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Donny stays silent, which I take as a nod.
“I’m still trying to piece together the purpose of this meeting. There’s no way you called me to try and reel me in.” I narrow my eyes.
“No,” Donny says, throwing a bunch of pictures over the desk. “You’re not the only one who’s careful.”
I lean forward to see the old lady who lived across the way in Indiana, using her own spare key to get into Joseph and Alessia’s house, after the deed.
“You take great care in carrying out a hit, Leandro. You always have. But it’s my job as boss to make sure the wheel keeps spinning.”
I set my jaw, annoyed at the circumstance. It’s only been a few days. I was hoping a week would go by before anyone noticed. Their officer wasn’t scheduled until next Friday.
“Turns out Alessia and this woman visited one another often. She knitted with her so she wouldn’t be alone. You can imagine the woman’s surprise when their car was gone and the house was empty in the middle of the day, when someone is always home. She called the cops.”
“Then an investigation is underway, isn’t it? Their witness protection agent…”
Donny nods. “I don’t know what you did with the woman—”
“None of your concern, boss.” I arc an eyebrow. This is where I draw the line.
“Leandro.” Ellie tries to soften me. “If she’s alive, she will be the agent’s number one priority, and in turn… ours.”
I’m careful not to let the heat flaring in my chest get the better of me. This is the kind of talk that makes me turn to the other side. I’ve done it before. “Have I ever let you down, Donny?” I press two fingers on his desk. My voice rattles the room. I’m done playing. “It’s a simple question.”
“Leandro, please.” Ellie gets up and leans over the corner of the desk.
“You’ve always been soft on civilians,” Donny recalls. “You don’t slip up, I’ll give you that. But emotion does hurt the process.” He eyes Ellie, and it’s in this moment I see what she’s truly become – a consiglieri – right hand of the Don himself. “We barely got out of the Rusokov job because you decided not to clip the wife too. Remember? She screamed bloody murder when she found the arm meant for his father to find. We can’t afford that here, Hook.”
My expression is stone. I don’t know what to do with those women, truly.
I’m supposed to be free of this life.
Fuck.
I get up and inhale deeply. “Your order is loud and clear, boss.”
“I can count on you, then?”
“It’s the same as I told you. There was never a time you couldn’t. We’re both still free men because of my care.”
Donny’s jaw clenches. He doesn’t like my indirect rejection.
“Another thing. I’ll know if any of your men tail me, Donny. I’d even know if you tailed me. So don’t try it.”
He stares at me coldly, and I take a step closer to the desk and lean in. “You’re like an older brother to me. And her, like a sister. Don’t blow this out of proportion for nothing. Have some faith.” I stare at him unblinkingly, then turn for the door. I peer over my shoulder at Ellie, who seems worried. “Give baby Nico a kiss for me. The living legacy.”
Chapter 7
Alessia
I take my second shower in my new world – an underground palace of widows. My bare feet are warmed by heated tiles, and the scent of up-scale soap makes me feel like a woman again. Truthfully, I hadn’t realized how on edge I’d been with Joey micromanaging my every move. My nerves were constantly tangled, eyes always sunken and bloodshot.
Here, though? I’m free of the outside – where I’d always be wondering when I’d be hunted or caught.
Cinching a plush towel around me, I look in the mirror, then to the posh creams set all over the long double-sink. It’s like I died and fell into spa heaven. Twenty minutes of rubbing my face and blow-drying my hair, I almost feel pretty again. There’s no need to hide in a sloppy braid and oversized sweatpants any longer.
My mind goes to strange places while I doll myself. This hairdryer can technically be used to kill someone or myself in the tub. If I started a fire with it, the five of us girls would die a pretty gruesome death. If anyone would be up to the task, I’d expect it to be Jane. Moody, standoffish, no loyalties that I could see. I better watch out for her.
I bite my lip as I consider the other girls. Last night, Anabel was pleasant enough. Gabby and I picked up where we left off, catching up on our horrid journeys to this very spot. I gave her a big hug and cried into her arms. It was great to see a familiar face who wasn’t ancient – like Gladys, the woman across the way in Indiana – or wasn’t a has-been mafioso rat – Joey in particular.
