“Who the fuck is she?” Rocco kicked a chair across the ICU lounge, and Luca ducked out of his way. He’d lied to the head nurse and told her that Mike was his brother. Of course, it didn’t fly and he’d had to tie her up and put her in the closet, just like he’d done to the other nurse who wanted to stop him from going to visit Nunzio Mantini. If he kept this up, St. John’s would need more fucking closets.
“We don’t know for sure it was Tiffany,” Luca said. “We’ve got everybody on the street looking for her, and once we find her, we’ll get the truth.”
“He was fucking naked with a condom in his hand. One of the soldiers said the place smelled of perfume and there was an empty jewelry box on the floor. Doesn’t sound like a dude to me.”
“He might have come in after she left.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” He took out all his anger on the only person strong enough to stand up to him. “It was her. I know it was her. There was something about her…” He shook his head, at a loss for words to express the darkness he’d seen in her eyes—something so familiar it had chilled his heart. “What the fuck is going on? She’s always one step ahead of us. I’m tired of being a fucking pawn in this game. Nunzio knew what it was all about, and now he’s gone. And Mike…” He grabbed the chair and smashed it on the floor. “Mike doesn’t deserve to die like this. When I find the bitch, I’m going to make her suffer a hell you can’t even imagine. The worst thing I’ve done is going to be too good for her.”
“All you’ll get out of that is the satisfaction of revenge.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Luca shook his head. “Come on, man. She’s a tool, just like you are when you’re given a contract. Someone else is pulling the strings. There’s a bigger game going on here that we don’t see. If you whack her, then we’ll never find out who’s behind this.”
“She’ll talk before she dies,” Rocco spat out. “I can guarantee that. Woman or not. I’ll have answers. What she did is sick. Slitting a man’s throat in the middle of sex? She’s like some kind of fucking black widow spider.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He smashed everything he touched—mirrors, windows, tables, and chairs. Luca stood at the door and kept the staff away, letting him rage until his anger had faded to a quiet roar.
“Never seen you express anything more than a grumble,” Luca said when Rocco stopped to catch his breath.
“I usually go see a guy named Clay. He beats the fucking feelings out of me so I can get through each fucking day. Haven’t seen him in weeks. Maybe it’s time.” But even as the words dropped from his lips, he knew Clay wouldn’t be able to help him. Suppressing small doses of emotion was doable, but ever since Grace had walked into his life, he’d been overwhelmed with the kind of feelings he’d never thought to experience again. Powerful feelings. And good or bad, they made his heart pound and blood run hot in his veins. How could he go back to the cold empty void that had been his life for the last six years?
Luca shrugged. “I always prefer to hit things. Or shoot them. Punch out a couple of guys who deserve a beating. You bottle everything up inside and one day it rips you apart. Almost happened to me. It took meeting Gabrielle for me to get over Gina. Three words and I was free of all the bad shit that was eating me up inside.”
“What three words?”
“You’ll know them when the time is right.”
“Jesus Christ. I don’t have time for this shit.” Rocco’s hands curled into fists. “That bitch is on the loose. First Mantini. Now Mike. Who the fuck is she going after next? Is she the one who is after Grace and Tom?”
The answer came to him even as he asked the question. Of course she was. Her actions in Mantini’s hospital room were deliberate. The look on her face triumphant when the heart monitor slowed. She had to be the one who was after Grace and Tom. There couldn’t be a third player in the game trying to off the Mantini family. They’d both been contracted to take out the men, but she’d also been instructed to take Grace alive. Could they be working for the same person? Who would hire the De Lucchis and then send in backup—and a woman for that matter?
Only Cesare ever knew the identity of the contractor. And right now, Cesare was the last person he wanted to see. Once he found out Mantini was dead by someone else’s hand, Rocco would be called home to account. Three weeks ago, he would have gladly made the trip back to New York. He would have offered himself up to Cesare’s justice, knowing as he did that his death would be his revenge. Not only would Cesare have to find and train a new orphan to fulfill his commitment to the crew, he would have to admit his failure.
“We’ve got to catch her before she finds Tom or Grace,” he said. “Or anyone else. She was at Carvello’s. I’m sure of it. She owes the Bianchis two lives.”
“So someone hired both her and you to take out the Mantinis?” Luca asked.
“Might be the same person, might be two people. But whoever hired her wanted the men out of the way and Grace for himself. No doubt he’ll reveal himself when he becomes the new underboss, but that bitch is acting now and we don’t have time to waste.” And didn’t that just make his fucking blood boil. He had promised to protect Grace. She had been his since she was ten years old, and he knew what he had to do to convince her to be his again.
