Page 50 of Captivated

“Yikes.”

“I mean, he texts me, or whatever.”

“That’s something,” Cella pointed out.

“I think maybe he’s trying to let me figure some shit out.”

Cella’s brow dipped. “Figure what out?”

“Him, I guess.”

“I need more to go on.”

“Just … him,” Liliana said lamely. “Sometimes, I don’t think he is who he says he is. I know he’s not entirely on the right side of life, just considering his last name and where he comes from.”

Cella glanced upward. “Uh, neither are we, technically. Or our father … uncles, grandfather, cousins, and—”

“I get it, Cella.”

“Listen, we’re not new to men like him, Liliana. We’ve grown up around them. This shouldn’t be … a thing for you. Why is it a thing?”

“Because he’s not telling me, maybe? I mean, maybe if he told me, then I wouldn’t feel like there are two different men I’m trying to figure out right now.”

“Maybe you’re not in deep enough for him to need to tell you shit. Ever consider that? You’re stuck in your head and feelings with the idea he owes you something that we both know men in this life keep carefully guarded, Liliana. And right now, at this stage, he doesn’t owe you anything about that part of his business. Think about it.”

Liliana blinked at that statement.

“You never even considered that, did you?” her sister pressed.

“No, I suppose not.”

Cella nodded. “Yeah, I figured.”

Huh.

“Funny,” Liliana mumbled.

“What is?”

“Aren’t you the one who always said you wouldn’t marry into the mob? How the fuck did you get this in-depth understanding of men like Joe Rossi, huh?”

Cella meh’d under her breath. “Just because I don’t want to love a made man doesn’t mean I don’t know this life, Liliana, and the men inside it. I know. Inside, you do, too.”

SEVEN

A BLACK TOWN car pulled into the alley, and honked once. Joe quickly rounded the side of the car, and came up to the driver’s side window just as it rolled down enough to show the man waiting inside.

“You called?” Johnathan Marcello asked.

“Where’s your boss today?”

John chuckled dryly. “Which boss—seems like everybody rides my ass enough to wear the title, so be specific.”

Joe would have sighed had he even had the patience for that today, but he didn’t. “Dante. Or shit, even Lucian would probably do, if the boss is busy. I have questions, and they need to be answered.”

“Because that’s going to get you everywhere with them,” John muttered.

Shrugging, Joe said, “Yeah, well.”