Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“My plan is to hunt down every Italian in that rat-infested family and murder them all.”
Lycus sighs and wipes a hand down his hair. “I agree with the sentiment, but maybe we can be a little more surgical about this? What I’m saying to say is if Conti is the problem, Conti should be the one that faces justice.”
I hesitate and let what he’s saying sink in. “Blood for blood,” I say slowly. “If we took out Conti for this violence, we could almost claim that things are even.”
“Two of ours dead for one of theirs.” Lycus makes a disgusted face. “I hate doing math with men’s lives, but you know how it goes.”
I nod and pace away, thinking. If I can kill Conti without making the war any hotter, that would be good for everyone. I wouldn’t have to worry about my marriage to Camille—we wouldn’t have to go through with it anymore. She could go free, and my conscience would be clear.
The only problem is, I don’t know how the Pavone Famiglia will react. They killed two of my soldiers, but I’m thinking about assassinating one of their Capos. That’s no small thing.
“We’ll do it,” I say finally. “Hit Conti at his house. We know where he lives now.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Lycus gives me a devilish grin. “And I have another idea. Since they used fire, why don’t we?”
My eyebrows raise. “You know he lives in a rowhome.”
“Eh, well, bad things happen when you live next to a gangster, right?”
“Sometimes I think you’re worse than I am.”
Lycus laughs and slaps my arm. “Don’t be like that, it’ll be fun. We’ll smoke that fucker out and get our revenge.”
I grin at him. “I like the sound of that.”
“I knew you would. Now come on. Let’s meet with the owners of this place and make all the right noise.”
“We’ll help them rebuild,” I say softly as we pick our way back through the devastation. My soldiers notice us angling for the exit and follow. “We’ll make sure our people are taken care of. I’ll personally compensate the families of the soldiers we lost and make sure they won’t ever go hungry. And then when we’re done handling our own, we’ll kill Conti.”
Chapter 27
Camille
I’m standing on the balcony looking out at the lake when Evander comes home. The sun’s setting over the water and the colors sparkle with the waves, and I force myself to turn away and meet his gaze.
“Always beautiful,” he says, staring at me and not at the water.
I feel myself blush. “How was your day?”
“Uneventful.” He joins me at the railing. “The Italians are making noise, but nothing I didn’t expect.”
“Really? Are you okay?”
“We’re fine. You worry more about yourself.” He glances at me. “I haven’t spoken to you much since dinner. Are you holding up okay?”
I grimace slightly and stare down at my hands. I’m not sure how I’m feeling—it’s really hard to piece it all together. He tried to warn me that things would be difficult, but I didn’t really believe him, not until Anissa was standing there calling me a piece of trash to my face at least.
“Your sister visited me today at work.”
His eyebrows raise. “Really? She set foot in that little diner? Amazing.”
I give him a look. “Why do you say that?”
“Helen is a good person. I love her with all my heart. But that girl is one of the most spoiled people I’ve ever met.”
“Evander,” I say and push his arm. “She’s sweet.”
“She has never worn sneakers in her life.” He glances down at my feet and I glare at him.
“Is that a dig at me?”
“No, it’s merely pointing out that my sister is very much used to a certain standard of living, and entering inexpensive Greek diners is not really part of her lifestyle.”
I deflate slightly and reluctantly nod at him. I know what he means—Helen is sophisticated and beautiful in a way I never will be, and it’s intimidating as hell. “She wants to have coffee tomorrow.”
“Good. You should do it.”
“Really?” I raise my eyebrows. “You’re not going to tell me not to get involved with your family?”
“Helen is my sister and you’re both grow women. If you want to get to know her, then by all means.”
“Huh.” I turn my back on the lake and study him. He’s staring back at me with that intense expression. It makes my toes curl with anxious excitement. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so mature about this.”
His gaze hardens as he looks away. “There isn’t much good in my family these days, Camille. Helen is one of the few people I think hasn’t been corrupted by the violence and the power we hold. Besides, maybe you’d be a good influence on her.”
“Yeah? How’s that?”
“She might see your sneakers and decide she should never, ever buy a pair.”