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I ignore him and his little barb. I know what he wants. For me to step aside or ask for her hand. But it’s not that simple. I don’t know how I feel about Mia. I know I’ve never liked anyone like her, but it’s not as simple as my emotions.
It’s her.
Everything in her life is soaked in pain and the recriminations of her family. I’m part of that family. I can keep her safe, but Mia . . . doesn’t she deserve someone or something far away from this world?
She will always be a De Luca, but she could choose to go far away. She could—
Mia’s not about to go anywhere but where she wants to go. She’s a fucking pain in the ass, but honestly, I wouldn’t like her any other way. I just wish in this she’d back down.
Then again, it’s not like we’re telling her much. We don’t know much.
“I’m not sure this is a fucking good idea.” It’s a cloudless day, the sun beating down and the sky an endless blue as we move down the road and into the heart of the city. “Leaving Mia . . .”
Leo glances at me, drumming his fingers against the door where we sit in the back seat. “Mia’s fine. That guy Andrew? Reaper and Angel vouch for him. And we’ve got Tizio and Diego there to keep an eye on things. She’s in fucking cotton wool.”
“Yeah.” He’s got a point, but as Nicolo starts turning down streets toward the address we have for Frank, my stomach is lead. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“It’s a talk.”
The way he says it has the same connotations as him saying gun to head. Which is fucking fair enough. We’ll do what we need to do. I’m not normally feeling on edge, but I am now, and it makes my adrenaline rush a little higher inside. “What if a talk, as you put it, is the wrong move?”
“Fuck’s sake, Christian.” Leo glares at me. “Do I tell you how to do your job?”
“Depends. Like this one time, you were all up my ass about getting info out of Mizzoni, and—”
“I know you care about Mia.”
“She’s family.”
“Uh-fucking-huh. I know you care, but she’s my sister. I know what I’m doing, and I don’t feel good in any way about this whole thing. Not the fact this dude’s dealing, not the fact that girl’s in the hospital, not that note, and definitely not the fact Frank’s got ties with Russo people.”
“You think they’re making a move?”
He sighs. “They’ve wanted to for years.”
“By dealing a few drugs outta Hellfire?”
“Could just be this guy on his own. As I said, a talk’s in order.”
I nod. “We can do what we did with Smithson and friends a number of years back. Go in friendly-like, pretend we’re concerned about someone.”
“No one’s pretending,” he says in a quiet and deadly tone. “This is Mia. But smart idea.”
Finally, we pull up. This isn’t the nicest part of town. But it’s not the worst. A squat gray apartment building with some sickly-looking trees out front. I stare at it from the car, taking in the entrance, the surroundings, and whether or not this fuckface Frank will be able to make a quick getaway.
“I’m not sure we should do this, Leo. Feels wrong.”
He’s got his hand on the handle. “This guy goes home sick. I don’t give a shit about feeling right or wrong. I don’t trust the situation. And Russo’s name?”
The thing is, Russo hasn’t done much in years, and my feeling is if he’s going to make a move, this isn’t it. More a testing of the waters.
But I don’t need to say that to Leo. He knows. So, we get out of the car, head up to the building’s front door, and ring the buzzer.
We wait.
* * *
Three hours later and we’re back at Hellfire. Mia’s in her office, word is for her not to be disturbed, and none of us are happy.
