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“De Luca.”
Wilks’ voice only heightened my panic.
He hadn’t called me after my meeting with Jenn like he’d promised. My eyes burned holes on the door as I resisted the urge to glance at the security cameras.
I considered whether or not the Romanos had set up a microphone surveillance system in here and decided not to risk it.
Pasting a light smile on my face, I toyed with a loose strand of hair.
“Dr. Clemson, it’s great hearing from you. I’m glad you were able to reschedule the appointment.”
“You’re not able to talk freely?”
“No, I’m afraid not. I’ll miss you, though!”
“Got it.” He shuffled around, and I could hear his breathing through the line—not as fit as he’d used to be. “Your cover with the Romano is very important.”
Okay… He didn’t call me to tell me something I already knew.
I raked my fingers through the tangles in my hair. “More important than the last time we talked about it?”
“More important than it was a second ago and only getting more important.”
I leaned against the seat and ran a hand over the back of my neck, squeezing out the stress while racking my brain for something that would make sense in the context of this conversation in case of a mic.
“I’m sorry to hear that your cat is getting sicker. I know exercise is extremely important for animals. Thank you for letting me know. I hope she’s okay. Does it change our appointment times?”
Translation: What happened? Does it change the assignment?
Wilks heaved out a heavy breath. “Nothing you need to worry about.”
I let a forced giggle slip and rolled my eyes like we were gossiping.
“You and I both know that’s not true.” Beneath a curtain of my long hair, my fist clenched the phone. “It sounds awfully urgent all of a sudden. You’ve always known your cat was at risk for… diabetes. Why are you going into the doctor now? Why not last year? Or a year from now?”
Translation: The FBI has always known about the Romanos. Why am I going undercover now? Why not a year ago? Or a year from now?
“There was a confirmed Andretti sighting in Manhattan. It’s why I had you doing this now of all moments.”
I immediately straightened up from the seat and dug my heels into the floor, forcing the freak out away from me, trying not to question my inexperience.
“A vague diagnosis or an actual diagnosis?”
Translation: Andretti member or an actual Andretti?
“Low- to mid-level. Non-blood relation.”
Usually, given the notorious border disputes between the Andretti and Romano families, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but New York City was the heart and soul of the Romano family.
There had been a storm brewing for years, and I felt stuck in the middle of it without shelter.
“Anything else I should know?”
“Our C.I. says there’s a hit out on an unknown big name. Higher ups in the Romano family are covering up who the hit is out on, but there’s already been at least one body that’s had to be cleaned. No concrete evidence. Just the word of our C.I., who didn’t see anything, but you should be careful regardless.”
I hadn’t known what I was walking into, but this was immensely worse than what I had pictured. This meant ironclad guards were up for people who already had their lives hidden below impenetrable layers of secrecy.
My eyes burned greater with the need to peer around the room for more security measures.
