Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113056 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
It was evening and Dex told me that two guards had just driven Angel home, she had a headache, and the guards were hanging out at my condo until I got home. I texted to tell her I’d be home soon.
I found Tommy in the kitchen, sitting at a table working on something with his laptop, opened jars of olives and pickles as well as a huge hunk of salami and knife on a cutting board sitting beside him. He was eating from the jar of pickles.
“Sympathetic pregnancy cravings, man?” I joked as I took my suit jacket off and threw it on the back of the kitchen chair.
Tommy snickered and put the lid on. “Probably.”
“Just got back from Zack’s. They were pissed you didn’t show to fill out their paperwork.”
He rolled his eyes. “You hungry? Bunch of food in here. Tia’s been cookin’ all day by the looks of it.”
“Naw. I’ll eat at home. I talked to Alessandro Romero,” I told him.
That got his attention.
“He assured me Tessa is fine and she’s a peace offering to keep us from trying to get Holly away from him. He says, confidentially, that whoever got his family members out of the picture did him a favor.” I gave him a pointed look and continued, “Zack is tight-lipped about this guy but fuck, doesn’t sound good. I talked to Tess briefly. She sounded okay but he didn’t allow me to talk to her for long. He said she got violated somehow before she came into his possession but didn’t elaborate on what that meant. I’m trying to keep my cool ‘till we find out.”
Tommy took a big swig from a bottle of water, hardness in his eyes.
“We need more info on that. Leo Denarda pays for whatever happened to her, whoever did it, that’s for damn sure. Zack says Romero’s not one we wanna fuck with, but…” I said.
“I know,” Tommy said. “Heard stories. Ice cold motherfucker. No conscience. Chip off the old block.”
“Yeah man, but that’s what they say about you and it’s bullshit.”
Tommy shrugged. “Word is that his old block? Ten times worse than ours. Made Pop look like a choir boy. Sandro Romero didn’t even try to look legit. He was untouchable, like royalty down there. Fearless. Sadistic. Cruel.”
“Yeah,” I said. “But the fact that this guy intercepted Tess, reached out, did this proactively? Think Holly means something to him?”
“Possibly,” Tommy said carefully.
“She’s fuckin’ seventeen, man. Angel said she turns eighteen the day after Christmas.”
He blew out a breath.
So did I.
“I don’t know what the fuck she’s been through. Angel’s come a long way but she still has a long way to go, you know? How the fuck do I tell her that her sister is in the hands of a sick fucker and that we don’t even know what that girl has endured in the past two years? We might not be able to do a damn thing about it unless we piss off a whole lotta people and put the whole family at risk. We have to fuckin’ do something about it, bro. This guy is around our age but if he’s like his father?”
In my mind, I was back that day at Pop’s when we talked about rescuing Tia from the clutches of Castillo. I was insisting we not play when it was Tommy’s new fiancée. And now here I was, the other side of the argument, pleading a case and arguing that we do whatever it took to save not even my wife but my wife’s sister.
“We will,” he told me. “Don’t you worry. We’ll do whatever we have to do to make sure Angel’s little sister is all right. This is family. It’s all that matters.”
“Fuck. That’s what Pop’d say,” I thrust my hand through my hair. And then my eyes met my brother’s. “We’re both chips off that block in some ways, Tommy, but it doesn’t mean–”
“Let’s just hope the same can be said for Romero,” Tommy’s expression darkened.
“There’s something else you need to know,” I started, wincing.
“What?”
“When was the last time you talked to your counselor?”
“Before your wedding. Why?”
“He’s a Fed, too. Lisa was with him during her retreat, which was more of a de-briefing by the sounds of it. Zack questioned her and that task force interrogated her. They’re gonna put her on the stand when all of this is over unless they can do it in a way to keep the Ferrano name out of it. We have a lot to talk about.”
Tommy’s lip curled.
“How much information has he gotten from you?” I asked.
“Other than that I shot our father in the head out of self-defense? That I’ve got a violent streak? Very little,” Tommy hissed acidly. “I talked in code a lot, skirted facts, gave him information without direct admissions. But that doesn’t make a difference. That fucker has more than he should have. Dunno if patient-doctor confidentiality is a factor, probably, but still: even if it doesn’t make it into court, the info he used can be used against me in other ways. And the fucker’s gonna pay. He’s reached out three times since your wedding, but I’ve ignored him. Once I knew Zack was a Fed, I immediately put my guard up with Oliver since Zack hooked the two of us up.”