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Nightmare’s picture lit the screen.
“Principe?” I whispered, and my eyes couldn’t stray away from the picture. My mind screamed at the chaos inside as I tried to understand what Lucca had said. It screamed for me to run from this life I was now wrapped in. But what would happen to Ilias?
I was scared, terrified, but even then, I knew I couldn’t leave without him.
“Second in line to New York's throne,” Sal explained, but it was the end that troubled me as he continued, “And my god-son.” What? “Don’t worry, his family and I are far from close.” He finished as if it’d left a sour taste in his mouth.
“I’d made some calls after I found out who was under my roof.” It was now Lucca who’d spoken, but I couldn’t look at him. It was too much, so instead, I found Ilias. “As much as we detest the Yankees, we are still a family, and oftentimes, if one falls, it opens the doors for the rest of the families to be exposed. So, when we got word that a woman was a threat to our Organization, we started looking for you.”
Finally, I faced Lucca.
“And last night, during one of those calls, I found out just how much you were worth, especially when you are wanted alive.”
I shook my head in denial. “They don’t care about me.”
“You are right about that.” Sal shifted in his chair. “So, it only means you have something they want.”
“Now you need to answer me two questions,” Lucca’s voice deepened, tired of explanations. “What did Leo Vitelli say to you?”
I could finally put a name to the face of the man who’d tortured my dreams and life. Even then, knowing his name didn’t make him more human from the nightmare he was.
“Davina?” Ilias questioned for me to say anything. He too wondered what had happened in that dressing room. I could see the guilt in his eyes, the way he blamed himself, and if I said too much, it would only cause him pain.
“He didn’t say anything,” I said, keeping my eyes on Lucca. He didn’t look pleased, and I continued by affirming Sal’s words. “He searched my pockets, and when he didn’t find what he was looking for, he left.”
“What was he looking for, Davina?” Ilias probed.
I couldn’t look at him. “I don’t know.”
Arlo’s scoff wasn’t lost by anyone, but it was the truth.
I had an idea of what possibly Nightmare—Leo––searched for. The only thing I’d taken from that bleak and icy night.
The bullet casing.
The one that was fired by his gun, and the one I held tightly to.
I wasn’t ready to give that information, not when I didn’t know how much power it had. Until I found a way to use it to remove Ilias’s target and mine, I would keep it to myself. But first, I needed to get my hands on it again.
I needed my purse.
“Fine.” Lucca took a sip of his glass, and I knew he wasn’t done. He wouldn’t stop until he had the answers he wanted. “You know, usually we have a way of getting information out of people.”
“You wouldn’t,” Ilias said through gritted teeth.
“Matter of fact, Ilias did just that last night with the chief.” My brows furrowed. Lucca smiled. Why hadn’t he’d said anything about it this morning? What else was he hiding? “I thought you knew, but my point is not to threaten you, right now. It’s to tell you how gracious I’ve been by taking you in without knowing anything.”
That was a lie. Lucca didn’t seem the type to be gracious for another human. He had to know something, and now he was trying to put it together.
“Listen, bambina.” My attention shifted to Sal. “We need to at least know what you witnessed that night. Your life is not the only one at stake now.” His head bounced to Ilias.
“I never told anyone, and it wasn’t because I feared for myself. Saying it aloud would be a death wish for whoever heard about it.” I trapped my bottom lip, wondering if they could understand as an outsider looking in. “I may not understand the way of this life, nor do I intend to, but everyone knows the rumors of the Cosa Nostra.”
“What did you see, Davina?” Lucca’s sharp tone demanded this time.
My chest tightened, and the room spun with the pressure to retell––no––to relive that night. Maybe I was wrong all along I wasn’t trying to protect others, maybe I was just trying to protect myself.
My eyes wandered around the room. I was way over my head.
