Living with Carrie over the first few days I was there proved to be…interesting. Ar0und her family, she was quieter, respectful, and an obedient daughter. When we were alone, she was the complete opposite. The little sister I lived with was even more brazen than Damon. I also thought it was hilarious that almost no one in the family knew the real Carrie Marchetti.

“I love that you’re pregnant with my niece or nephew, but I also kinda wish you weren’t so I could take you out to the clubs.” Carrie set a glass of water down in front of me while she tipped back a longneck beer bottle. “We’d have so much fun.”

“Give me until a few months after the baby’s born, then you have my permission to take me an all-night bar crawl.” I laughed and took a sip of my water. “If we can sneak past your brother’s innate radar, that is.”

She smiled, holding the tip of the bottle close to her lips. “Damon’s intense, I know. My whole fucking family is. The men are all macho tough guys, and the women are supposed to be damsels waiting for distress, so the men can save us. They forget I grew up in this fucking family too. I know exactly how shit goes down, and no one gives me credit for being able to take care of myself.”

“Why is that? Why are the women treated with kid gloves?” I leaned forward, genuinely interested in her insight.

“That’s the way it’s always been, back from when my parents lived in the ‘mother country.’ We’ve heard the stories all our lives—about how strict the Italian mob families are, how they don’t tolerate anyone thinking for themselves, how they enjoy living in the dark ages.”

Carrie snickered, amused with her assessment of the old family life.

“The thing is, my dad taught me how to handle all kinds of guns. But he also taught me how to fight with my fists. He sent me to nine years of Krav Maga training. I can disarm the biggest brute with simple techniques, no brawn needed. But my parents try to keep me sheltered because they’re afraid I’ll get hurt. It’s maddening.”

“Why do I have a feeling they don’t know half of what you do when they’re not looking?”

“Because you’re a very smart woman, that’s why. I love my family, but they refuse to step into this century. They’re adamant about always showing strength so our enemies can’t exploit weaknesses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have new and improved ways of doing business.

“Such as?”

“There’s a big universe out there in the deep and dark webs. Small-time embezzlement schemes are a dime a dozen, and they leave a trail that’ll get you caught in the end. World domination can’t be achieved with in-person larceny. You have to think globally.”

“You’ve started your own Marchetti business, haven’t you? What are you doing? Hacking large businesses? Stealing identities? What are you up to, Carrie?”

“When I first started, that’s along the lines where I dabbled. But I’ve expanded my business beyond that. Information is king now. Insider information for the stock market makes me millions of dollars, but all the other information they leave lying around on the deep web keeps them under my control. Blackmail is still a very effective business.”

“You’re scarier than Damon and Vincenzo put together, Carrie.” I lifted my glass to toast her bravado. “I’m impressed.”

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, sis. I’m building an invisible empire. Untraceable back to me in any shape or form. But every transaction eventually flows through my legitimate business, so every penny is accounted for on the up-and-up.”

“Can I ask why you trust me enough to tell me all this? I mean, you’ve only known me for a short time. How do you know I’ll keep your secrets?”

She threw her head back in laughter. “Jillian, I’m an excellent judge of character. Reading people is my forte. While Damon may be leery of everyone he meets, and even some people he’s known all his life, I’m not suspicious of anyone who doesn’t give me a reason first. But I also don’t give anyone who crosses me a second chance to breathe either. Want to know what I saw the first time I met you?”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“You were naïve, maybe a little too much, but a quick learner. Your family meant everything to you, and you wished you had a huge clan like ours. You wanted to belong somewhere, to fit as tightly as a jigsaw puzzle piece does in the picture on the cover of the box.

“I knew right away I could trust you because when you give your love, you give all of yourself with it. My brother royally fucked up when he doubted you, but I don’t doubt your loyalty for one second, Jillian. You’ll be my sister for life.”

“You’re right on the money—about all of it. And I will be your sister for life, even if I don’t end up marrying your brother.”

“I knew you needed a breather from him. Believe me, I can relate. You know Mama is already planning your wedding shower and baby shower, right?”

“Honestly, I figured as much.” I shook my head and closed my eyes, picturing how she’d be hurt if I didn’t let Damon back into my life.

“You really don’t know if you want him back, do you?” She narrowed her eyes, daring me to lie to her.

“I don’t have a clue what I want, Carrie. Right now, I’m so confused over everything—what I’m going to do, what I want to do, or even what I should do . Other than kill Lorenzo. That’s the one and only thing I’m absolutely sure of at this point.”

“As far as my family goes, you don’t need to worry about how they’ll react. Mama will be hurt, but she’ll be fine. She’ll still love you, and she’ll spoil you and the baby.”

“And Damon?”

“Damon will be crushed, but he’ll survive. He’s a big boy. It’ll take him a few years to take the hint that you’re, in fact, not marrying him, but only because he’s dense and as tenacious as a bulldog. But in the end, this is your life, and you have every right to be happy. No matter what that means.”

The problem was, I didn’t know what it meant.

“You want Lorenzo dead, huh?” Carrie asked, her tone taking a serious tone. A deadly serious tone.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Do you want to do it yourself?”

