“What are we doing here?” Emerson asked curiously as we sat in the backseat of the SUV. She was looking around, the low rumble of maintenance trains pulling in and parking for the night, building the tension in the air. The sun had almost disappeared, engulfing the yard in shadows.

Fucking perfect.

“We’re going to meet someone,” I answered cryptically. I hadn’t planned to bring Emerson with me. While I wanted her to find her strength so she could stand on her own feet when the time came, and show Tobia that he hadn’t ruined her, I also was worried about whether this part of my life would drive her further into the depths of herself.

I wanted Emerson to challenge me, to be able to be proud of who she was, and never let another person break her. She was growing every day, pushing back, standing up to her father and fighting to be the woman she desired to be.

But I didn’t want her to be scared of me.

Ever.

In the end, she needed to be aware of what went on and how I conducted my business. I would protect her from anything that could touch her, but I couldn’t hide who I was, and the reality was, I still wanted her. The decision on whether she could fit in here would be up to her.

She raised her brow at me. “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t going to be a pleasant meeting?”

A smirk pulled at my lips, I couldn’t hide it, and so I didn’t even try. The blood lust was simmering away inside me already, and I could see the wary look in her eyes. She knew me, and the things I did for the family. She also knew that regular people didn’t conduct their meetings at night in an empty railway yard.

“Depends… I’m sure it will be pleasant for one of us. I’m personally looking forward to it.”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a little crazy?” Emerson snorted.

“A little?”

“Okay, a lot. You’re psychotic, mentally deranged, non-compos mentis.”

“I’m not even sure what that last one means.” I chuckled.

She rolled her eyes. “Not of sound mind. It’s a law term.”

Headlights flashed in the distance. Another car. It crept toward us, and my heart began to beat faster, a devilish glee brought on by the rush of adrenaline through my veins. “Does that mean if I plead crazy, I can get away with anything?”

Emerson saw the lights too. They flashed across her face, blinding her for a brief second before casting her into the darkness again. Her hands sat in her lap, her fingers twisting together nervously. “Depends… what are you about to do?” She looked over at me, studying me, trepidation written on her face.

“You’re about to find out.”

I pushed the door open, climbing out and turning back to face her. “Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”

She pursed her lips but nodded.

The car pulled up not far from us, but our car was mostly hidden, parked between other train cars, shielding Emerson. I still wasn’t sure how she would cope with what I had planned tonight. Freddie had come through for me this morning and given me the name and address of his nephew’s friend, his accomplice.

I needed information, something, fucking anything that would give me a hint as to where Tobia was hiding. So far, I’d exhausted all my contacts, pulling favors that I’d had up my sleeve for years, and everything had come up blank. No one even knew he was back in the damn country, let alone where the bastard was.

This kid better have something good or my temper was going to explode, and he was going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Get him out,” I ordered Samuele as he climbed out of the driver’s seat.

“Yes, sir.”

He and Daniel rounded the car, Samuele pulling his gun from his jacket as he yanked the rear door open and pointed it inside. “Get out motherfucker.”

I watched silently as he climbed out of the car, his face hidden by the shadows, the sun almost completely gone now and the headlights of our cars illuminating the small area. We were parked in a space between several trains, sheltering us from the roads that surrounded the 38th Street rail yard. This yard wasn’t used to store trains that carried people, but more maintenance and trains that hauled other items such as supplies. It also was one of the only yards that had hand operated switches that could be controlled from next to the track.

The scuff of feet against the stones as he moved closer and into the light built the anticipation in me. I had questions, questions that he damn well better be able to answer or he was going to leave here with a few limbs missing tonight.

If he left here at all.

Samuele gave him a shove, and he stumbled in front of the car, catching himself before he fell. That was when I got a good look at him. He was already sporting a split lip and swollen eye, no doubt courtesy of my boys. His hair was dark, almost black, shaved short and close to his head. He stared at me from beneath a heavy set brow and thick dark eyebrows, the glare in his eyes doing nothing to disguise the obvious fear he was feeling.

His hands shook by his sides, he tried to hide them, tucking them into the pockets of his jeans but he was too late. He might put up a fight, but this kid wasn’t strong. No. He was weak, and I would break him down easily. It was almost disappointing, but also a relief to know that I was going to at least get some answers.

“I don’t think we’ve met before, you must be Benny,” I greeted with a wide smile. In response, he spat to the side, lifting his lip and sneering at me but not speaking. I shrugged. “Fine, no pleasantries. You and a buddy of yours, God rest his soul, were asked to do a job for someone. That job included finding information on Emerson and Sophie Rossi. Two sisters who happen to be part of the DePalma family.”

