Page 14

The grocery bobbed his head. “Certainly, signore.”

Feeling better, knowing that Rosetta would have the kinds of things she was accustomed to finding in the big city here in San Pietro Cove, I turned to the shopkeeper.

“So…what can I do for you, Sal?”

When he swallowed, his thick throat bobbed. “It’s my boy. Paul. He’s going to be eighteen in January, but he needs direction.”

I stifled a groan. I knew where this was going.

“Is there…is there any way he can be made early?” Sal’s whisper was loud enough to carry.

I cast a look around us, not because I wasn’t aware of our surroundings, but to make a point to this man that he wasn’t being discreet.

“We don’t take kids,” I said flatly.

“But he’s been training hard. He’s on his way to earning a blue belt!”

Paul was already on our list of potential candidates. We recruited the best, trained them well, but becoming an assassin wasn’t like pledging a fraternity or joining a college football team.

We were killers.

Of the members we pledged, less than ten percent became assassins. The rest helped with recon, tactical support, or other tasks to accomplish the hits. In my experience, few souls were built to kill on command.

But it wasn’t like I ever had a choice.

As my father’s oldest son, I was crafted to destroy, tempered to rule our legacy, and forged into a monster.

“But he’s a Ravello, don.”

“We’ll speak to him when he’s eighteen.” I hated repeating myself. There was a reason Sal hadn’t made the cut. He’d been too jittery for private investigation and recon, and my uncle had made him a weapons tech. He’d only just retired to the cushy position of town grocer five years ago.

“Please, Don Ravello, give me hope that he’s at least eligible,” Sal hissed.

So eager for his son to be a gun for hire….

“Make sure he eats protein and continues his time in the gym,” I offered. It was the same advice I would give anyone.

Going to the counter, I threw down a handful of bills even though I wasn’t buying anything and walked out. It would take all afternoon to drive to Trenton, but it was worth it to have popcorn Rosetta would approve of.

Chapter 6 – Rosetta

My lower back ached. With a moan, I rolled over, trying to find a comfortable position on the ancient mattress. My gaze fluttered over the nightstand and the red digital numbers of the alarm clock. Five in the morning. I could snooze for another hour or so….

What the—?

The last number was cut off by a box that most certainly hadn’t been there when I went to sleep. Wakefulness surged through my veins, and I forgot my stiff thirty-something year old body as I sat bolt upright. I shot a glance through the room, assuring myself that I was alone. Then I reached for my phone. Yes, I shouldn’t have had it charging and tucked under my pillow, because some health gurus said that was bad. But sometimes life just happened like that.

Once the flashlight was turned on, my stomach flipped.

The beam of light showed another demented red elf doll, cheeks rosy pink, grinning with that creepy smile as it stared at me from atop a moderately tall package. A letter leaned against it, and when I plucked it gingerly between my fingers, I saw the writing was the same as the ones left downstairs.

Good morning, my sweet Rose,

We can’t let the kids have all the fun. Sometimes mommies need presents too.

—Loki, the elf

P.S. I’m bigger.