“Rafael Bellini is the Don of the Bellini mafia. He’s not an art collector. Well, notjustan art collector.”
“TheDonof the mafia?” Mom snaps.
“But it’s not what you think,” I say quickly. “He’s a good man. He doesn’t hurt people. He doesn’t sell drugs or anything like that. He blackmails politicians and billionaires, and uses their money to buy art.”
“Listen to yourself,” Dad says, sitting next to me and taking my hands. “He’s a good man… who also happens to be athief, Ava? Who threatens and blackmails people?”
“It’s not as simple as you’re trying to make it sound,” I say.
“He’s messed with her head,” Mom mutters.
“He hasn’t,” I snap, turning to her. “And I’d prefer if you spoketome, notaboutme. He has not messed with my head.”
Mom just looks at me. It’s all she has to do. She knows I’m lying, and so do I.
“Well, great,” she says, standing. “Theo’s dad is a mob boss, and now our lives have been blown to pieces. This is just fantastic. I’m going to sleep in that ludicrously extravagant bed. Or just lie there staring at the ceiling. Good night.”
“Mom—”
“Give her some space,” Dad says gently.
“What about you? Do you hate me too?”
He looks devastated, then pulls me into a hug. “I could never hate you, Ava. But I won’t lie. This is complicated.”
I swallow. “Maybe it won’t be complicated forever.”
He laughs softly. “No, maybe not.”
CHAPTER 20
RAFAEL
An entire day of looking for the bastards on the list, the pricks who sided with Tony and tried to take me out. And nothing. I sit in the bar, grinding my teeth, as Dante beats the fuck out of the Hungarian mobster tied by his hands to the ceiling. I watch the man, listen to his protests, then eventually gesture to Dante to stop.
It’s goddamn useless. This guy doesn’t know anything. But he deserves a beating anyway. When we got here, he was getting hot and heavy with two girls who didn’t look like they wanted to be there… and didn’t look anywhere near old enough.
I stand, walk across the bar, grab the bloody man by the face as the other Hungarians cringe all around us. “If you ever touch someone you shouldn’t again, I’ll know. And we’ll fucking find you.”
I head-butt him hard, causing his whole body to jolt with the force and his eyes to fall shut.
“If any of you hear from those men,” I snarl, “you make contact with the Bellini family. Your bosses know I’m on the huntand they haven’t declared war, which tells you all you need to know about whether or not they give a single fuck about these bastards.”
We leave the bar. Outside, Dante leans against his car, scratching at his scar. “What now, boss?”
“We keep searching.”
He looks at the ground, and I know he’s thinking that it’s not good enough. It’s not like I can disagree with him, but this is what this kind of work comes down to.
“In the meantime, we can get some rest. We’ll rotate other men in. Pick this up in the morning.”
He nods. “Matteo says we’ve got more soldiers coming from home.”
Yeah, but not as many as I’d like. I can’t leave our home unprotected.
I slide into my car and drive through the city, checking every angle, every turn, for signs of a tail. Tony must have a safe house somewhere in this city, somewhere to hole up with his rat friends. I’ve got my financial guy looking into it, but so far, nothing. If Tony paid with cash, that’s a likely dead end anyway.
Outside the hotel, I check in with Ava’s guards, who tell me that none of them have left the suite. Luckily, it’s a Friday, meaning I don’t have to worry about Ava going to work for two days. But sooner or later, they’re going to want to leave. And then what?