I laid it all out, watching him carefully, searching for any kind of reaction.

A twitch in his eye and his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously were exactly what I wanted. He looked around the empty yard, maybe searching for somewhere to hide, wondering if he could outrun us.

He couldn’t.

And he knew it.

“What do you wanna know?” he snapped, his attitude bringing a smile to my lips. I loved it when they thought they could suddenly grow some balls and get themselves out of trouble.

“Where are Tobia and Dom?” I asked casually. “I’d like to have a few words with them.”

“Man, I haven’t seen Tobia in weeks. He owes me money, so if you find him, let him know I’m looking for him, too,” he rambled nervously, his eyes still flicking around and refusing to meet mine.

Because he was lying, I already knew.

I smirked. “Oh really? You know that’s a real shame. We can’t let him get away with something like that can we.”

Suddenly, two bright lights flicked on down the track and Samuele and Daniel rushed forward, grabbing hold of each of Benny’s arms. He struggled, his head flicking from side to side. “What the hell?” he grunted.

I took a couple of steps forward as the sound of a train motor started up. At first, there was a slow deep whine, the sound of the pistons warming, beating up and down like the rhythmic beat of a drum. Then it finally clicked over with a screeching crank, the noise of the train becoming like a low rumble as the motor moved a lot quicker, finding the perfect pace.

Benny’s eyes were wide, looking between me and the train frantically. “Wha… what are you doing?”

“I need to find Tobia and Dom Bellucci, and you’re going to tell me where they are,” I answered like he was a complete fucking idiot. Which wasn’t untrue. “Let’s start with how you know them.”

The train hummed away in the background, its looming presence making Benny shit his fucking pants. He had no idea what I had planned if I even had anything planned. But that machine was huge and intimidating, so I bet he didn’t want to find out.

“I… my dad used to work for their parents, he did their gardening and shit,” he hurried out, still trying to squirm away from my men. “I hadn’t met them before. I’d just lost my job, and Tobia came around asking for me to help him to find some chick he liked. I thought it was easy cash...”

I folded my arms across my chest, waiting impatiently for him to continue.

“I didn’t know who the DePalmas were… I swear!”

“So you just did Tobia’s dirty work, no questions asked?” I snorted.

Fucking pathetic.

He shook his head so fast I thought it might fall off. “Dom was meant to do it, but Tobia was getting angry that he was taking too long.”

I stood a little straighter. “Dom?”

His head bobbed. “Yeah, he was giving the orders, but Tobia hates it.”

“Why?” I demanded, the twists and turns in this crap becoming more interesting.

He licked his lips. “I don’t know. Probably because Tobia is fucking crazy, the dude has mental issues.”

It was strange, so far the talk had been mainly about Tobia. There was nothing to say that Dom had even been at Emerson’s house when Tobia was there doing the fucking dirty. But maybe I was wrong.

I turned and walked back over to the SUV which was sitting in the darkness, partly hidden. Andre climbed out of the driver’s side. “Get Emerson out, I need to speak with her.”

Andre nodded, stepping around the car.

It was only a few moments before he appeared again with Emerson by his side, her eyes blinking as though she was trying to get them to adjust to the darkness. “This place is creepy,” she said as she stopped in front of me.

“It’s meant to be. The environment is always important when you are asking a person for information,” I explained as I took her hand and led her back to where Benny was waiting.

“So there’s a technique to torturing people,” she commented dryly. I’m not sure if she was quite aware of just how close to the truth she was.

I couldn’t help but smirk at her off-handed attitude to what we were doing. She knew it wasn’t right, that it was highly illegal, but yet here she was, calmly trusting me to take care of business and not running off screaming and crying.

Maybe she had more DePalma blood in her than I first thought.

Maybe she was more perfect than I first thought, too.

“I need you to tell me if you remember seeing someone in the room with you and Sophie who looked similar to Tobia, or anyone you remember the name of,” I asked her seriously as we stepped around the train car.

She cleared her throat. “Benny.”

I froze, my heart stopping for a brief moment. I grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “Excuse me?”

She looked up at me, chewing her lip, her eyebrows creased together like she was trying to force back the memories again. “A guy named Benny. He was the one who… who hurt Sophie.”

I bared my teeth, slamming my palm against the train next to me.

Emerson jumped back, but Andre caught her with a soft hand on the small of her back.

“What’s happening?” she asked carefully.

I couldn’t help the demons that rose inside me, searching for blood. “Benny is about to learn what happens when you fuck with the family.”