Page 69 of Love & Power

“No way this skank is The Siren,” Von blurted.

Shoving the scanner at Bear, he grabbed it before it fell. Von then climbed onto the exam table and straddled the legs, ripping the remaining fabric off the woman. “If this bitch really is that cunt, she’ll have a scar from a knife wound right about here…” She pointed at the two-inch-wide scar where the hip and pelvis meet. “What do you know, it is her. Damn, she got a shit ton of work done on her face if I can’t recognize her.”

“You know, part of me isn’t sure I want to ask,” Ryker admitted. “But I’m going to anyway. Who is The Siren?”

Before she could answer, Bear grabbed Von with one arm around the waist and pulled her off the body. He signed something to her that had Von snickering. “Don’t worry, I promise to take a shower and use disinfectant so her cooties don’t stick to me.”

I found it odd that Bear would be concerned about something like that when most diseases wouldn’t be transmitted with just skin-to-skin contact. However, it was obvious, even to me, how protective this man was over Von.

“The Siren, as she called herself, was a cheap knock-off version of me.”

Everyone’s attention instantly turned to Ivy, who had stood just inside the door with a man I didn’t know behind her. While some of the others took issue with Ivy and how she did things, I trusted Astin to be a wise judge of character. If Astin has decided that this woman is worthy of being a trusted friend, then who was I to argue the matter?

“She is Bosco Leoni’s favorite pet assassin,” Ivy explained. “He groomed her from an early age to be his eyes and ears at parties or other gatherings, where women would be viewed as furniture in the room. The last time I saw her, she didn’t look like that, though. As Von pointed out, they changed her face.”

“Too many people figured out who she was,” Von reasoned. “Probably because I put a bounty on her head and plastered a picture to go along with it everywhere on the dark web. That was about six months ago, plenty of time to give her a new look and heal without anyone the wiser. Bold move, but if sugar daddy Bosco wanted it, she’d do it.”

“May I ask what she did?” I inquired.

Von rocked back on her heels as she glanced quickly at Bear. “I caught her making moves on my brother, Matteo, at some shady bar. The bitch had him cornered, alone, and rubbing her ass all over him. My idiot brother was too high for him to see she was pouring something into his drink. So I marched right over, got right up in her shit like I was into her, then shanked the bitch. I thought that was the end of it because she vanished. Only about an hour later, I find her humping Bear’s leg. That’s when I decided I needed to have The Siren’s head on a platter.”

Bear growled, signing, in quick angry bursts of motion that Von was trying to ignore until he grabbed her jaw and forced her to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah, I know, Bear,” Von muttered, pulling her chin free of his grasp. “It doesn’t matter if you were never going to do anything with her. Everyone fucking knows not to touch my things, and she crossed the line messing with you and Metteo.” Von shrugged. “Bitch had to go.”

“Before we say anything more,” Ryker cut in, stepping forward with his gun in hand. “Ivy, can you introduce us to your friend and explain why the fuck he’s here?”

Ivy’s gaze dropped to the gun for a moment. “Really, Ryker? I thought we’d gotten past this point in our relationship, or do I need to put you on the floor again?”

“Just answer the question, Ivy. Tonight is not the night to play games,” Ryker snapped.

Before Ivy could say anything further, the man stepped forward, raising his hand, putting himself squarely in front of Ivy. He was about her height, even in her heels, making him an effective shield. His hair was dark brown, neatly cut and styled, suggesting he was a detail-oriented person. The clothes he wore were expensive and well made even for a simple lightweight sweater and dark wash jeans. In my estimation, he was about our age, if not slightly older. There was no sign he had a gun hidden on his person, but I couldn’t see his back so there was still a chance.

“There’s no need for threats. We’re all allies here in this room,” the man assured. “My name is Cedro Endrizzi, I’m Domenico’s half-brother. I apologize for showing up unannounced, but I’d received a tip that Ivy was here and had to see for myself. If I had known what happened tonight, I never would have dropped in like this.”

Ryker didn’t seem interested in taking this man at his word, but I wasn’t sure what other option we had. To harm this man would break all alliances, but after the night we’ve had, even I might be willing to take that risk.

“Take a breath, RyRy, he’s telling the truth,” Von interjected. “I’ve known Cedie and Daddy Dom practically my whole life. It kinda happens when you grow up in the same circles of Family hell.”

“Well, if it isn’t little Evonnia. I should have guessed you’d be wherever trouble is brewing,” Cedro greeted. “How come you didn’t give me a heads-up that my girl was back? I thought we were friends.”

Von’s face lit up, and her smile grew so wide it looked more like she was baring her teeth at the man. “Your girl? What, you and Daddy Dom not willing to share her anymore? Also, I didn’t know she was coming either until she and Queenie showed up to bust me out of jail.”

A shrill whistle cut through the air, ending any further chatter. To my surprise, Gemma was the one who’d done the whistling, but she nodded to Ryker once we all fell silent.

“Thank you, Gemma,” Ryker murmured. “It’s clear to me now that tonight was an attack by the Leoni Family. This woman, The Siren, is our proof of that, but I still want to find out who the other person was. We need to be certain this isn’t connected to someone inside the Raffa Family who’s working with the Leoni. Detective, if we give you blood or DNA, can you tell us who it is?”

“You can, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” he answered. “It would give too many people access to the information.”

“Let me handle it,” Cedro offered. “The De Santis Family owns a few labs to go along with our prisons. I’ll be able to control who does the test and what happens with the information. Give me a few hours, and I’ll have all the information you could possibly need on the guy.”

“Cleto, help him get what he needs,” Ryker ordered the assistant, who bobbed his head like a chicken before gathering the supplies needed.

I really need to suggest to Asta that she make the doctor find a new assistant.

“I want to keep both bodies for now, but this room needs to be guarded so no one can access it and fuck with them,” Ryker decided. “Gemma, Beatrice, while Boykov is recovering, Thad and I are your go-to if you need or suspect anything. The property is full of people we don’t know. Stay vigilant, and trust your gut. Von, if you and Bear could stick around a few days until everyone leaves, I would appreciate having more eyes I can trust.”

“Ay-ay, Captain RyRy,” Von answered, giving him a salute. “Seeing as things have calmed down, I think I’m gonna get some sleep. Fair warning… three in the morning is when I normally go to sleep, and I don’t wake up until there are double digits.” She turned to leave but paused. “Oh, just in case you need me earlier, Bear is the only one who can wake me up. Trust me when I say that’s for everyone’s safety. Nighty night.”