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Wilks cocked his head and gave me one of his soul-searching stares. “She was Asher Black’s assistant.”
“Yeah. Assistant to the CEO. As in, a legal business we’ve never been able to connect to the mafia.”
“Do you have a problem with this, De Luca?”
I held back a wince at the last name and shot up from my seat. “It’s unethical.”
“Which part? The number of lives that have been lost to the Romanos? The drugs they push into the streets? The number of lives that will be saved?”
They’d been shifting from the illegal businesses to the legal ones.
The drugs had been reduced drastically in the past decade—not because we were good at our jobs but because they had changed. Of course, I couldn’t say that.
Siding with the Romano family was tantamount to admitting I’d gone too far undercover.
I gentled my voice and tried to keep it casual. “All of that, and the part where we stoop as low as them. That woman hurt an innocent kid.”
“If you’re talking about Lucy Black, she’s hardly a kid, and she’s not so innocent.”
“Because she married Asher Black? She’s just a college student.”
And someone I’d met, knew was kind, and couldn’t stomach hurting. Monica had physically endangered Lucy and Asher. It was why she was in jail.
She’d let a hit squad into their building less than a year ago.
Wilks barked out a laugh. “You trying to tell me she didn’t know what she married into? The girl’s twenty not twelve, and she’s pursuing an Ivy League degree. Don’t bother, De Luca. This conversation is done.”
I sighed, sitting down to ease my approach. “This is a woman who does not deserve to be free, and we don’t know if she’ll do anything to help us, but what we know is she has never had anything to do with the Romano family.”
“We don’t need any of her knowledge, kid. We just need the chaos her presence will bring to shake things up during a time where they’re vulnerable, so they make mistakes. That’s all.”
That was all?
They hadn’t seen Bastian last night.
Or the night before.
Or the night before that.
They hadn’t seen Lucy, Asher, Niccolaio, Tessie, and Gio. Real people in real pain. Tessie had barely eaten since Gio and Asher broke the news to her, and it was a struggle to get her to keep anything down.
She was eight years old.
Eight.
And that was part of the vulnerability Wilks wanted to exploit.
Bastian had invited me to the funeral. I planned on going, of course, but the bureau didn’t know that. What Wilks knew was, I was an illegitimate De Luca princess, and my half-brother Damian would be there.
Damian didn’t know I existed. Being at the funeral could change that. I’d already planned on going for Bastian, but I needed to know if the bureau would make me.
My eyes studied each and every one of them as I said, “I was invited to the Romano funeral. It’s dangerous. Every American and international Made Man with any lick of power will be there. I’m not going.”
“You have to.” The answer came from Jenn. No hesitation. No pause. Just an instant answer.
Simmons nodded. “A great opportunity you’d be stupid to pass up on.”
The two analysts nodded their heads in agreement.
