Page 64 of Blood Vows

His gaze snapped to her. “What’s wrong?”

“If the note said there’s a traitor inside the Camorra family, maybe we shouldn't send this to anyone with the last name Camorra.”

“I'm calling Luca,” he said.

“That ring belonged to Luca’s family,” she reminded.

“That’s exactly why he needs to know,” Dante said.

“What if Luca already knows?” she asked. The second the words left her mouth, Dante’s face changed, and she immediately knew she'd crossed a line.

“Be very careful before you say anything else,” Dante warned.

“I’m not accusing him of anything,” she insisted.

“You just did,” he growled.

“No, I asked a question,” she said.

“Luca would die before betraying this family,” Dante said.

“You trust him that much?” she asked.

“I trust him with my life,” he spat. “And yours.”

Elena held his gaze. “Then that’s good enough for me. Call him,” she breathed.

Dante picked up his cell phone and called Luca. He answered immediately. “What do you have for me?” Luca asked.

“We identified the rings,” Dante said.

“What rings?” Luca asked.

“In the photographs, each man is wearing a ring.” Dante put the phone on speaker and pushed one of the images toward the center of the island. “Four men. Four rings.”

“What about the rings?” Luca asked.

“One of the rings has the Romano crest on it. One appears to belong to Hale’s family crest, and another is Vale’s crest,” Dante explained.

Luca was quiet. “And the fourth?”

Dante looked at Elena. “It has the Camorra crest on it.” Luca said nothing. He gave no reaction, but also no denial—just silence. “The ring is on the finger of the man with his head cut out of the photo.”

Dante’s expression hardened. “Luca.”

“I need to see it,” Luca said.

“I’m sending it over now.” Dante snapped a picture and sent it to Luca. A few seconds passed, and then Luca swore.

Elena’s stomach twisted. “You recognize it,” Dante said.

“Yes,” Luca said.

“Whose ring do you think it is?” Dante asked.

“It’s my grandfather’s ring,” Luca almost whispered.

Elena stopped breathing. It wasn’t Luca’s father, but his grandfather. Dante looked as surprised as she felt. “That picture is twenty-seven years old,” Dante reminded.