“Trigger!” I called hoarsely. “Cover the bar.”
He looked up from the end of the counter—
and froze when he saw what I was holding.
“I’ll explain later,” I said, already guiding Laney toward the back hallway. “Come on.”
I held Emmy carefully in the crook of my arm and turned back toward Laney.
“Now,” I said quietly. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on.”
“There isn’t time.” Her eyes darted toward the windows. Toward the door. “I have to disappear again.”
“Like hell you do.”
“Saint—please—”
“Who is ‘he’?”
She swallowed hard.
“My father’s family.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“My father was Italian. He had a wife. A son.” Her voice trembled. “They hated my mother. They hated me. When my mother got sick, my father brought us to Italy. His family never accepted us.”
Her hands clenched into fists.
“After my mom died… he died two weeks later. My parents were never married. He already had a wife.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
“She told me to leave,” Laney continued. “His wife. She said if I didn’t disappear, she would make me disappear.” Her voice dropped. “Then she said her son would finish it.”
“Her son,” I repeated slowly. “Your stepbrother.”
“He’s not my brother,” she snapped.
The anger in her voice made Emmy stir slightly in my arms.
Laney immediately softened.
“His name is Marco Rossi,” she whispered. “And he’s been looking for me.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve seen his people. More than once.” She shook her head. “They started showing up right after… after the night we were together.”
My stomach tightened.
“You think he wants to kill you,” I said carefully. “And take the baby.”
“Yes.”
I looked down at Emmy.
