Page 28 of Chris

That would be the hardest part.

Jorge chased after Valeria once—hunted her down like a dog. He took years to find her hiding out in New York, but patience and perseverance paid off. That’s what would happen the next time, too. Chris wanted to make sure that wasn’t a possibility for the man when it was all said and done.

So, what did that mean?

Someone would have to die, likely.

It was the approach of footsteps that had Gian and Chris turning to see who found them away from the rest of people at the mansion. Samuel, the youngest Lòpez son, came to stand at the end of the hallway, but didn’t come closer to intrude on their space. Out of the two brothers, Chris preferred this one.

In the single day they had been in the Lòpezs’ presence, Samuel seemed like the easier, more rational of the two that he would need to deal with. Appearances were also deceiving, and Chris wasn’t stupid enough to trust the man, either. He would also keep that in mind.

“Yes?” Gian asked him.

Samuel smiled. “Jorge made your accommodations for the night at a hotel in the city.”

“Thank him for me.”

“Of course. Jorge would like to complete any last details—he hears you want to head out tomorrow, Gian, and won’t have time to do it before you leave. So, if we could do that soon, then we can end this night on a good note.”

“Right, well, we’ll be out in a moment.”

The man gave them a nod before he turned, and left them in private once again. Chris turned to his father, giving him a look.

“What?” Gian asked.

“What are these last details?”

His father chuckled. “A contract, is all.”

Ah, yeah.

Because even criminals took their contracts seriously. It was something Chris had never understood because despite the honor they toted in their oath to Cosa Nostra, there was little amongst the men in the underworld of crime.

“What will happen with that contract once this is over, and we’ve fucked them around?”

Gian grinned, and tipped his glass up to swallow the last of his drink before sitting it down with a loud clink to the nearby stand. “Deal with that when we come to it, fils.”

That sounded easy.

Chris doubted it would be.

Standing next to his father, just beyond the iron wrought gate that had given them entrance to the Lòpez mansion, Chris tried not to be unnerved by the amount of guards standing around. Sure, he had seen the men over the course of the day, and even when they first arrived, but he didn’t remember there being so many.

Or, perhaps more came out to play when nighttime fell.

Not that it mattered.

He noticed them now.

A good ten guards stood on the stone wall, and some behind Chris and Gian on the sidewalk as they waited for the car Jorge had sent for them. They said nothing and given neither of the Lòpez brothers had come out to wait with them while they left, it put Chris on edge.

He wondered if that was the point.

To his benefit, Chris did his best to ignore the guards, and instead, stared up at the inky sky overhead. There was nothing like looking at the sky when you were in a country that wasn’t your own. He swore it allowed a person a different view—this time was no different for him, watching the stars streak the sky with their brilliance against a dark backdrop.

If anything, that settled him.

But not by much.