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Demitri glanced at me, then activated the loudspeaker.
Atlas’s voice came through the line. “Are you both safe?”
Demitri sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, every trace of warmth gone from his face. “We’re safe.”
“Artemus found a prosecutor in Rome,” Atlas continued. “Silvia Greco. She’s fifty-three and works in the financial crimes division. She’s spent four years building a case against shell companies tied to the Coccico cartel.”
Raze cut in.
“She has a serious appetite for bringing them down.”
“Then why hasn’t she charged anyone?” I asked.
“The evidence wouldn’t survive court on its own,” Raze replied. “She can trace the money, but she can’t prove what it paid for. The trafficking records change that. Gabriele Serra’s drive could bring the entire house of cards crashing down.”
Demitri’s expression remained hard.
“How did you find her?”
“Her name appears in messages between Coccico lawyers,” Atlas responded. “They’ve been watching her investigation closely.”
“Which means she may be compromised.”
“The opposite,” Atlas replied. “They’re watching because they haven’t been able to buy or remove her. She’s careful, well protected and persistent enough to frighten them.”
“Greco refused three promotions because each one would have taken her away from the case,” Raze added. “She survived two attempts to force her out of the division and reported a colleague who offered her money to close the inquiry.”
Demitri sighed. “That proves nothing. You saw what happened to Lucia Bellini.”
“I’m aware of what happened to Lucia.” Raze’s voice cracked through the phone. “I’m the one dealing with her body, her family and every camera within four streets of that café.”
Raze drew a breath. When he spoke again, the anger had changed. The sharp edge remained, but something far more vulnerable had broken through it. “That could have ended very differently, brother.”
Demitri stared at the floor.
“I just found you again,” Raze continued. “I spent ten years not knowing whether you were alive, and I won’t lose you now because you still believe throwing yourself in front of every bullet is the only way to protect someone.”
“Raze—”
“No.”
The word broke in his throat.
“I’m not losing you after we just got you back. I’m not.”
Demitri sat with the phone clenched in his hand, unable to answer. I watched the man who had faced gunfire without hesitation struggle beneath the sound of his brother’s fear. Bullets had never frightened him. But love did.
Atlas spoke quietly.
“Greco is our best chance, Demi. But you follow the plan. I need to know you’re committed to it and that you won’t get yourself—or Adriana—killed because you decide you can handle everything alone.”
Demitri lifted his eyes to mine.
“What does Greco want?”
“Everything we have.” I could hear the smile in Raze’s voice. “And to use the prosecutor’s exact words, she intends to nail every Coccico bastard’s balls to the wall.”
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