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We have men in all three families. But none of them are high up enough to have any information of consequence. Still, they could be useful.
“They have to be careful not to get caught.” Just as I’m saying the words, our uncle Fredrico walks in. He and his son have the same name but Rico absolutely refused to be called Junior when he was younger, so we call our uncle Fredrico. Or Fred if we want to be cheeky.
The expression on his face is grim as he walks towards us.
“What’s wrong?” Papa asks.
“We have a problem,” Fredrico states. “Last night, the bodies of five of our men were deposited in front of one of our buildings.
My eyebrows rise and Katerina gets to her feet.
“What? Which men?” she asks in surprise.
“The men we placed to spy for us in each of the mafia families. Somehow they were able to find each of them. And they killed them.”
Federico takes a seat on the couch and loosens the tie at his neck. He sighs deeply.
“Those kids aren’t playing.”
My dad is flushed from the rage I’m sure. I lean back in my seat and run a hand through my hair.
My uncle continues, “I just don’t understand why they made such a bold move. After the meeting yesterday where Rico was assaulted, we should have been the ones to retaliate first.”
“Blame your nieces for that,fratello,” Papa says gruffly. “If I had to guess, their actions provoked them.”
“What? Papa, you can’t blame us for that!” I burst out.
Steely brown eyes turn to me. “Really,mia cara, I can’t?”
I think back to the expression Tony’s face last night. He was so angry and deep down I know there’s no way he got through all that rage yesterday without shedding some blood. And a part of me also realizes I had a part in it as well.
I turn away from my dad guiltily.
“We just,” Kat starts. “We can make up for it. We just have to hit them back now. I have tons of information on their families. I can fix it, Papa.”
He thinks on it for a moment before finally nodding. “See that you do, Katerina.”
He pulls out his phone and we’re effectively dismissed. I follow my sister out of the office.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I say comfortingly. “You did- No, you’re doing the best you can.”
“It’s not enough,” Katerina murmurs. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see the way they all looked at me last night when Papa introduced me as his heir. They were probably thinking that I’m not worthy. Because I’m a woman. Like it or not, they’re probably underestimating us because of it.”
Katerina has always been perfect. But she has also always placed an insane amount of pressure on her shoulders. And I get where she’s coming from. But I also wish she would also stop thinking of herself as less.
“You are more than enough, Kat,” I say aloud. “And like you said, if they’re really foolish enough to underestimate us because you’re Papa’s heir, then they’ll be doing exactly as you said. Underestimating us. We’re strong, always will be, so keep your chin up.”
Kat smiles, “Since when do you offer pep talks?”
“I know, right? These days I’ve found myself doing so many things I never would have in a million years. It’s annoying.”
Her smiles fades for a second, “I just worry. That I’ll fail. That I’ll never be good enough.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re the best. Do you have any idea how much I admire you, Kat? You’re like my hero, my role model. And I never want you to think you’re anything other than amazing. You do everything so well and sometimes I’m the one that gets scared that I’ll never measure up. that I’ll never be good enough.”
She offers me a disbelieving look, “Are you kidding? You make everything seem so easy. You’re never thrown off, Soph. Nothing fazes you. You always manage to come out on top. That’s talent.”
“Can we just agree we’re both awesome?” I ask and Katerina laughs.
