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I share another look with Soo and close the laptop, handing it back toward Bianci. While disclosing information about my identity might earn me a measure of trust from this man, it would also mean going back on a promise I made to myself a long time ago. I’m a Diavolo. When I took the name and built my empire, I vowed to never look back. At least not until my family’s lives are avenged. What right do I have to that name with their killer still roaming free?
He waves me off. “No, you keep it. The information about that chat server is on there, maybe you can find something interesting there that I missed, or at the very least, it might give you some more context.”
When he slips his backpack on again, he gives us an expectant look. “Are we done here?”
“Yes, thank you.” I shake his hand, and so does Soo. Then he walks away like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I wait until we’re both back in the car before I bring him up. “Did he seem all there to you?”
Soo starts the car, and we pull away, heading back toward the house. “He seems interesting. Also, I think he knows more than he shared with us. If he has access to all of the five family networks, he might know a lot of secrets. Which makes him an excellent ally.”
As usual, Soo isn’t wrong.
The city passes around me in a blur, but my mind is back in that house the day I watched the light leave my mother’s eyes.
“Are you ever going to tell Celia about who you really are?” Soo asks.
I turn to look at my friend. “She knows who I am. I’m a Diavolo, and now so is she.”
He doesn’t bring it up again, and I’m grateful. Dwelling on the past doesn’t ensure the future.
When we return to the house, he heads off with the laptop, leaving me to go find Celia. I smile, thinking about stripping her of whatever lacy thing she’s wearing as I bound up the stairs. She’s sitting on our bed again when I enter.
She looks up as I close the door. “How did it go?”
I strip off my jacket and my shirt, tossing them in the closet. “It went better than I expected.”
“But?” she prompts.
I shake my head and climb up beside her on the bed so I can draw her into my arms. “But nothing. He was already on board with our plan when we arrived. It seems he’s been trying to find a way to restructure the five families for some time.”
I don’t tell her about what he said regarding the sixth family. It’s not important yet. I’m not that boy anymore.
“You seem like you want to say more but aren’t sure how.”
I shake my head, even though she can’t see it, and kiss the top of hers. “No, I’m fine, I’m just thinking. He gave us some good information, and now we need to figure out how to use it to our advantage. That’s half the job.”
“Are you sur—”
“Celia, drop it.” My tone is clipped, but I don’t regret it.
She stiffens in my arms and pulls away. Her distance only makes me angrier. I push off the bed and head out of the room toward my office. At the very least, I can get some work done while I consider Bianci.
When I settle in my chair and dig my phone out of my pocket, I find a text message from an unknown number. On the screen is an image of an email sent from what has to be a dummy account. The body of the email makes me stop breathing for a moment.
The text is from Bianci, and it says that Ricci knows the plan is in motion and is already fortifying for future events.
It wasn’t as if I thought we’d get to the endgame of this thing unscathed. Nor did I expect Ricci to stay ignorant of my plan. However, I wish I had more time. At the very least, more time to help Celia come to terms with what is about to happen. She may say she wants to pull that trigger, but there’s nothing that can prepare you for taking a life for the first time. I don’t want that stain on her soul, and I know the moment I take it from her, she’s going to hate me.
She’ll get over it, eventually. But I know the soft kisses and midnight whispers will disappear at the same time. And if she ever trusts me again, I’ll still have ruined the best thing in my life.
Is it worth it to lose her just to take down Ricci? Some time ago, my revenge was the only thing driving me, the only thing getting me out of bed in the morning. And now, it’s Celia’s smile that drags me up from the nightmares. It’s touching her cheek and smelling her hair after she washes it.