“I thought you just wanted revenge,” Luca said. “Now you’re wanting to save the world.”
“I want … out.” He couldn’t believe he’d said it but as Luca had stood watching him destroy the room, he realized he was a friend. Just as Nico was a friend. And Mike. All this time, he’d wanted out and the answer was sitting across from him at the clubhouse or riding beside him in the car or hauling bodies with him to Lake Mead. He couldn’t break with Cesare alone, but if he had help in the form of some very powerful friends … maybe … just maybe … he could have a fucking life, and he could have Grace in it.
“So we’ll start by finding the girl,” Luca said without missing a beat, as if De Lucchi enforcers confessed to him every day that they wanted to break with the tightest crew in the Cosa Nostra. “We’ll either make her confess or disappear. That will clear your name and lead us to whoever is behind this coup. Once we know, we’ll be able to keep Grace safe while you find your way out with whatever support you need from us.”
For a moment, Rocco couldn’t speak. “That’s it? You’re gonna help me, no questions asked. No concern about the risk. Nothing in return?”
“That’s what it means to be part of the family.” A sly smile spread across Luca’s face. “Also, we need an underboss. He needs to be a non-smoker, a good earner, and able to handle discipline in the family as well as teach the occasional lesson to guys who want to cheat the mob. Maybe break a few legs, chop off a few fingers, that kind of thing. Other than that, we’ll do the usual and hire out the dirty jobs to the professionals.”
“No one’s ever gotten out.”
“I’ll bet no one ever tried,” Luca said. “But then maybe they didn’t have a family behind them, a beautiful girl who loved them, and a friend who’s tired of breathing in second hand smoke. So what’s the plan? What do we need?”
Luck.
Conviction.
Hope.
And bait.
* * *
Grace had never seen Rocco so still. From her vantage point in the doorway of the ICU room where Mike was just barely clinging to life, she couldn’t even see his lungs rise and fall.
“Rocco?”
He didn’t turn when she said his name, and since he hadn’t asked her to leave, she invited herself inside.
“I hear you’re his brother.” She smiled even though he didn’t look her way. “We should have tried that one with my dad and you wouldn’t have had to stay in the hall.”
Silence.
Grace had a sudden urge to turn and walk away, just like she had always walked away, leaving the people she cared about to suffer alone.
No.
She gritted her teeth and pulled up a chair beside him. This time she wasn’t going anywhere. Although she still hated the mob, she had been born into it. Her family was a mob family, the man she cared about was a Mafia enforcer. And unless she was prepared to give them up, she needed to learn how to deal with the mob instead of letting it control her life.
“What can I do to help?” She reached over and covered his hand with hers.
“Nothing. I’m going to kill the bitch.”
Grace took a quick look over her shoulder to make sure they were alone. “Are you sure it was her?”
“He was fucking naked. Condom in one hand. If someone broke in he would have reached for his gun, but it was under his pillow. No signs of struggle. Means he trusted whoever was in the room. Got naked for them. Let them get close enough to slit his fucking throat. Only reason he’s still alive is ’cause he’s such a big guy and he’s got a lot of muscle around his neck. The blade missed the important veins, but if Luca’s guys hadn’t broken down the door when they did, he wouldn’t have made it.” His voice cracked, broke. “Jesus Christ. He was bleeding out all over the bed.”
“I’m so sorry.” She stood to wrap her arms around him and he pulled her into his lap, hugged her tight.
“She’s no amateur,” he mumbled into her hair. “The whole thing with your dad, that was set up for weeks. Everybody here knew her, trusted her. She could go anywhere in the hospital without drawing suspicion. She could sign out any medication she wanted, tamper with any equipment. Even fooled me. I didn’t say anything to Mike about her after she called the cops on us in the alley. And if she hadn’t made you sad at the gym, I wouldn’t have investigated her.”
“It was Tom,” she said. “I saw him at the gym. He was at Tony’s place and he heard you say you had a contract on my family. He said you were using me. My father had already said something similar. A lot of little things came together and I just … wasn’t sure anymore.”
“And now?” He stilled, his hands still around her, holding her in the cradle of his lap.
“You saw beyond this.” She touched her scar. “I can see beyond the work you do as an enforcer. I know you, Rocco. There’s good in your heart. I think you came to save my dad, not kill him.”
