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I run back to my bed and get under the blanket, but I’m not sleepy. Who were those men, and why was my brother acting that way? Arturo never hits anything.
I’m staring at the ceiling when I hear someone climbing the stairs and crossing the hallway. A moment later, the sound of our bedroom door opening fills the silence of the night. I sit up in bed and find Arturo standing at the threshold, gripping the doorframe.
“Let’s wake Asya up,” he says. “I need to tell you both something.”
His voice sounds strange. It’s not teasing like it usually is when he talks to Asya and me.
After flicking the light switch by the door, Arturo takes a seat on the side of my sister’s bed. He looks different from when he tucked us in earlier. His face is pale, and there are dark circles under his eyes. Arturo isn’t typically a cheerful person. Papa always says that my brother is too old for his years, whatever that means, but he’s always strong. Now, he just looks sad. Lightly, he shakes Asya’s shoulder until she sits up in bed, then he taps the spot on his other side.
I go and sit next to him, keeping my gaze glued to his the entire time. A lump formed in my throat when I saw him hit the door outside, but now, I feel like I’m going to throw up. He’s going to tell us something bad.
“Something happened tonight. At the casino.” He takes my hand into one of his and Asya’s in the other, but he doesn’t look at either of us. “I need you two to be brave.”
“What happened?” Asya asks through her yawn. “Where’s Mama?”
“There was . . . a shooting.” He squeezes our hands. “A lot of people got hurt.”
I yank my hand out of his. We never talk about shootings or guns in our house. Papa doesn’t allow it.
“Where are Mama and Pap—?” I sob.
Arturo wraps his arm around me, pulling me to him. I can hear Asya crying as she snuggles into his other side.
“They are gone,” Arturo chokes out. “Mama and Papa are gone.”
“You are lying! Why are you lying?” I cry out as tears pour down my face, but I know he’s not. Arturo never lies.
Chapter 1
Present
I approach the big ornate door and knock twice.
“Enter,” a male voice says from the other side.
I walk inside the office belonging to the boss of the New York Cosa Nostra Family, my green heels clicking on the polished floor as I approach.
“You wanted to see me, Don Ajello,” I say in my sweetest voice.
Salvatore Ajello’s eyes drift from my grass-green dress to the top of my head and stop on my bun. Feathers are sticking out of it, the same color as my dress. It took me months to find the exact shade.
“Have a seat, Sienna.” He nods at the chair opposite him.
I drop into the chair and smooth out my dress, wondering why he called me. It’s not every day that someone as meaningless as me, as far as the Cosa Nostra hierarchy is concerned, gets invited to a private meeting with the don.
Ajello leans back and regards me. There’s something disturbing in his gaze, and it makes me feel like I’m being dissected.
“Your sister got married a while back,” he says. “You two were very close.”
“Weareclose, yes.”
“But she’s in Chicago now. It must be hard for you.”
“Asya loves it there, and I’m happy for her.” I grin, trying to keep my voice casual. He really knows how to pick the nerve to poke.
“It’s important to make sure one’s family is happy. And what about Arturo?”
I narrow my eyes at him. Is there a point to this conversation? “What about him?”
