Ryan and I get home at our usual time, but Connor’s not there.

I’m not worried. I get Ryan settled and start on his dinner, and by the time he’s eating, the front door opens. Connor limps inside, shutting it behind him.

“Where have you been?” I ask him from the kitchen then stop at the sight of him.

He looks like he got into a fight. His clothes are dirty and ripped, his face is red, and I think he has a bruise on his throat. I gasp and cover my mouth.

“It’s okay,” he says.

“What the hell happened?”

“It’s okay,” he says again. “Just your cousins paying me a visit.’

“Connor,” I gasp. “They did this to you?”

He grunts and nods. “Enzo, mostly. Piero watched.”

“How? Why?”

He sighs and shakes his head. “Let me get myself together, okay?” His eyes shift back toward Ryan.

“Okay,” I say. “But come back down.”

“Yeah.” He heads upstairs and I watch him go. He’s clearly limping, obviously hurt, and I don’t know what to do.

I go back into the kitchen and Ryan’s eating quietly. I sit down at the table but I’m jittery, unable to stay still. Ryan notices, but he keeps looking down at the plate, which I find a little odd. He’s not asking questions or really acting like anything out of the ordinary just happened, although I know he noticed the way Connor looked.

Maybe he’s too young to understand, or maybe he learned that he shouldn’t ask questions when people look like that. Either explanation wouldn’t surprise me.

Connor comes back downstairs after ten minutes looking better, although I can still see the strain on his face and the bruises starting to form. He teases Ryan and plays with him after dinner, but there’s stress in his eyes. I want to question him pretty badly, but I know it has to wait.

We finish up the routine and get Ryan to bed on time. Once his door is shut, I round on Connor and corner him in the hallway.

“Well, what happened?” I ask him.

He sighs. “I don’t know, if I’m honest.”

“How do you not know? You obviously got into a fight.”

“Yea,” he agrees. “I left work at the usual time, but I took a little detour through a side street. Piero and Enzo appeared out of nowhere, and Enzo just… attacked.”

“For no reason?” I ask him.

He looks annoyed. “I didn’t provoke him, if that’s what you’re saying.”

“You don’t exactly walk on eggshells around them.”

“Why the fuck should I?” His voice is harsh and I hiss at him. We go downstairs together and I round on him in the living room.

“They’re killers,” I say. “And you have a son. You can’t afford to end up dead.”

“You’re right, they’re killers,” he agrees. “And all they understand is strength.”

“Oh, so you’re going to fight them off?”

“If they attack me, I am.” He makes a face and storms into the kitchen. I follow him, feeling equally angry. “Since when did I have to stand around and take a beating for no reason?”

“I never said that.” I don’t even know why I’m arguing with him. I don’t really understand it. I just feel so powerless and angry and upset and I hate to see him hurting. I can’t imagine a world without him in it but the way he’s been getting along with the Gallos suggests I might have to one day soon.

He takes a beer from the refrigerator, opens it, and drinks half. “Look, I didn’t fucking instigate anything,” he says. “Enzo came at me. I barely survived.”

“Wait, he tried to kill you?”

He nods, eyes dark. “Strangled me right there on the street. Had to hit him with my laptop to get him off me.”

“What did Piero do?”

“Nothing.” He sighs, and he looks like he’s deflating. “Just stood around and watched. When I started hitting Enzo with my laptop, he stepped in and took it away from me.” He hesitates a second and a darkness comes across his expression. “If he hadn’t stopped me, I think I would have killed Enzo.”

I bite my lip but I have to pretend like I didn’t just hear that. I don’t even know how to process that fact.

“They attacked you out of nowhere?” I ask, still trying to put it all together.

He sighs and sips his beer. “Yeah, out of nowhere. Seriously Leah, I don’t know why. Enzo just came at me, and Piero just stood there the whole time until the very end.”

I shake my head, not sure what to say. It’s all so insane and I can hardly understand it. “I know they’re trying to get Ryan,” I say softly. “But why do it like this?”

“If they wanted me dead, they’d kill me,” he answers. “There has to be a reason.” He sits at the kitchen tabe, hunched forward.

“Are they just trying to scare you?”

“Maybe,” he concedes. “Maybe Enzo wouldn’t have killed me after all, but I don’t know.”

“Piero was watching. He might have stepped in.”

“Maybe.” Connor doesn’t seem convinced, and I don’t feel convinced.

I just feel afraid and angry. He’s fighting the Gallos and making everything worse, but I don’t know what I wanted him to do instead. I don’t want him to get hurt, and I can’t imagine losing him, but I also don’t want him instigating anything. He went to their bar and started this, and now maybe Enzo’s just paying him back for it.

I don’t know my cousins at all. I don’t know how they think. I know they’re violent and dangerous and powerful but I don’t really know how they deal with situations like this one. I suspect they don’t really know, either, considering it is particularly strange.

