Donatello nodded. “They’ve been covering their tracks fairly well. However—” He inspected a gold watch on his wrist. “The next shipment comes in tonight. Few men know that, and yet the Hortega have been staked out along the road for days. Whoever their mole is, he’s feeding them their info in real time.”
“Son of a bitch!” Gino scoffed, clenching his fists. “Do you know who it is?”
“I have my suspicions,” Donatello said. His upper lip quirked in a chilling imitation of a smile. “For one, I know the Hortegas have been hitting up the Saleris’ properties as well, looking for an opening—” suddenly, his smirk spread into a genuine, chilling smile. “But today? I plan to stop my leak for good.”
Gino frowned. “How?”
“The Hortegas and their rat have been looking for an opening. And, you, my friend, just gave them one.”
Gino whirled around to follow the line of his gaze.
To me.
My heart stopped; my mind went blank. Words can’t describe the fear I felt in that moment. I don’t know what I might have done—peed myself? Maybe, if the man who so effortlessly incriminated me didn’t meet my gaze the next second. I can’t recall exactly what he conveyed. A wink? A nod? A slight tilt of his jaw?
It happened too quickly to pinpoint, and yet I sensed his message instantly—Trust me.
Gino, however, sputtered with confusion. “W-What?”
I’d never seen him like that—struck dumb, his face twisted in concentration as he wracked his mind for whatever scheme or lie he might have accidentally revealed. In a way, I pitied him. Almost. It was the same disorienting fear he loved rousing in other people.
His torture, however, lasted the space of a heartbeat before a guttural burst of laughter erupted from his employer. “Relax, Gino,” Donatello said, still chuckling. Despite the jolting cadence, it wasn’t a happy sound. More crazed than anything else. “You’ve done me a favor. Do you remember what Giovanni used to say when it came to dealing with sons of bitches like the Hortega?”
Gino shrugged halfheartedly. “I… I don’t follow—”
“You play dirty.” Donatello flattened his hands against the desk and stood. Any resemblance he had to a zoo lion vanished. He wasn’t a caged beast, but a monster on the prowl. “What your enemy perceives as a weakness becomes your weapon. Think of it this way...”
He crossed the room to a window overlooking a lonely expanse of field. From this angle, the grayish daylight illuminated the softness of his features. He appeared regal, like some benevolent king from one of the fantasy books I’d read—but when he spoke, it was with the ruthless cunning of a general at war.
“They see the men come in and out of this complex, and they have no idea when to strike,” he mused, glaring at the horizon. Where I only saw gray sky and trees, I imagine he viewed a territory ripe for conquering. “They have no idea what our defenses are, and it’s a risk to attack while blind. But if you bring in a child… Suddenly, an opening presents itself—a weakness. If I were the mole, I would run straight to the Hortegas and urge them to hit me now. Good old Donatello would easily fold rather than risk a child being injured on his watch. Juan probably expects that he can pin me down until the shipment arrives and take it without so much as a fight. I plan to use that arrogance to my advantage.”
“What do you mean?”
His next smile resembled a snarl, more befitting of the lion than a man. “I mean that if I were a soulless son of a bitch like Juan Hortega, I’d make my move now, even if it risked exposing my mole. There aren’t many suspects capable of feeding him that kind of knowledge. If you want to know the truth, it’s that I’ve suspected everyone—” He turned, leveling the full brunt of his gaze toward Gino. “Even you.”
I can honestly say it was the only time I ever saw Gino truly afraid. Terrified. Such fear transformed him, shrinking him to nothing despite his bulk.
All he could do was stammer his innocence. “You…you know you can trust me—” he pointed to me as if my mere presence meant something. “I brought my fucking kid here. You know that I wouldn’t—”
“I do,” Donatello said, and Gino nearly collapsed with relief. “But, it’s time for you to earn my trust. If you want to stay in the famiglia—my family—then prove you’re willing to die for it.”
“What about the girl? You want to use her as bait or something?”
Donatello’s eyes narrowed as if the idea of putting me at risk insulted him. “In a family, everyone shares the risks, even me.” He raised his voice. “You can come in, Liv.”
On cue, a woman appeared in the doorway, and lovely was the only word I could think of to describe her. She looked delicate amid such an industrial space, her upturned eyes a shade in between green and brown, her sun-kissed skin glowing. Even Gino seemed caught off guard, clearing his throat in respect. The way he deferred to her was shocking in itself, but Donatello’s expression was what resonated with me. Despite my sparse experience with love, I knew that this had to be the utter epitome of it—this man, his head inclined, his eyes blazing with undeniable passion.
Never had I ever witnessed something more beautiful.
Or terrifying.
“This is my wife, Olivia,” he explained, cradling the woman’s cheek against his palm. “Only a handful of men know that she’s here. If one of them is the mole, they’ll squeal that information directly to Hortega. The bastard wouldn’t miss the chance to attack if he thought he had me pinned. Olivia will stay with Safiya. They won’t be in any real danger,” he added, returning his attention to Gino. “By coming here, you’ve already displayed your loyalty. That makes us
