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It felt like my chest cracked at the statement. “It’s not your responsibility to keep me safe,” I told her.
“That’s what Daddy told me, too.”
“Your daddy was a smart man.”
“But he’s not here anymore. I don’t want you to go up to heaven with him. I can stay here and check your food for you until you’re okay again.”
I exhaled deeply. “Uncle Gabe in Italy will miss you if you stay here. He needs you to look out for him, too,” I remarked.
It was the best way to keep her out of the public eye and away from any government forces. Gabriel and I had to split custody when Silas passed. It was the same police raid that sent our father to prison, and it left Bria with either Gabriel or me.
She was the last piece of our brother, and neither of us was willing to part with that piece.
She nodded slowly as if considering that fact, too. Bria may have been young, but she had years of wisdom in her eyes that no child should ever have. “I love you, and I don’t want you to get hurt. If I go and see Uncle Gabe, can you promise you won’t get hurt?”
I considered the other reason we shared custody of her. When a new threat broke free here, it was safer to keep her out of the line of fire in Italy. There have been a few major threats in Italy, but the significant number of threats came from want-to-be mobsters stateside. Regardless, the arrangement still stood. Bria would go wherever was safest.
Right now, the safest place for her would be Sicily with Gabriel, far away from this conflict with Valentino.
I wondered if a false promise would be worth it in the long run. I wasn’t sure about my safety. I couldn’t be in this line of business, but I was entirely certain that she would be the safest far away from here.
“I promise I’ll try to stay safe,” I lied to her.
Her smile beamed brightly, proving that I’d never told her such a blatant lie. She trusted me, and I hoped that I could keep my word this time, just like I always had in the past.
“I love you all the much, Uncle Dante.”
“I’ve never loved anyone more than you, squirt,” I promised.
***
I moved through the restaurant where Cameron Diaz was last known to work and looked around for a face that I knew I’d recognize when I saw it. I stared at its rugged lines for long moments, trying to decide on the most logical approach.
But logic wouldn’t play a part in what I felt simmering deep inside of me.
I would have killed anyone who traumatized Sienna, no matter how gravely. I wouldn’t have hesitated to burn them alive and peek the skin from their flesh. But this man—this fucking douchebag…
According to Justin, he had plenty of charges on him, mostly for theft and aggravated assault. He had ties to Valentino Accardi, deep ones.
It made it easier to plan his demise.
“I’m looking for Diaz,” I said to the cashier of the nearly empty Chinese restaurant.
“Are you a friend?” she asked in broken English.
“Is he here?”
Her darting gaze to the back told me all I needed to know.
“I’m going back to give him a message,” I told her. She opened her mouth to tell me no, but I shook my head and passed a bundle of cash across the counter. “If the police are called, you’ll be the one to answer for it. If you close the shop for the nextfifteen minutes, you can keep the cash, and you won’t ever see me again.”
Her eyes widened in fear as I moved the flaps of my shirt to the side and revealed a firearm. She nodded slowly and took a small step back.
“Keep your mouth shut, and you won’t be in danger. I’m not interested in anyone but Diaz.”
I moved through the greasy kitchen, surprised to find only one man standing back there, tossing something inside a hot oil bath. He didn’t notice my approach, but my eyes remained locked on him, taking in every feature and detail about his face and posture.
This was the man.
