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Prologue
Benny let me go. Helet me walk out the door and didn’t try to stop me. Like he didn’t even care that his lies, secrets, and contract with mynonnobroke us apart.
I smacked the seat of the cab in front of me, huffing a breath.
I was pissed and upset, and I hated the betrayal I felt when I heard Benny say everyone in my family was a monster. He lied to me and didn’t disclose his business with mynonno.
We promised not to keep any secrets.
How could he do this to us?
My fingers rose to my head and rubbed my temples as I sighed, remembering the conversation we had in the hotel room—the names he mentioned with a rage-filled voice.
Wait. Benny said Hubers and Russos.
Russo.My grandmother’s maiden name.
She grew up in Italy and met my grandfather when he visited Venice. They fell in love on a gondola ride through the Grand Canal. Her mirror hung on the wall in my bedroom. When she died, she left in her will that I should have her favorite room in the house. The floor-length mirror was etched on the bottom with a couple riding a gondola—a memento of mynonno’slove for his Catherine.
What did the Russo name mean to Benny? I didn’t understand.
I hadn’t seen my Russo cousins since I was a young girl. They last traveled to California when I turned six, nearly fifteen years ago. They didn’t leave Italy often, not that I was aware of. Why did Benny react the way he did? What happened?
I stared down at the phone in my hand, realizing it wasn’t password-protected. How odd. Everyone kept their information private. Why didn’t Rubio?
“Rubio,” I hissed with disgust. He tried to kill Benny. I wasn’t sorry that Benny had to defend himself and Rubio was dead. But why did Rubio have a grudge against Benny?
That was the exact moment everything began to click into place. Benny’s hatred and anger. Rubio’s secrets and lies. His relationship with mynonno. Mynonnoforcing my engagement to Rubio despite my refusal. Benny becoming my bodyguard.
Something wasn’t right. Okay, more than one thing. Why didn’t I notice how each of these things tied together earlier? What was mynonnoinvolved in?
I reacted instead of listening to Benny when mynonnocalled. I should have been suspicious. Instead, I became irrational and far too emotional, and I didn’t stay at the hotel to listen to Benny or try to work this out. I loved him. Would he forgive me for being a fool?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sighing, I noticed the screen on the phone was stuck on a video—a shaky breath released from my chest.
Somewhere, deep inside, I knew watching it would be a mistake. I knew, but I couldn’t stop myself from pressing play.
What followed stunned me into silence. I turned my head, vomiting on the floor of the cab as the driver cursed. I tapped stop, unable to watch another second or hear Benny’s cries of agony. The burning flesh on his body. The flames and macabre laughter. Someone recorded what happened.
Gagging, I wiped across my mouth with the back of my hand. Heart thumping wildly in my chest, I knew I had to go back. Benny needed me.
“I’m sorry for making a mess in your cab, but I’ve changed my mind. Could you take me back to the hotel where you picked me up?”
“No,” the driver growled.
“No?” I asked as if his words didn’t compute.
“I can’t do that.”
Blinking, I let frustration leak into my voice. “Take me back to that hotel,” I ordered. “It’s urgent.”
“No,” he repeated. “You have an important meeting you can’t miss.”
“My grandfather—”
“Don Salvador Russo requests your presence.”
