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LILY
I should have knownit couldn’t last.
We’re laying there by the lake, tangled up in each other, like we’re the only two people in the world, when Nero’s phone buzzes.
“Ignore it,” I whisper, snuggling closer to him. There’s nothing but the sound of birdsong and water lapping against the shore. It’s a magical escape and I want to stay here forever.
Nero does. But then it buzzes again. Again.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he says, sitting up. “I’ve got to check in.”
My heart sinks, watching him answer. I already know, it can’t be good news.
Nothing in the real world is ever good news for us.
Sure enough, his face darkens. “What the fuck do you mean?” he demands to the person on the other end. He curses. “And you’re sure about it? Yeah, I’m on my way.”
He hangs up and yanks his jeans back on.
“What is it?” I ask, bracing myself. “The FBI?”
He gives a sharp nod, helping me to my feet. “We have guys… Connected there. Sometimes, they’ll slip us some intel, for a price. Well, it turns out, the raid wasn’t a lucky strike. They had information about the whole thing. And it didn’t come from the Kovaks.” Nero scowls, his fury radiating.
“I have a mole in the Barretti organization. Someone sold me out.”
I gulp. “Are you sure?” I hurry to put on the rest of my clothes, then we walk back to the car. All romance and escape is forgotten now with the news.
This is serious shit.
“Maybe the intel is wrong,” I suggest hopefully.
Nero shakes his head. “It was too clean, the raid. Nobody should have known about that shipment, and there they were, waiting. Fuck.”
He drags a hand through his hair, and I feel a shot of fear. Through all of this, Nero has seemed invincible, but now I’m seeing genuine worry in his eyes. An informant inside his organization could bring everything crashing to the ground. Send Nero to jail, or make him vulnerable to attack from some other direction.
“We’ll figure it out,” I reassure him. “Whatever happens, you’ll handle this.”
Nero gives me a wry smile. “Since when did you turn into my biggest cheerleader?”
I swallow. “Since I’m a Barretti, too.”
And if Nero goes down, then so do I.
We head backto New York and go straight to the house. His team is waiting there for us: Chase, Miles, Kyle, Avery, Vance.
I can’t help looking at each of them with new suspicion. Could one of them be the mole? Nero trusts them, but should he?
“We need to lock this shit down,” Chase greets him, looking furious. “Whoever the fuck is leaking… They’re a dead man. We erase him, his family, everyone. Nobody narcs on the Barrettis and lives to tell the tale. At least, they shouldn’t.”
He shoots me a glare.
“What else did your FBI contact say?” Nero immediately shifts into leader-mode. All signs of his previous worry are gone, now he’s a stone-cold figure. He stands by the fireplace, assessing his troops.
“Nothing much,” Chase sighs. “The guy works in the mailroom, so he only picks up bits and pieces. But he heard a couple of agents saying this is their play. They’re coming for us, and if they have a rat… We’re all fucked.”
He looks at me accusingly again. “Which makes me ask, why the hell is she here?”
“Because I said so.” Nero’s voice is steel.