Why would they attack him in broad daylight? If they killed him, they wouldn’t have gotten Ryan any easier. I’d still be here, and I probably would have gone on the run. I would have taken him and gotten out of this city, gotten as far from them as possible, and I know that’s not what they want.

What were they trying to do?

“How long can we keep this up?” he asks me softly, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But what else can we do?”

“I don’t know,” he echoes. “Feels like we’re fucked no matter what.”

I can’t pretend like I don’t feel the same way. Before I can answer though, my cell starts to ring. I hesitate and he nods, wincing a little bit. I grab it off the counter and answer it without looking at the screen.

“Hello?” I say.

“Hello, Leah.”

The voice is oddly familiar and it takes me a second to place it. I freeze, my eyes wide, and Connor gives me a strange look, his head cocked.

“Uncle Mario?”

Mario Gallo laughs on the other end. “Still calling me ‘uncle’ after all this?”

“Habit, I guess.”

Connor’s eyes are wide and he makes a gesture. I lowr the phone and put it onto speaker.

“—called to apologize for what my son did earlier today,” Mario is saying. “Did you hear?”

‘I heard,” I say. “Connor told me.’

“Enzo can be impulsive and reckless. We love him, but sometimes…” Mario sighs, like he’s genuinely exasperated with the boy. “I just called to say that, and to invite you to speak with me.”

My blood runs cold and Connor’s look darkens. He nods at me and I take a breath.

“Talk?” I say, my voice shaking.

“Yes, just talk,” Mario says. “Uncle to niece, blood to blood. Well, I suppose you’re not my blood, but close enough. I know Philomena would be so upset if anything bad happened to you.” He laughs like it’s some kind of joke but my blood runs cold.

Connor looks angry, but he’s not saying anything, which is good.

“Where… what do you want to talk about?”

“About Ryan,” he says candidly. “And why I think he should be with us. But we can get into that later. Will you meet with me?”

I pause and stare at Connor. He stares back and I know he’s wrestling with this as much as I am.

Suddenly, it comes into focus. Enzo’s attack on Connor seems so obvious now. He did that just so that I’d take Mario’s call and take him more seriously. They’re trying to manipulate us into going to this meeting.

And yet… I don’t know what else to do. Maybe we can learn something from my uncle, or maybe I can convince him to back off. I don’t really see any other choice, because they’re not stopping, and things are just going to get worse.

Finally, Connor nods to me, and that’s all I need.

“I’ll met with you,” I say. “But somewhere public.”

Mario laughs again, low and throaty. “Why, dear? Are you afraid of your own family?”

‘Yes,” I say. “Considering what my family did to Connor.”

He laughs again, but this time he doesn’t sound like he thinks it’s funny. “Okay then,” he says. “Do you now Clark Park?”

“Yes,” I say. “It’s not far from here.”

“Good. Meet me there tomorrow at noon. Can you do that?”

“I have work,” I say.

“Take a long lunch. I’ll arrange it.”

I hesitate. “You can arrange for me to take a long lunch? How?”

“I know people. But I have no one more condition.”

“What is it?”

He pauses a second. “I want to see my grandson.”

Connor shakes his head violently and I have to turn away from him. “That’s a bad idea,” I say.

“He’s my grandson.” Mario almost sounds human in this moment. “Please, Leah. Bring the boy and we’ll talk. We’ll end this silly little fight and move on with our lives.”

I hesitate a second. He sounds almost sincere with what he’s saying. I turn back to Connor and his face is blank.

“How can we end it?” I ask. “I won’t give you Ryan.”

“At least let me see the boy and then we’ll talk about it. Please, just this once. In public, so nothing can go wrong.”

I pause again and every inch of me is screaming no, but I know I don’t have another option. If Mario is sincere, we can really finish this and I can go on with my life. If not, at least we’ll be in public, and he won’t be able to do anything to us.

“Okay,” I say. “I’ll bring him.”

“Good.” He almost sounds happy. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hangs up the phone abruptly and I stare at it, another chill running down my spine.

“This is a bad idea,” Connor says after a short silence. “We shouldn’t go. And we definitely shouldn’t bring Ryan.”

‘We have no other choice.” I hesitate a second. “And who said you’re coming?”

He grins at me. “I wouldn’t miss this shit show for anything in the world.”

I put my phone down and sit at the table. I don’t know how my uncle can arrange for my lunch hour to get extended, but the thought unnerves me more than anything else. I know he can kill people, but being able to influence my job like this… that’s much more sinister. I knew he had power but I didn’t know he had this kind of power. Frankly, it’s horrifying.

Unfortunately, I have no other choice. I know this is putting Ryan in danger, but it’s with the ultimate goal of keeping him safer. If Mario really is willing to negotiate then maybe we can work something out. I have to take the chance. I have to do something.

We lapse into silence, tense and heavy, and I don’t know how we’re going to come through this.