“I wasn’t to go to Geno unless there was trouble. He wasn’t considered a suspect, and neither were his brothers, but everyone else in his organization was. Every rider who came through and worked under him was considered a suspect. I went to a lot of trouble establishing my cover as a dancer in both communities. It’s a solid cover. If I were seen with Geno Ferraro, it would put me in his camp, something I can’t afford as an investigator.”
Stefano nodded. “Geno caught on to the neighborhood teens, younger men and women being used to spy, and he set a trap after his parents were murdered. How is it you were the one caught in the trap?”
“I teach ballet class to a group of children ranging in ages from very young to eighteen. During break I overheard one of the girls telling her friends she was afraid for her older brother. He’d stolen a wallet from a man at a restaurant on a dare. He was going to get a lot of money for the dare. The restaurant was owned by the Ferraro family, and everyone knew you didn’t steal from them or the people who frequented any of their businesses. She was really frightened. She’d brought the wallet to the studio and put it in a locker. Her brother didn’t know she took it. I think she planned to throw it in a dumpster. I thought I’d return it to the restaurant and simply say one of the children found it.”
“But that isn’t what happened,” Geno said, speaking for the first time.
Her dark eyes met his. She shook her head. “I realized the minute I took it out of the locker that the wallet had a kind of a sophisticated tracking system in it. I ran the name of the gentleman the wallet supposedly belonged to. The identity was a good fake, but definitely a fake. Someone had constructed an entire background for this man and deliberately dangled the very fat wallet in front of a teenage boy. I wondered who would do that. I thought it would be a good idea to find out. Imagine my surprise when that man turned out to be Geno Ferraro. I was both shocked and horrified. He was the one man I counted on to be clear of this mess, and yet he was daring teenagers to steal for him.”
Geno studied her averted face. Her dark hair partially fell across her high cheekbone on her left side. She had a beautiful face. “You didn’t consider the possibility that there might be another reason that wallet led you to me?”
“I allowed your bodyguards to capture me and throw me in your interrogation room. They weren’t very nice about it. There were a lot of threats. I recognized them and knew they worked for you, but until you walked in, I still didn’t think you were involved. Not only did you walk in, but Stefano did, and with him, two major criminals. Valentino Saldi and Dario Bosco both have reputations and are known to be very dangerous men. I believed I had the upper hand until that moment. I knew I was in trouble and had to figure out how to get myself out of there.”
“I should have paid more attention to my warning system,” Geno said. “I knew something was off, but I continued to think it was off in the wrong direction. That made no sense. I knew you were mine, and I was pissed as hell that you weren’t telling me everything.”
Amaranthe frowned and shook her head, pushing at the thick mass of hair. “I’m not certain about knowing I’m yours, other than our shadows tangling together. But you had two criminals in the room. They weren’t riders. Icouldn’t disclose shadow rider business to them even if I weren’t aware they held two of the largest territories in Chicago.”
“Valentino and Dario are family,” Stefano said. “I know that seems impossible, but it’s true. We make it work. We’re careful of shadow rider business. They don’t ask questions about our business, and we don’t ask questions about theirs, although we’ve helped one another out upon occasion when the situation called for it.”
“You aren’t certain you’re mine, Amara?” Geno asked softly. “There’s still doubt in your mind?”
Soft color stormed her cheeks. She held her palm out toward him. “Don’t even think about letting your shadow loose again, Geno. I’m still trying to figure out how to get back to my apartment and find Carlotta’s brother without giving it away that I was the one who took the wallet out of the locker. I can’t think about anything else, and you mess up my ability to think straight.”
Before Geno could lay down the law to her, Elie did. “I think you’ve forgotten the council issued an order—you return to France, or you stay with Geno Ferraro, where they know you have a degree of protection. They want the two of you working together. If you don’t follow their orders, Amara, you risk losing your job.”
Geno raised an eyebrow at his errant woman. She might think she could run, but it wasn’t going to happen.
“I don’t see how they expect me to stay under the radar.”
He wanted to smile at her snippy little tone, but he kept a straight face. “I contacted Damian Ferraro this morning. He happens to be another cousin of ours and a renowned jeweler. As a rule, it’s very difficult to get on his schedule for a custom set of rings, particularly ones for a rider, but he was very accommodating. We’ll announce our engagement. You’re a dancer, not a rider. No one is going to question that I would be interested in a beautiful woman.”
Her skin went pale as she shook her head. “No one in therider community would believe a Ferraro would ever consider marrying anyone who wasn’t a shadow rider.”
“Exactly,” Geno said, his dark blue eyes drifting over her face.
Comprehension was fast. Her brain processed at a high rate of speed. She thought the way he did. A smile pulled at her full lower lip and lit her dark eyes until she looked as if she could stroke him with velvet.
“Exactly,” she repeated.
“What does that mean?” Stefano asked. “What are you two planning?”
“My woman is a famous ballet dancer, a very big deal. I certainly would need to watch her perform. If there happen to be other shadow riders watching her performance, as well as two renowned heads of crime families from Chicago with their bodyguards, that would not be unusual,” Geno said.
Amaranthe beamed at him, her entire face lighting up. Geno knew her reaction had nothing to do with the compliment of her dancing and everything to do with including her as a partner in catching the killers.
Elie and Stefano both shook their heads immediately. It was Stefano who lodged a protest. “You can’t be considering using Amara as bait.”
Amaranthe’s dark eyes flashed with a dark flame. Geno filled her mind with warm amusement.They persist in thinking you are like their women. Francesca, Stefano’s woman, is soft and sweet and the center of the Ferrarofamiglia. You will love her and want only to protect her. She is courageous and seeks to give Stefano a home and children. She nearly lost her life giving birth to Crispino, their son, and that was after losing at least two babies. She carried twins and only one, a little girl, Luciana, survived the birth. Again, Francesca nearly died. Stefano is very protective of her.
How sad for them. Naturally, he would be protective.
Elie nearly lost Brielle when she was wounded and elected to save her bodyguards rather than go into a safe room. She’s a shadow rider, but the shadows make her extremely ill. She is a superb investigator. In any case, neither man wants his woman to ride the shadows and work as an assassin.
Unlike you.
Unlike me.
Geno felt her genuine relief. She sent him another smile. Not only did he flood her with male pride in her but also a predatory possessiveness she couldn’t mistake. He was not only a shadow rider—he was a hunter in the same way she was. He’d recognized that trait in her the moment his shadow had connected with hers. Whether the Archambaults had brought that trait out in them both or whether they simply had it embedded in their DNA, the result was the same—it was strong in them.
