we, Carmine?”
“I’ll have the boxes unloaded as soon as we’re done,” he responded.
“Go now. I think we’re done here.” She smiled, looking me right in the eyes. “You should get some rest. We’ve only got one final day to get all of our ducks in a row, so tomorrow will be busy.”
“I’ll go then,” I said.
I stood up and didn’t break stride leaving the office and heading down my bedroom. I shut my door behind me so that I could hear if someone entered, and then I went into my closet. I pressed my hand between two of the wood panels, and a spring plate popped out. Inside was a file box in which I kept all of my unused personas. One of them, Danny, was a good gender-neutral option, so I grabbed it and one of the other ones, then popped the wood back into place. Each persona had a passport, state IDs for all fifty states, a social security card, a birth certificate, and a few pictures of what appeared to be a happy, loving family.
I tucked both personas into my purse and went to my bathroom. I grabbed a box of hair dye and a few different sets of different colored contacts and added them in as well. Even if I was beginning to think that leaving may not be what I wanted to do, I wanted the option if we needed it.
I flushed the toilet so as not to arouse too much suspicion if someone was waiting for me to come out, and sure enough, when I left, Carmine was standing in my doorway.
“Announcing yourself wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world,” I said.
He shrugged. “It’s much more fun to see you squirm when I just turn up.” He walked in and shut the door behind him. “Denise.” I took a deep breath in case I needed to be ready to jump out of the way of a knife or bullet, but Carmine just crossed his arms. “How did you figure me out?”
“You ate kiwi,” I replied. “We’re all extremely allergic to it.”
“Kiwi,” he said with a disappointed sound to his voice. “I got fucked by kiwi.”
“I was honest with you, so be honest with me,” I said. “What’s your endgame? Are you actually working for the Skullys?”
He grinned. “They think that.”
“Did they…kill…the baby?” I dared to ask.
“No,” he responded. “Illiana’s real son is back in Florida, living his best life as the rich, bratty heir to a mafia throne. It’s weird, being here and being around Bennett. I have a lot of respect for him not turning out like that.”
“So who are you?” I asked. “Are you a Skully at all?”
“No.” He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. “My nameisCarmine. I was…purchased when I was born and was given the name Carmine. Illiana’s actual son was given the name Daniel. They raised me like a soldier and nothing more. I’ve never mattered to them or to anyone.”
