Page 158 of Unravel Me

Reluctantly, I decide to go downstairs, looking carefully along the hallway to make sure I don’t run into anyone. It’s already fairly dark, so fortunately I’m not likely to attract much attention.

As I slip outside through the gate, and to keep it from locking behind me, I wedge it open with a rolled-up bundle of advertising flyers I see lying on top of the mailboxes.

I leave the building, walk around to the side with the balconies, collect all the toys, and then hurry back toward the entrance, only to realize that someone must have walked through because the roll has been pushed out and the door is locked.

Fuck! I stare at the panel in frustration because I don’t know the code. A wave of panic rises in me; my child is upstairs alone. He’s occupied with the cartoon, yes, but it’s only a matter of time before he looks away for a moment and something could happen. How could I have been so thoughtless?

I was so caught up in my own problems that I forgot to ask Bay for the code.

And I can’t even fix it now because I didn’t bring my phone with me. Goddammit!

Furious with myself, I look around helplessly, hoping someone will come along, but of course there’s no one in sight.

As I stand there, I notice a black car with tinted windows pulling into the parking lot.

Oh, fuck.

My nerves immediately go haywire. I’ve developed a trauma around dark cars; they all look suspicious to me now.

But to my astonishment, the door opens and Alex gets out of the back seat.

He looks at me and calls, "What happened, Jared?"

Feeling a weakening wave of relief, I immediately rush to him and hug him tightly.

"Dear Fate, I’m so glad you’re back! I went down to collect Tommy’s toys from the lawn, and someone locked the entrance door! I don’t know the code." I let him go, wearing an apologetic expression.

Exactly then, the other car door opens, and a man steps out whose face I immediately recognize.

It’s Ennio Ferro.

I go rigid because even though he’s the man who helped me that time when Rocco kidnapped me, he also worked with Rocco for years, so I have no way of knowing where his loyalty lies.

Seeing my terrified, panicked face, Alex says, "Relax, Jared. Ennio is a good guy."

My eyes jump between them. Why did he give Alex a ride? What happened here?

"He… he’s one of them. The Ferros," I whisper through trembling lips.

Alex gives me a broad smile, and it’s such a startling expression on his usually somewhat somber face that it makes me gape.

"Yes, and even more than that. You’re looking at the new capo of the Ferro family."

"What?"

Ennio glances at him with a raised eyebrow. "It’s not official yet," he adds.

"It will be," Alex mutters with a smirk.

"I don’t understand any of this! How is he the new capo? What about Rocco?"

"Rocco is dead. What Bay said turned out to be true. He finally met a miserable end. His madness crossed the critical threshold."

"Who… how…what?"

Alex chuckles.

"All excellent questions. He crossed the Nolan family. So they made sure he wouldn't do it again. And they have people like Bay, Storm and Snow, so they’re not a force you should underestimate."