AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What can you tell me?” My voice was strange, tight.
Amelia’s expression remained implacable. “That depends—what are you willing to share?” she replied, low and calm. Her gaze fell to the phone in my hand, then returned to my face. “What do you know?”
I knew someone with a special set of skills had hacked our security system because Finn had been in the dark.
I knew someone had information about my whereabouts and knew I would be in a sit-down and therefore unreachable.
I knew Declan had been unable to locate Cillian in Providence.
I knew that five of my best men had been shot and killed with our own guns.
I knew they’d found bodies—plural—in the catacombs.
I knew that one of those bodies most likely belonged to Raphael.
What I didn’t know was if my identical twin brother was dead. Wouldn’t I know? Wouldn’t I feel it?
I didn’t.
I also didn’t know which enemy from my very long list of them had the fucking gall to make such shortsighted moves against my family, but I was certain they wouldn’t live for too long once I discovered their identity.
Most importantly, I knew that Willa—my fucking wife—had been attacked in our home.
That is what I knew.
The muscles in my jaw seized.
Amelia bobbed her head. “Fine. I’ll go first. Boston PD—unwillingly—has turned over the case to the FBI.” She gave me a look that read, Yes, the palms you grease tried their best, but this is an FBI investigation now. “The FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force has its own forensics team onsite.” Her eyes softened. “Hopefully, Willa can tell us who was in the house with her at the time of the fire, otherwise, we’ll be relying on forensics, and that is going to take some time.” She paused as though considering her next words carefully. “Do you have any inclination as to which of your enemies would have targeted you today—or why?”
Russians.
Albanians.
Brennans.
Italians—possibly.
There was always a plausible why when it came to this line of work.
“No,” I replied.
Amelia blinked. “No? You can’t think of anyone?” Disbelief and a hint of frustration colored her tone.
Several seconds passed. She shook her head, done with our silent standoff. She stole a quick glance at Keegan. He hadn’t moved from his seat.
Amelia lowered her voice a second time. “The FBI busted a human-trafficking operation at the docks an hour ago ...” Her words dried up at the same time moisture welled in her eyes. La Cosa Nostra blood flowed through Amelia’s veins, but so did something else—empathy. “That’s why Stoll was in such a hurry to get out of here,” she continued. “Our undercover agent is still in play, so I can’t share the details, but if the Albanians were on your list, you can probably cross them off. We’ve kept them busy today.”
This information favored the Albanians but didn’t absolve them of suspicion.
“Should you be telling me this?”
Amelia had just admitted that the FBI had successfully infiltrated a connected family. Now I knew that an agent was active in the Albanian street gang. These were the kinds of specifics that federal agents typically avoided sharing with known criminals.
She cocked her head. “Should I have let you enter this building strapped with two loaded guns?”
She wouldn’t have done so nine months ago. My father had insisted that I seek out Amelia Rossi and befriend her. Make her an offer she couldn’t refuse. He’d always wanted a mole—a crooked asset—at the federal level. Who better than a scorned former mafia princess whose hatred for her famiglia rivaled that of the Flynns?
Unfortunately for Athair, Amelia’s integrity wasn’t for sale.
