AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stay silent for a beat. “Why are you telling me this?” I ask as he starts to re-button his shirt.
“Dario’s made a fucking lot of mistakes, Portia, but those mistakes are made because he thinks he’s helping those he loves. He thought it would help me focus my life if I got revenge. He thought killing would stop the anger and self-loathing he felt, but it didn’t.”
“I’m too angry right now to forgive him. Every time I look at him, I want to kill him. I can’t be near him.”
“Then give it time. I never thought I’d see my brother in love, but he is. When you’re ready, talk with him. He’ll be waiting.”
“What if I’m never ready?”
He gives me a wary smile. “Then I guess my brother will always be waiting.” He walks back inside as I stare into the trees.
How am I supposed to forgive the man who made me almost lose my sister? How can I let go of the pain he’s caused?
Right now, I can’t think about that. I need to center myself and focus on Teagan and helping her get to a place where she’s not surrounded by darkness. I need her to know that she’s loved and not alone. Only then can I think about myself and what I want to do next with my life.
SIXTEEN
PORTIA
FOUR WEEKS LATER
“You okay?” Kelvin asks, his brow furrowed. “You seem distant.”
I shake my head. “I’m good. So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
He grins at me. “The job offer we spoke about. I have a bit more information.”
I take a sip of coffee as I look around the small coffee shop. I’m shocked he wanted to meet me here. It’s out of the way and very inconspicuous. If I were walking on this street, I’d have walked past it without a second thought.
“Okay, hit me with it.”
He offered me a job the night of the gala. That was about a month ago, and I haven’t heard from him since. “It’ll be a team, one that will be working together to stop the trafficking of women.”
I blink, surprised he’s doing that. It doesn’t match the vibe I got from him. I assumed he was into organized crime. I thought he was the head of the mob, but to have a team that’s going to stop the trafficking, that’s huge.
“You do realize that trafficking rings are set up by organized crime bosses, right? Usually the Bratva?”
He nods. “I know. I also know that a lot of the people involved in buying women are high power professionals, such as judges, law enforcement, and politicians.”
I sigh. “It’s all profit for them. They’re involved because power breeds power. If one goes down, they’ll all go down. It’ll be a domino effect. But they’ll protect each other until they no longer can.”
“Exactly, but there’s rumors of another shipment coming in, and I want to hit the ground running with this team before it does.”
“Okay, so what do you need from me?”
His grin is cocky. “You, dear Portia, are the perfect candidate to help me with my team. You know the ins and the outs of the Famiglia. You know people; you’ve studied them for years—and don’t say you didn’t. You watched people while you were on the streets. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders and you can get information when others can’t.”
Okay, so he’s right with that. I can. It’s easy for me to know when someone’s lying, and I have a knack for making people tell me things without asking them to. They just voluntarily give me the information I need.
“Where is the team’s headquarters?” I ask, wondering what swanky building he’s got here in Indiana.
He takes a sip of his coffee, grimacing as he does. “That’s the thing,” he says. “It’s not here, it’s in Jefferson City.”
I blink. Oh. “Shit,” I hiss out a breath.
He nods. “I’m going there after this. Come with me, check it out, and then make a decision.”
“It’s a big decision, Kelvin. This means uprooting my life, leaving Tee behind.”
