She shrugs, looking contemplative. “Seeing you kiss any girl would make me mad but especially her. We don’t like one another.”
“Why?” I slow down as I approach the last junction before the highway.
“She took my brother’s virginity and taunted me about it. When she mocked his performance in front of others, I swung at her. Knocked her unconscious, and she got a concussion from hitting her head on the ground.” A mischievous grin spreads over her lips. “My parents went ballistic, and I was grounded forever, but it was worth it. No one talks shit about my brother and gets away with it.”
I think I fall in love with her right in this moment.
“Then a few years ago, a guy she was dating dumped her to date me,” she continues, turning sideways on the seat under the blanket and staring at me. “I didn’t know he’d been seeing her, but of course, she blamed me. Said I did it deliberately. Since then, she flirts like crazy with my boyfriends or any guy who shows the slightest interest in me. It’s kinda pathetic.”
“I had no idea she was like that. I was already planning on formally ending my arrangement with her, but I’m not wasting time now. I’m going to do it tomorrow.”
Gia’s eyes blink rapidly.
“What?” I ask, moving onto the highway.
“You’d do that for me?”
“I won’t be a pawn she uses against you, and I told you she means nothing to me.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m ending it with the others too.”
Her eyes drill into the side of my head, and I’m sensing she wants to ask more, but it’s late, and I refuse to have a serious conversation in the car. I don’t really know where my head is at. Just that I have no desire to sleep with anyone else, and I missed Gia tonight. I wanted her at my party. By my side. Helping me to celebrate my birthday. My brother’s words have been playing on a loop in my mind, and I think I want to try things with Gia. It’s a big step and not one we can take yet. She needs to finish her assignment, and then we can discuss what happens next.
“Did you hear anything important tonight?”
She nods, sitting up a little straighter. “Does the name Barone mean anything to you? I’ve been wracking my brain trying to remember where I know it from.”
My brows knit together in concentration. “I’ve heard that name too, but I can’t recall the context.” I glance at the clock on the dash. “If it wasn’t after two, I’d call Ben or Leo, but it’ll have to wait until morning. What else happened?”
She fills me in on the conversation and I listen intently.
“I’m guessing ordinarily that’d be enough to confirm Liam is knee-deep in this,” she says when she’s finished explaining. “But now we know Italian Americans are involved, and there’s some mysterious big boss calling the shots, I’m guessing it’ll be better if we halt making a move on McDermott and I keep close to him.”
“That seems like the smartest play, but it’ll be up to the board. I’ll call Massimo in the morning and ask him to set up a meeting.”
“Have we found evidence of the rat yet?”
I shake my head and sigh as I switch to cruise control and coast along the quiet I-287. “Caleb and I met with our underboss, Marino, earlier today. He’s gone through our list of men, crosschecking their trackers and locations to see if there are any anomalies. He also double-checked to see if anyone was close to the vicinity of Staten Island the night of the hijacking, or close to any of the delivery vans that were attacked, and there is no evidence of any corruption within ourfamiglia.”
“That’s a good thing, so why do you look so glum?”
“The other dons have gone through their lists too, and they can’t find anything either. Either the rat isn’t in New York or it’s someone super fucking smart who’s covering their tracks. If it’s the latter, how the hell will we ever smoke them out?”
“Maybe we need to set a trap,” she muses, tapping her finger on her lip. “Maybe we should create some fake intel. Something our enemy would find useful. Create different intel for eachfamigliaand spread it out. Then if it’s acted on, we’ll know whichfamiglia, if any, is sheltering a traitor.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll raise it at the board.”
“What else?” Her eyes pierce mine. “I know something else is bothering you.”
“We were finally able to identify the remaining men who died on the ship.” While ourcaposwere able to identify most of the men, some of the bodies were so mutilated their tracking chips were gone and we had to pull dental records and organize autopsies to confirm who we lost. “Three of them were Accardisoldati. Caleb and I visited their families today to tell them. One of the men was a father to four-year-old triplets. His wife was inconsolable.”
She reaches out and touches my arm. “I can guess why that’d be especially harrowing.”
I smother a yawn, conceding what I’d chosen not to confront earlier today. “It’s always awful having to relay such horrible news, but it affected me more than usual. On the drive back, I kept thinking that must’ve been how my dad reacted when he was told about Juliet.” My eyes flick to hers. “My bio mom,” I add, in case she isn’t aware that was her name.
She nods, and her eyes shine with understanding.
