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“What do you mean, they know I’m in New York? I grew up here.”
“Yes, but you grew up asNatalie.”
He didn’t need to elaborate. Dread fills me.
“What would the Cosa Nostra want from me? I thought there’s been peace for decades now? That’s why it was safe to bring me here,” I press.
“It was until now, apparently. Maybe the Triad hired them. Rumor has it they’re low on manpower right now,” Dom replies with a sigh as he drives us to my penthouse.
“What could they want from me? I was just a kid back then. I’m nothing now.”
“That’s the million-dollar question.”
Before my parents died, they were part of the Triad, a secret Chinese society heavily powered by organized crime, going back thousands of years—according to the legends. The Triad still rules most of Asia, but the U.S. sanction broke off to be independent seventy years ago. At one point, they were known for having the best stock in illegal or banned firearms. They also produced the best assassins. I’m not too sure on what they do now, but over the years, word got around they aren’t as strong.
I didn’t grow up around the Triad, so the Cosa Nostra could use me as bait. Papa changed my name when I was little so I could grow up with a normal life, apart from this world. My mother was ruled a traitor, but I had no other connections to the Triad, so getting a hold of me would be useless.
As I settle into my penthouse, Dom heads into my office to make a few calls. I knew it would be awhile, so I pour wine and take a bath. Dom is getting ready to leave as I enter the living room.
“You heading out?” I ask him.
“Yeah.” He nods. “I’m just waiting for Matteo and Tony to get here,” he says as he fixes his jacket.
“How did they get here so fast?”
Matteo and I’ve had a noncommittalthingfor the past few years. We live in different states, so it was just whenever we’d see each other on holidays. He doesn’t have much going on upstairs, but he sure knows to use what’s beneath the belt.
“They’ve been here the whole time, just out of sight. I can’t come to the city alone. That would be suicidal. I’ll have them stay with you, and we’re setting up more security in your penthouse, so we know exactly who enters and exits the building. You’ll be safe.”
“Thank you.” I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him.
He takes a deep breath as we stand in silence. “Sempre, sorellina.”Always,little sister. Papa made sure I was fluent in Italian.
Just then, there’s a knock at the door. Dom looks into the peephole before opening the door. Matteo and Tony walk in, clad in their signature black-on-black ensemble, decorated with their tattoos all over their muscles. Matteo winks at me, and Dom and I roll our eyes. Tony nods, always all business.
“Tony, I want you up here guarding her door. Matteo, downstairs in the lobby.”
Tony agrees, while Matteo smirks. I try to hold back a laugh. Dom knew about Matteo and me, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“All right, I’m out, Sis.” He kisses my forehead and turns to his men. “Matteo, Tony, we’ve got some guys coming in tonight to relieve you from your shifts in the morning. Until then, don’t move and don’t let anything happen to Nat, or I’ll have both your balls nailed to the back of a semi with you still attached.”
Natalie
“I’m sorry, what?”
Maya nearly falls out of her chair as I tell her what happened at lunch.
Well—I may have left out the part where they were mobsters and just told her it was a mugging and that there was only one of them, not three. I would rather say nothing, but I can’t not explain the extra security detail following me around. I also don’t mention the bodies I left behind...allegedly. So many lies.
“If you’re too shaken up, we don’t have to go out tomorrow.” She grabs my arm.
I look over at her. As always, she’s in a colorful ensemble with bright lipstick.
She probably thinks I’m freaking out after I don’t answer her right away. I was shocked when it first happened. But I don’t feel bad about it, and that’s what has me twisted in knots. The blood lust. It’s addicting. Ilikedkilling those men. Not only did I feel strong, I felt a high. I felt more in control of myself than I ever had in my entire life. Sometimes, I wonder what I’d be like if I didn’t have to bury that part of myself.
I shake myself out of my own thoughts before Maya panics.
“No way,” I say casually. “After the week I’ve had, I need to get out more than ever. And I need to get drunk.”