I thought about her question for a moment. Could I do it myself? Could I look him in the eye and kill him? Could I commit premeditated murder?

Then I thought about my sweet mother and the intense fear she must’ve felt when Lorenzo’s goons held her captive and she was too weak to even try to fight back. I thought about Lorenzo giving the orders to his men but not having the guts to do the deed himself. And I had my answer.

“Yes, I do. But I want him to suffer first. I want to steal everything he has, crush his spirit, and I want him to know it was me who beat him. Then I want to see the fear in his eyes before he dies.”

“That’s my girl. Are you sure you’re not already a Marchetti?”

“Your brother is a bad influence. What can I say?”

“Do you have anything in particular in mind for destroying Lorenzo?”

“Let me think about it. I may have an idea or two I’m kicking around. I’m guessing he has a lot of family around here?”

“He does. You want to take them out first?”

“I want to reveal his secrets first—so that no one in his family ever looks at him the same again. I want to plaster all his dirty secrets and underhanded dealings across the headlines. Embarrass him, make him and his family look weak until he’s shunned by everyone. Even alienate him from his men.”

“I love how your devious little mind works. We will make this happen. Even if we have to make up shit and alter photos.”

“Even better. The more he protests, the more people will believe it.”

Over the following several days, Carrie stayed glued to her computer, sorting through file after file to collect as much dirt on Lorenzo and his businesses as she could. I could tell when she came across something really interesting—not embarrassing—because the evil glint in her eyes shone even brighter than usual. She kept all her plans and everything she found close to the vest, though. She definitely had one of the trademark Marchetti family traits down pat—the ability to keep secrets from everyone else.

Until.

“Hey, Jillian. Let me show you something.” She gestured for me to follow her, so I jumped at the chance to get involved.

When we reached her secure computer room, I was amazed at her setup. Several monitors lined the wall, paired with multiple laptops and desktop computers. We moved in front of the screen she’d been working on, and she read what she’d found.

“Looks like my brother has been busy,” she chuckled. “The night you came here, he went after Lorenzo and one of the women Lorenzo keeps on standby. Firebombed both of their houses before Lorenzo went deeper underground. Damon cast a wider net to get him, though. He put a contract out on Lorenzo’s head, only he wants him delivered alive.”

“Damon has a contract out on Lorenzo?” I felt like I was running to catch up. “How do you know it’s Damon?”

“He sure does. And I know it’s him because I know how and where he’d look for help. And I also know the specific terms he uses to identify himself as a Marchetti family member.”

“How does this work? Do others bid on it? Is it first come, first served basis or what?”

“In this case, Damon offered a set amount of money for Lorenzo. So, anyone who captures him can answer in this secret virtual room to set up a meeting with Damon for the exchange of Lorenzo and the money.”

“Would Damon know who he’s talking to? Would he be able to trace you and find out if we replied to it?”

Carrie looked up at me, unfiltered excitement shone in her eyes. “He wouldn’t have any idea it was me, and he’d have no way to trace the chat. I’ve thoroughly covered my tracks. You want to accept the contract on Lorenzo?”

“Yes, I do. We have to flush him out though, right? I mean, if Damon lost him after attacking his house, there’s no telling where he’s hiding.”

“I can find him. Lorenzo isn’t as smart as Damon. He’s sloppy. That’s why his family isn’t on top. They could’ve been had Lorenzo’s father been more diligent about keeping up with his son. Lorenzo will mess up—he’ll use a credit card under one of his aliases because he thinks no one knows the names but him.”

“Do you know his aliases?”

“I sure do. Over the last couple of years, I’ve made it my business to know all about our enemies.”

“Show me.”

From her documents folder, she opened a file with several columns of names. At the top of each list was the name of one of the Sanfratello family members. She wasn’t kidding—she’d been keeping tabs on them for quite a while. One name jumped off the page and grabbed me.

“Rafael Stanzoren.”

“You know that name,” Carrie stated, knowing she didn’t have to ask. “How?”

“When I worked at Blaine Financial, I was assigned to a retirement account that was a mess. When I finally untangled everything, I realized money was being funneled out of a company called MadTrich, into the nurses’ fund Blain Financial managed, then obviously into Lorenzo’s pocket. One of the two names tied to the transactions was Rafael Stanzoren. I never found that name on any other document.”

“What was the other name?”

“Milo Bianchi.”

“Milo was one of our family’s associates. He was secretly working for the Sanfratello family. MadTrich is also one of our family businesses, so Milo was using his status with us to help line Lorenzo’s pockets with our money. I’m sure that helped Lorenzo convince our smaller rivals to join forces with the Sanfratello family at first. But those allegiances dissolved when Lorenzo couldn’t deliver on his promises.”

“Let’s be the first ones to find Lorenzo. Imagine Damon’s face when the two of us show up with Lorenzo in hand to cash in on his contract.”

“He’ll be pissed as hell, Jillian. That’s the expression you’ll see on his face—like a cartoon character with steam coming out of his ears and his eyes bulging out of their sockets.”

“Maybe then we’ll be even.”