I back away, giving her room to turn around and open the door. I grab another bath towel from the rod as we leave. I step beside her as she looks around, unsure whether the bed is the best place for us to go. I hand her the towel, and she stares at it then me.
“Thank you.”
She bends over and wraps the towel around her sopping hair. She hadn’t even wrung it out before rushing out of the shower. I let my simmering anger get the better of me, and I put both physical and emotional distance between us before I even issued the threat. She walks to the dresser and gathers her clothes.
I don’t follow her; instead, walking to the closet.MamáandTíaLuciana keep a few odds and ends of clothing here in case a family left their home without packing. There are two heavyrobes on hangers. I grab both. I step behind Vita and wrap the smaller one around her shoulders before pulling her back against me.
“You’re freezing, little one.”
She releases a shuddering breath before sagging into my arms as I wrap them around her and kiss her temple. I see her eyes are scrunched closed. I turn her before helping her slide the robe on properly. I tie the belt then put on my robe. We pull our towels loose, and I watch her for a moment before I return all three to the bathroom and hang them up. I want to give her a moment to compose her thoughts.
“Can we do this somewhere else? Somewhere without a bed?”
I offer her my hand as an answer. We walk down to the living room in silence. She releases my hand and walks to a rocker recliner. A chair that only fits one. I sit on the sofa, choosing the spot in the middle. There’s room if she wants to join me without crowding her by sitting too close or shutting her out by sitting too far away.
“Jandro, I’ll tell you what I know, but you have to realize it’s limited. I can offer you what I’ve deduced and inferred. But I can’t guarantee any of it will be useful.”
“I understand.”
“If your men cleared out my hotel room, they’ll have found the dossier under the mattress. Cliché, but less obvious than the safe these days. I’ll give it to you. You can see what I’ve been working with. Someone referred me to my employer, but I genuinely don’t know who. It could be someone I’ve partnered with in the past, or it could—family.”
I notch up my chin. “Let me guess,Mala del Brenta. You’re Venetian after all.”
“Yes. My father’s the don’sconsigliere.”
Holy hell!
Her father’s Nicolò Trevisan!
“You were brave to be in the same room as Serafina.”
Her father’s the don. The women must have grown up together.
“I was more worried about Elodie.”
“Fear both of them, and you might survive them.”
It’s no surprise she knows mytía. She married into the family a little over a year ago. She’sTíoEnrique’s soulmate. She’s the only woman who could match such a powerful man. Her family’s BostonCosa Nostra, but she cut ties when she divorced her douchey ex-husband.
Her sons aren’t bad, even if they are Red Sox fans. I couldn’t give two shits about the Yankees, but it pisses them off when my cousins and I wear our baseball caps. Their payback is to remind us of what happened the one and only time we drank with them last New Year’s Eve. I want to hurl just thinking about it.
“I’mMala del Brentaby birth, but I can’t say for sure that they hired me. Maybe. But it wasn’t Don Piero or my father. I’m not even sure if my employer is Italian or a man, even though it’s a man I’ve spoken to. Whoever they are, they were very specific that you are the mark. Collateral damage is fine, but you’re the priority. I don’t know why. That’s not something I ask, and it’s rarely offered.”
“Do you know if they sent anyone else? Maybe today’s shooter.”
“I checked the dark web after I got the initial call. I didn’t see anything that resembled a hit on you. The ones that alluded to a cartel weren’t your family’s. Mexican mostly.”
We know about those. We placed them. Speaking of Boston—los Iglesiasneed a reminder that they exist because we allow it. Their fealty isn’t to some rinky-dink syndicate near the border. They’re too far away for the border cartels to get to them in time, so they pay for our protection. They also pay a tariffon everything they import into Boston. We make sure they’re buying mostly from us. Double dipping? Fuck yeah.
“How long ago?”
“The week before Chicago. They didn’t give me much lead time.”
“They wanted me dead far from my family. Make it look like the ChicagoCosa Nostradid it. Hit my family hard without risking bringing the other New York families into it.”
“Probably.”
“Nothing happened to you when you didn’t do the job there?”
