But the thought of never touching her again, never seeing that fire in her eyes when she argues with me, it guts me.
I’m a man who stands up for himself and his family. A man who faces whatever life brings head on. And so I’ll face La Corona and deal with whatever they throw my way.
The next day, I sit at the head of the table at Marco’s home, facing the men who've been both my allies and my judges since I took my father's place.
Marco's eyes bore into me with a calculated stare that makes lesser men squirm.
Roman stands behind him, arms crossed, expression unreadable but for the slight tightening around his mouth.
Leo Ferraza drums his fingers against the table as if he’s bored.
Maybe he is. He’s the oldest of us now.
The generation before us.
He’s seen a whole hell of a lot more than the rest of us.
“What’s got your boxers in a bunch?” Luca asks, sitting next to Leo, seemingly annoyed at the impromptu meeting I asked for today.
"Agent Ricci was attacked three nights ago."
Marco leans forward. "And this concerns us, how?"
I take a breath. "She's been staying in one of my safe houses since then."
The silence that follows is lethal. Then it breaks.
"You've lost your fucking mind," Roman growls, pushing off the wall.
Marco doesn't move, but his stillness is more threatening than Roman's outburst. "You brought an FBI agent into one of your properties?"
"She was injured. Someone tried to kill her for investigating Rocco's kidnapping and Mrs. Ferraza's murder." I meet each of their eyes. "The same cases that connect back to someone trying to destroy us."
Leo slams his hand on the table. "So you nurse her back to health? What's next, Dominic? Inviting her to Sunday dinner?"
Maybe. "I made a judgment call."
"A judgment call?" Marco's voice cuts deep. "You've compromised everything we've built. Everything your father and grandfather sacrificed for."
The accusation stings because part of me knows he's right. But they don't have all the pieces yet.
“Fuck that.” Luca points a finger at me. “She’s the one who took Rocco.”
“No.” I slide copies of the photos Roman had gotten of the cards and Olivia’s information from the transportation office. “The GPS shows it was another car. We know a man took Rocco. He must have changed the plates. Her car’s GPS shows it in the garage until she took it out after getting the call about Rocco.”
Only Roman moves to look at what I’ve brought. If he wasn’t an enforcer, I imagine he’d be a detective or maybe a Federal Agent.
“He’s right. And look, the bumper is different. I should have noticed before,” Roman says. He looks up at me. “But it’s still fucking stupid, Dom.”
“He must be thinking with his dick,” Leo grumbles.
“She also says someone is siphoning assets from seized La Corona property. She specifically said it was money from a Monti raid.” I glance at Luca, wondering what smart ass response he’ll have to that.
“So what?”
I roll my eyes. “Blackwood isn’t just out to get us, he’s stealing from us, dumbass.”
Marco's eyes narrow. "Why do you trust this woman? The same one who's been trying to put you in prison for years?"
