“Saverio may know.”
I bolt upright at those words. “We can’t tell him.”
Ben pierces me with a knowing look. “If you want theconsigliererole, we have to tell him.”
“Then I’ll forget about it. You can appoint someone else.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Him digging his claws in.” The only family I have ever known is the Mazzonefamiglia, and I don’t want to move to fucking Vegas. We don’t share the same values, and I have zero desire to be around his sex slaves or Anais. I scrub my face in my hands. Fuck. She’s my cousin, and she tried to get me in bed. Sweet Jesus.
“You know I won’t let that happen. Just like I won’t let you walk away after months of training because you think I can’t keep Saverio in line. He owes me, and if it comes down to it, I’ll call in the favor.”
I gawk at him. “You can’t be serious? You can’t use the favor for that!”
“Why not? It’s as good a reason as any.”
“Things are messy in Chicago. The Russians are still a concern. You may need to call in the favor for more pressing problems.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
The stubborn outline of Ben’s jaw tells me this is an argument I won’t win now. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” I say, forcing myself to calm down and think logically. “I still have lots of training to do, so I suggest we keep this knowledge to ourselves until the time comes when we need to seriously consider the matter.” I am not letting Ben waste that IOU on me. Not a hope in hell it’s going down like that.
“Okay.” He slowly bobs his head. “Let’s continue as we are and deal with it when we are forced to confront it.”
I drain my drink, so ready to be done with this day. Yet there is one final piece of business to discuss. “Did Phillip ID the guy from the boutique?”
“He was able to hack into the city camera network, and he found the guy via one of the traffic cams. He’s a native New Yorker. A petty criminal. Has a bunch of arrests and priors for carjacking and stealing. All low-level stuff.”
I frown, not understanding this at all. “Any connection to The Outfit? Or any local gangs or othermafioso?”
Ben shakes his head, before finishing his drink. “None that we have found so far. I sent a few guys over to the address on file for him, but he’s no longer living there.”
“Great.” I rub at my sore temples. “So, the guy has a hard-on for Rena, and he’s in the wind.”
“I’m assigning Fabrizio as Rena’s permanent bodyguard. He’ll escort her any time she leaves the property. He will keep her safe. And I’ve suggested she lay low for the moment while we investigate further.”
“I don’t like it,” I say as we walk toward the door. “I don’t like it one little bit. What are we missing here?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll find out.”
20
SERENA
Bending down, I squint at the corner of the cake, frowning at the lopsided frosting on one side. Wetting the flat knife in the cup of warm water, I attempt to even it out. “I should have asked Nat to bake Alesso’s birthday cake,” I grumble to my sister while she helps Rowan and Romeo add the finishing touches to the cupcakes they made for the surprise party. I’m not the world’s greatest baker, but I’m decent. I’m sure the cake tastes fine, but my icing skills could definitely use some work.
“It looks fantastic,” Sierra says, skimming her gaze over the cake.
Red velvet with cream cheese frosting is Alesso’s favorite cake. While I could have ordered one from the local bakery, I wanted to make it for him myself. Alesso does so much for me and the kids, and when I discovered his birthday was in the middle of July, I decided we were going to do something special for him.
In the initial aftermath of breakdowngate, things were strained between us, and we spent weeks barely communicating. I talked it through with Pamela, and with her support, I offered him an olive branch one night—a glass of wine and a return to our usual routine. Alesso accepted my peace offering, and things settled back into place. He still works with Ben late some nights, but on other nights, he spends time with me. Our friendship is intact, and neither of us ever brings up that awful night. He doesn’t look at me the way he used to anymore either, which is how I know I did the right thing. That night taught him how damaged I am, and me ending things at that point meant it saved him the hassle of doing it.
“Mommy.” Elisa rushes into the kitchen, her excited face covered in multicolored paint. “I finished my painting for Alesso. Come look.”
I smile at my sister as I let my nine-year-old daughter pull me out of the kitchen. Elisa babbles excitedly about the party as we walk over to the artist’s studio at the side of the house. Sierra introduced my daughter to the wonderful world of art, and it’s fair to say Elisa is addicted. So much that I have to force her outside to play every day. Summer is in full bloom, and the weather is glorious. Far too glorious to stay indoors all the time. Some days, Alesso takes her easel and paints outside so she can paint while her brother and her cousin play on the playground.
Sierra is pretty busy now her holistic center is open, even though she is only working part-time. Business is booming, which is wonderful, but she spends plenty of nights pouring over client records, paying bills, and running the administration side of the business. I think it’s a lot more than she realized, which is why I offered to manage the bookkeeping for her, despite how much I hate the soul-sucking work.
