Page 74 of The New Godfather

Freddie. Someone has kidnapped Freddie! I didn’t even notice. I came home in such shock, hid in my room all evening, wrapped up in my own spiraling thoughts and tears, that I never once checked on him. When did it happen? It must have been during Rebecca’s shift. Has Rebecca betrayed us? The thought hits me like ice water poured straight down my spine. With both Ricci and me in complete disarray, neither of us paid attention to anything else. God, the little grey bundle of joy who has become my shadow these past months… kidnapped.

The man demands that I bring him five thousand dollars. No police. And Ricci is not to be told, or the dog will die. He gives me a meeting place, a clothing store. The call ends with a click that feels too loud in the silent room, echoing in my ears long after the line goes dead.

I’m in total shock. I can’t think. It’s all happening too suddenly. It’s too much. The phone slips from my fingers and lands on the bed with a soft thud.

It all almost feels like a joke. A cruel, ridiculous joke piled on top of everything else that’s already crumbling around me tonight. I stand there for a second, staring at the phone like it might start speaking again, then I turn and hurry downstairs, my bare feet silent on the stairs, my silk robe fluttering around my legs.

I go straight to the playpen in the kitchen.

The crate is empty.

The blanket is rumpled, one corner flipped back like something small and frantic had been pulled from it. One of his favorite squeaky toys lies abandoned on the floor, the bright red ball staring up at me accusingly. The puppy is gone.

Fuck. What do I do now?

I curse under my breath and start pacing frantically.

But then the amount the kidnapper wanted sinks in. Only five thousand dollars. It’s not a huge sum. I can take it from the safe. Ricci won’t mind. I’ll pay him back. This is just a small, petty extortion attempt by someone in Rebecca’s circle, someone who saw an opportunity and took it. Still distraught, but slightly relieved that it’s not something worse, that it’s not the FBI or something tied to Ricci’s world, I decide to handle this situation myself. I want it to be over as soon as possible so poor Freddie doesn’t suffer or feel fear, and I don’t have to deal with this on top of everything else that is happening in my life.

I get dressed quickly, pulling on a dark coat and sneakers, the movements mechanical, my hands still trembling slightly as I tie the laces. I take the money and slip out of the penthouse before the bodyguards on the floor below can notice, taking the service stairs instead of the elevator. My heart is pounding as I push open the side door and step into the city night air. It’s cool against my face, carrying the faint smells of damp pavement and distant exhaust.

The early-morning quiet presses in around me.

Chapter Sixty-Nine

RICCI

The kitchen at Leonardo’s is quiet. The last of the staff is long gone, the big stainless-steel counters are wiped clean and gleaming under the low overhead lights. I’m sitting at the small staff table tucked against the back wall, the same place I’ve sat at for years when things get too heavy. Over a bottle of Barolo, I tell him that the news has spread.

Word is out that I was the one responsible for Salvatore’s death. It was always a natural suspicion. I was the closest to him, the one who stood to gain everything. But no one actually believed it. Not until tonight. Now the speculation is everywhere, and I’m no longer safe around the rest of the family. The men who once followed me without question are going to start looking at me sideways. Old loyalties will crack. I can feel the shift already, like the ground moving under my feet.

Leonardo meets my gaze across the small table. His eyes are steady as he sets his wine glass down with a soft clink.

“There’s no more time,” he says quietly. “You have to protect her. And you have to protect yourself. You cannot take any chances.”

I sigh. I rub a hand over my jaw, feeling the stubble there, and the exhaustion pulling at the edges of my mind. Viola’s face flashes behind my eyes, the way she looked at me on the balcony, her eyes enormous with hurt and shock. I can’t let them touch her. I won’t.

“Is everything else arranged?” I ask, voice low.

Leonardo nods. “Yup. The accounts, the papers, the safe houses. All of it is ready. You just need to say when.”

I push back from the table and shrug back into my jacket. Leonardo rises with me, clapping a hand on my back in that trusting way of his. No long goodbyes. We’ve never needed them.

Then I walk out of the restaurant alone.

The cool night air hits me the second I step onto the sidewalk. My car is waiting at the curb. I slide in, pull the door shut with a solid thud, and reach for my phone.

“Miriam,” I drawl. “You’ve been looking for me, I hear.”

There’s a pause on the other end, then a short, surprised laugh. “Ricci Santori. I didn’t expect you to be the one calling me.”

I lean back against the seat, watching the buildings in the distance. My hand tightens around the phone. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. As you are well aware, there is no one who will be as knowledgeable or valuable to you as I am. But my cooperation will come at a very high price.”

She’s quiet for a beat, then asks, “What’s the price?”

I lay it out, clear and cold, the words I’ve turned over in my head a thousand times. “In exchange for full immunity for me and for Viola, and guaranteed protection for her no matter what happens, I’ll turn over everything. The entire Greco Mafia’s financial history. Every rotten thing they’ve done, they’re doing and everybody who’s doing it. I know where all the bodies are buried, literally and figuratively. One man and his wife in exchange for the whole rotten structure. Will you take the deal or live to regret it?”

The line goes silent for a few seconds. I can almost hear her thinking, weighing the offer against whatever orders she’s operating under.