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Prologue
“What do you mean I have a brother? Is it that time, Papa? Should I get the bullet ready? Put you out of your misery?” I ask my father, who must be hallucinating.
“Angelica, I love that I can count on you to put me down when the time comes. But I’m not insane. Thirty years ago, I fell in love with Gloria Valentino, except she wasn’t a Valentino then.” He sighs, as if he’s recalling old times. “Anyway, our one night together resulted in Theo Valentino. He is your brother.”
“And older. Which means all ofthis…” I wave my arm around my father’s office. “…is rightfully his?” I don’t let myself relish the relief that washes over me yet. I’ve never wanted to take over this family, but I would have. It’s what I’ve been trained to do for as long as I can remember.
“It’s still yours, Angelica. You deserve it. You’ve earned it. Besides, I don’t think T is going to want anything to do with the Donatello name anytime soon.”
“Why wouldn’t he? We’re fucking awesome.” I smirk.
“Foul language is beneath you,bella,” My father scolds me. Everything is beneath me. He’s put me up on a goddamn pedestal my whole fucking life.
“So, what’s the deal? Is he aware? I know they were just here.”
“He knows. I told him. And he told me where I could shove that news. And stormed out.” He shrugs, but I know this is hurting him. Family means everything to my father. It’s his very reason for living. His reason to fight as hard as he does. Why he ensures he’s feared among those both within and outside our community. “I need you to go to New York. There are three families currently conspiring against T.”
“And what? You think he’s going to want to accept help from his little sister, who he didn’t even know existed until a few days ago?”
“No, he won’t. But T is a family man, Angelica. What I need you to do is go and bond with him. Make him think you’re there to get to know him. Not to protect him.”
“Who are the targets? Why can’t I just go take them out and be done with it?”
“Because he’s your brother, and I want you to have a relationship with him. He’s family, Angelica. That’s what matters. How he came to be or whether he accepts us is irrelevant. He is blood, and we protect our own.”
“Well, of course I’m not going to let anyone kill him. Not before I get my shot anyway,” I joke.
“No, he’s not your fucking competition. The plane’s ready to take you and Izzy; it leaves in an hour.”
I freeze. He wants me to take Izzy? My daughter. I never bring her on jobs with me. There’s something he’s not telling me. “Why am I taking Izzy? I’m not dropping her in the middle of a mafia war.”
“You’re the only person I trust to keep her safe. She doesn’t leave your sight, Angelica. I mean it.”
“Why? What’s happened? Is Izzy in danger?”
“T brought a hacked-up plan to my attention. It’s Gio; he was planning on kidnapping Izzy.”
My blood freezes. My pulse remains calm though. My breathing the same. I’ve been trained to not show fear, to not respond rashly in any situation. But right now, all I fucking want to do is go get my rifle, aim, and light those fuckers up. “What do you mean? For what purpose?”
“They’re running a goddamn child sex ring. That’s why your brother was here. He’s trying to stop that shit from happening. He warned me about Izzy. That rat bastard Gio died too fucking quickly—didn’t suffer nearly enough for his crimes.”
“How’s Theo so sure? How much do you really trust this guy? We don’t even know him.”
“I trust him. And once you get to know him, you will too,” he says.
“Fine, but I want a list of names. I plan to carve each one into their own special bullet on the flight over.” I walk out in search of my daughter. I guess she’s going to see New York for the first time.
Chapter One
Something’s wrong. I can fucking feel it in my bones. Something big is about to happen, and it’s pissing me the fuck off that I don’t know what it is. The safe house we’ve been occupying belongs to my family. No one knows of its existence; no one should know we’re here. I head into our designated security room.
That’s when I see it. Seethem. Five blacked-out SUVs. Just sitting in the street out front of the house. Their projected images staring back at me from the cameras. “Fanculo! How long have they fucking been there?” I jab a finger at the screen.
“Ah, not that long. I’d say about two minutes,” Renzo, one of the fucking useless foot soldiers, answers.
“Then why the fuck haven’t you sounded the alarm yet?” I reach up for the button—the one that will let the whole house know we’re under attack—when the first blast of shots rings out. The front windows shatter as at least twenty men storm up the stairs. “Get the fuck out there.”
No need to press the fucking alarm now. If every fucker didn’t get the message, they would soon. Where the fuck is T? I hope like fuck he’s with his wife and gets her the fuck out of here. Heading out of the room, I raise two hands and aim two guns. I don’t know who the fuck thinks they can attack my house. My fucking family. But it’s not going to end well for them. Fuck that. I smile as I encounter the first group of three men.