“I could never hurt you that way, bella. I had the chance and didn’t take it for that reason. But don’t think that makes me a hero. I’m no saint. I’ve done things that would keep you awake at night, and no doubt I’ll do more. But, I’m gonna try and get out.”
“Out of the crew or the life?”
“I’ll never get out of the life. I know too much.”
Her lips tipped up in a teasing smile. “So you’re going to be a regular mobster?”
“Yeah.” He couldn’t help but smile. “Just your average every-day wiseguy.”
“I could handle that.” She kissed his cheek. “Less drama.”
“First I gotta find Tiffany.” His hand curled into a fist beneath hers. “I’m pretty sure it was her at Carvello’s along with some hired men. She has the Bianchi murders to answer for, as well as your father’s and Mike’s, if he doesn’t make it. And I’ve got a feeling she’s still after you and Tom. Whoever hired her wants to make sure Tom doesn’t take your father’s place, and he might want you for himself.”
“Tell him I’m taken.” Her face tightened. “And if she was responsible for killing my father, then you’re going to have to stand in line.” She hadn’t meant the words to come out with such venom, but if she came face-to-face with her father’s killer, she didn’t think she could turn the other cheek.
“You’ll stay the fuck away from her.” His body stiffened. “I mean it, Grace. I’ll lock you up if I have to. She’s a fucking psychotic, highly intelligent, cold-hearted, vicious, ruthless cu—”
“I get it,” she said interrupting. “Sounds like a description of you. Except for the last part.”
“Luca’s spread the word that we’re looking for her, but our best chance of finding her is if she comes to us. We need someone to act as—”
“I volunteer.”
Rocco scowled. “No fucking way. I almost lost you once. It’s not happening again. I was thinking of Tom.”
“Tom? He’s still with his new best friend, Tony. I talked to him just after Papa died. He’s planning to declare as underboss once everything shakes out. He’s staying in Vegas because he thinks it is safer here than New York.”
“And no doubt he’ll make Tony boss of the Vegas faction,” Rocco said bitterly.
“I suppose so. He’ll owe Tony a favor.”
“We need to get him out of Tony’s house and somewhere we can lay a trap for Tiffany. I’ll make sure he’s protected. Nothing will happen to him.”
Grace bit her lip considering. “I trust you, Rocco. I really do. But it would be in the best interests of the Toscani family to whack Tom so Tony doesn’t get declared boss. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s sticking so close to Tony. How can I offer him up as bait when the people who will be tasked with protecting him want him dead? I’m the better option.”
“No.”
“I want her caught. I want justice for Papa. I want revenge. I have skills. I can fight. I have a gun. And you’ll be there protecting me, like you promised.” A shadow fell across the room. She looked up and saw Luca standing in the doorway.
“No.” Rocco stared at Mike, lying motionless in the bed.
“Luca agrees.” She gave Luca a hopeful look and he nodded.
“It makes sense,” Luca said. “The risk to Grace is low because whoever it is wants her alive, not dead. Tiffany won’t take the risk of killing her, and neither will we.”
Rocco’s fingers dug into Grace’s hip so hard she knew he would leave bruises. “No. And that’s the end of the discussion.”
“It’s my choice,” she said softly. “I’m not going to stick my head in the sand and pretend the mob doesn’t exist or that I’m not a part of it. I’m going to use it. I’m going to make it work for me. I want her to pay for what she did to Papa and Mike. I want you out of jail and free to live your life. And I want Tom safe. If I have to go full mobster to get those things, then that’s what I’m going to do even if it scares me more than anything has scared me since I lost you.”
“The things I might have to do … to keep you safe…” His voice cracked. “I might have to be the man you ran from in New York, and there will be no hiding it from you. Can you live with that?”
“Can you live with this?” She clasped his hand and brought it to her scarred cheek.
“When I look at you, I see my beautiful Gracie with her kind heart, wicked laugh, sexy body, and the voice of an angel,” he said softly. “I see the ten-year-old girl who messed with my radio to play the kind of songs only old people listened to—the songs I listened to. I see the twelve-year old girl who brightened my life when all I could see was darkness. I see the sixteen-year old girl who had never been kissed with the most perfect lips I ever had the pleasure of touching. I see the eighteen-year old girl who was so beautiful she broke my heart when she gave herself to me and trusted me to keep her safe. I made a promise to her that I didn’t keep. But I mean to keep it now.”
Grace leaned in and kissed him full on the lips. “I guess that’s a yes.”
“Yes. But the answer to using you as bait is still no.”