Pippa turns back to us. “Next step is simple—you leave. If we need anything, we’ll say so. Any pressure? We go dark.”
I meet her eyes. “Oh, is that all?”
“No surveillance. No back channels. No reaching out to any of the men on that wall,” Jules answers. “Violate it and this conversation never happened.”
Enzo opens his mouth.
I put a hand on the table to stop him from making things worse. “We hear you.”
Luna stands. “Good. Then we are done.”
Chairs scrape. With that, everyone disperses from the table. Niko, Enzo and I take our leave. Jules escorts us out to where Luca waits by the car. She returns our phones and our guns, emptied of ammo.
Not exactly a win. More like a temporary ceasefire no one believes in.
Tuesday Morning, Day 6
Even the morning light in the Luciano mansion feels expensive. It slides through those tall windows like it’s auditioning for an art film. Golden, soft, a little smug. The kind of light that whispersold money.
The Luciano mansion has been in their family for generations and it’s the only place that has ever been a real home to me. Enzo and Eva have been unwilling to make any changes to the design after losing their parents.
We sit in the kitchen debriefing last night over breakfast. Vaulted ceilings, a black marble island big enough to land a small aircraft, copper pots suspended like jewelry above the stove,every high-end appliance you can imagine. A space too grand for the only two Lucianos left.
“So, let me play this back,” Eva says, staring between us. “You tailed Pippa to a secret warehouse on the wrong side of town and in a plot twist none of us saw coming, myidolLuna Steele was there, and you uncovered some sort of vigilante assassin lair?”
“That’s the short version,” I answer.
“That’s theawesomeversion,” she says, grinning. “You’re telling me it’s three badasswomenout there cleaning up the trafficking scum who’ve evaded every major organization? Ours included. I love everything about this.”
Enzo shoots her a look as he deadpans, “They almost shot us.”
She waves a hand. “Youdidbreak into their warehouse. You two totally give ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ vibes. You can’t blame them.”
That gets a chuckle out of me. Eva is always keeping us entertained. “You’re way too excited.”
“Because it’sbrilliant. They’re like modern-day superheroes. But even better, because they’rewomen!”
Enzo rolls his eyes. “I take this to mean you agree we should help them.”
She gives him a mock glare. “You’re not one to ask dumb questions, Enz.”
I raise an eyebrow at my best friend. “Pretty sure they made it clear they don’t want help from us.”
“Usas inyou,” Eva corrects, setting down her coffee as she hops down from the counter. “They might be more open to someone who isn’t playing a double agent at the FBI or running a criminal empire. Or—more importantly—someone who isn’t a man.”
“Eva,” Enzo says, his tone serious, “they made it clear that we are not to approach them.”
On the drive home last night, I tried to get Enzo to open up to me about what he is thinking—about Pippa, about his offer to help them. He said he needed more time and would talk in the morning. I know him well enough to know pushing wasn’t going to get me anywhere. So, he dropped me at home, and I headed here first thing.
“Yeah, but that’s because they don’t know how delightful I am yet.”
“You only want to work with them so you can finally meet Luna,” I say.
She smirks. “And what if I do?”
I laugh. “You’ve been obsessed with her since that paper you wrote about her in school.” Eva has had a not-so-secret crush on Luna for a while. I have had to warn her more than once they are not allowed toaccidentallycross paths.
“I prefer the termprofessionally fascinated,” she quips.
