“Music Man.” Vikki ran over and wrapped her arms around his body.

“Hey, kitten.” He pulled her tightly against his body. “I brought a treat.”

“Oh,” she winked. “Something good, eh?”

“Well, we all know where your mind went fast. As much as I love how your mind works. Actually, we brought back pastries from Zia’s bakery.”

“Shut up.” She pushed at his chest. “I want one of those amazing cupcakes.”

“Here, sweetie,” Preslie said, opening the box.”

Vikki inhaled the scent and reached for one with peach-colored frosting. “Holy mother of all that is holy. She needs to make me a batch of these when she gets back.” Preslie leaned her head in and took a bite of her cupcake. “Hey.” Vikki pulled it away. “Get your own.”

“You should share.” Everyone turned to find Letizia standing in the doorway.

Finley held his hands up. “We got word from Cooper we needed to come home.”

“Holy shit, man.” Miles held his hand out and grabbed Finley’s to shake. “It’s good to see you.”

Vikki noticed the guy, Johnny, that came back with Ricky and Miles stand up from the couch in the corner of the room. She had a feeling this moment with Letizia was a big deal for more than just her friends. When Cristiano stepped into the room, the man gasped.

“Cristiano?” Johnny whispered.

She watched Cris turn toward the man, but he never moved.

“Cris,” Miles said, stepping closer to the boy. “That’s Johnny. Do you remember him from the Italian restaurant?”

“Yeah. He also tried to kill me.”

Vikki knew Cris was only thirteen, but he sounded like he was thirty. She couldn’t image what it must have been like to be thrown into an unknown world.

“No, that’s not true,” Johnny said, stepping closer.

Letizia wrapped her arms around her cousin’s shoulders. “You sure about that? He had a concussion and still has nightmares.”

Ricky cleared his throat. “Hey.” Vikki noticed he was uncomfortable intruding on their conversation. “Johnny has been trying to find you to help you both.”

Vikki glanced over at Preslie. “How much of that do you think they both will buy?”

“Hopefully all of it because it’s true.”

* * *

Ricky grabbed a file out of his bag. “Here. This will tell you more of what you need to know.”

“He had Letizia’s dad killed,” Finley said, taking the file from his outstretched hand.

“That’s not true,” Johnny insisted. “Lando insisted we hide the money we both took. We knew we took a chance but honestly, it was worth it.” He put his hands up in surrender. “Hear me out. Lando wanted you and your mom to be safe. He knew the money he took would ensure that.”

Ricky scowled. “Lando knew he may die?”

“Yeah, I should be dead, too. When I told Lando I would cooperate with Giano, he agreed. It took the target off me completely, so he made me promise you all were cared for.”

“So what went wrong?” Letizia asked.

“We never expected him to kill your mom,” Johnny admitted. “Alessandra took you and ran.”

“But Ella?”

“Yeah, Ali didn’t have time to take her, so she left Ella with me.”

“And.”

“And Giano found her at my place. I was technically still on the shit list with Giano, because I was at the drop off with Lando when he fucked up.”

“So, he just took her from you?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t say a word. When I did work for him a few more times over the years, I had to act like I didn’t know her anymore. She was raised to believe Giano was her father,” Johnny said, sitting back down. “Everything was fucked up.” He covered his head with his hands.

Ricky sat down next to him. “Ella is not someone you would want in your life.”

“She’s a fucking bitch now,” Vikki said from the other side of the room.

“I know.” Johnny lifted his head. “I knew I lost my daughter forever the moment Giano walked out of my house. I lost everyone.”

“Not everyone,” Cris whispered. He stepped up beside Johnny. “You’re the one mom missed all the time?”

Ricky watched as Johnny stood up. Both men were facing each other but rooted to their spots. Then Cristiano lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Johnny’s waist.

Ricky reached for Vikki’s hand and pulled her close to his body. “Hey, Zia. I have a treat in that box.”

She gasped. “Are they doing okay?”

“They’re fine. The short woman with a hairnet helped me.”

“Awww, Stacy. God, I miss them.”

Vikki moaned. “Honey, you need to open a bakery here in Toronto. I’ll help you run it.”

“You don’t want to help, you just want to eat all the goodies,” Preslie said, nudging her friend’s side.

“That may be true, but I’m an amazing cheerleader.”

Ricky tickled her side. “What? Cheer for the croissants on Monday and the Pain Au Chocolat on Wednesday?”

“Exactly. Plus, cupcake cheering all weekend long.”

The room erupted in laughter. Then there was a light knock on the door. Ricky opened it to find a young officer holding a box. “This was dropped off about ten minutes ago. It’s been inspected and safe to open.”

Ricky held up the box. “This is odd.”

“What part of this adventure has not been odd?” Vikki teased.

He pulled open the top of the box and found a video camera resting at the bottom. A sticky note was attached to the side. While you were all celebrating.

“What the fuck is this supposed to mean?” He held the note up. “Who else knows we’re in this room?”

“No one,” Cooper said.

“Well, someone does.” He pulled out the camera, opened the view finder, and hit play. “Fuck.” He handed the camera to Cooper.

They watched on the camera as their partner, Erickson, had something placed over his head and was carried out of the building.

“We have a fucking mole in this building,” Ricky said, throwing the box across the room.

“Are you surprised?” Johnny asked. “It’s Giano. He knows how to get his hands on everyone and everything.”

Cooper closed the view finder on the camera. “Miles and Ricky, I need you in my office now.”

“Need my help, boss?” Finley stepped forward.

“You sure you’re ready?”

“More than ready.”