“Iwish I had better news for you, guys,” Tara says apologetically as we wander in the fierce afternoon heat of the Red Rock Canyon. Exactly why the fuck Luca had to take us out here I do not know. For one thing, he’s going to burn like a mofo, despite me slathering him in sunscreen before we left the city. Tara is wearing an enormous protective sun hat for her fair skin, and doesn’t seem to be enjoying the heat.
I did ask him before we left why he was so interested in coming out here, and all he said was, “Professional curiosity.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says now, staring out at the scenery. He’s wearing a baseball cap but I bet he’s going to get burned on his ears and neck. “Very sorry to hear that.”
Tara has just told us how little progress she’s made, as far as understanding Maggie’s plans. “She doesn’t trust me,” she says. “Or rather, she sees no need to involve me in the family business. I asked her if I could come to the next board meeting, and she actually laughed. Not because she was being rude, for once—she genuinely thought I was kidding.”
“Ouch,” I say.
“So,” Tara says, “when’s Maggie going to die?” She sounds like she’s asking my favorite sundae.
“When the time is right,” Luca says.
“That’s vague.” Tara tips her head on one side as she looks at him, eyes hidden behind her sunglasses.
“That’s business. Besides, the less you know, the better.”
“Including the time and place?”
“Including everything. Your job is to feed us information, Tara. So you do your job and let me do mine.” Luca sounds almost kind despite the message.
Tara doesn’t seem to mind the rebuff. “There isonething,” she says thoughtfully. “Maggie’s not popular with everyone. She’s jumping back in to some of the operations Pops spent so much time getting usoutof. There’s a schism, and it’s growing, between those who want to carry on Pops’ legacy of changing the business into more legitimate streams, and those who want the easy money.”
“Alright,” Luca says. “If they’re motivated by money, we have enough.”
“It’s notjustthe money.” Tara is lost in thought for a moment, staring out at the red wasteland in front of us.
It’s beautiful, but terrifying. I don’t like it here. It makes me miss the human-constructed splendors of New York City, and I feel a sudden lurching homesickness.
“It’s not just the money motivating that side of the family,” she says again. “But I’m not sure what else it is. There’s a lot ofemotioninvolved…lots of talk about reclaiming things that have been lost over the years—parts of Boston. New York comes up a lot, as well, but I suppose you know that.”
Ugh. Even the mere mention of my beloved city makes me sad. “Well, they can fuck off, because New York isours,” I say fiercely, and Luca and Tara give me surprised glances, like they forgot I was even here.
“And there’s a lot of talk about Ireland,” Tara says after a moment. “Irish pride. Whatever that means.”
“Whatever that means,” Luca echoes thoughtfully.
* * *
“WhenisMaggie going to die?”I ask Luca myself later, when we’re back in our room at the Blue Luna Lux. Tara has gone to have a nap after checking in under the cunning alias of Ms. Smith.
“When I can see a way to do it without risking men I can’t afford to lose,” Luca replies. “That’s enough about business. Why don’t you and Tara go out on the town tonight?” Luca suggests. “I’ll ask Sonny to provide some bodyguards—”
“No bodyguards,” I say firmly. “As long as we stay in the Luna, we should be safe, right?” Luca hesitates, so I add, “We canallgo out. When we first got married, Tino intendedyouto be my protector, didn’t he?”
“He did,” Luca says softly. We haven’t talked much about Tino since he died. And when wedotalk about the old Boss, it’s about how everything made more sense when we found out he was my real father, why he was so determined to get us married and me under Morelli protection. We’ve even talked a little about how I feel about stuff, although I try not to. Feeling sad never did me any good, so I push it away.
“So come out with me and Tara and you can watch out for us yourself. Who better, right?”
He smiles down at me and I know I’ve won. “Alright, baby bird. I just didn’t want to get in the way. I think it’s important for you to reconnect with your sister.”
“I’ll admit, it’s nice to know there’sonemember of the Donovan family who doesn’t want me dead.”
Luca comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “We haven’t talked much about it all. Things are moving fast, and I want to make sure you’re—”
“I’m fine,” I say, putting my hands over his. “Really. I’m gonna go shower. And tonight—you, me and Tara take on Vegas. Okay?”
“Whatever you want, angel. Always.”
