Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“We’re in this together,” Nico said. And his calm, steady presence was enough for me to pull the door open.
I don’t know what I’d been expecting. Money? Guns? Stolen jewelry?
But that wasn’t what was inside.
It was a ton of paperwork.
Almost filled to the top.
I reached out, grabbing the top portion of the stack. There were handwritten notes attached to a picture.
“What is—”
I was cut off when Nico violently snatched the papers from my hands.
“What the fuck?” he snarled.
The ferocity in his voice had me straightening and inching back slightly.
“You motherfucker,” he growled as he flipped through the pages.
The first stack fell from his hands as he reached for another.
Whatever he was seeing, it was clearly not good to have a man as controlled as him looking like he was about to burst out of his skin.
I reached for the fallen papers.
I didn’t recognize the man in the picture. He was tall and handsome and holding an infant to his shoulder.
But I didn’t need to know his name. It was written there right at the top of the page.
Lorenzo Costa.
Under that, seemed to be his title: capo-dei-capi.
Even more worrisome was the list of his wife, his kids, their address, their schools, restaurants they ordered from, stores they liked, what their daily schedules looked like.
“Oh my God,” I whispered as I flipped through the pages, seeing in-depth descriptions of each family member. The children included.
“You fucking bastard,” Nico gritted, his hands curling around the stack in his hands. I leaned over, glancing at what he was holding.
There was a picture of him and his siblings. There was Zeno, his hair in a bun. Leo, smirking that wicked smile. With them, another heavily tattooed brother and one who looked annoyed to be there. And, of course, the baby of the family. The little sister.
“Nico,” I said, tone careful.
He was vibrating with rage, his breath coming in short, shallow huffs.
“Years. He’s been building this for years.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, looking at the stack still inside the safe. More family members, I had to conclude. Men, women, children. “But why?”
That was when Nico’s furious gaze cut to mine. His jaw was so tight a muscle ticked before he spoke. “To sell it to the highest bidder.”
“Who would buy it?”
“Our enemies, Blair. People who would use this to pick us off, one by one. It’s all here. Everything they would need.”
Ice slipped into my veins, chilling me enough to shiver.
“What would this be worth?”
To that, he snorted.
“Two-hundred million. More.”
“What?”
“That’s what the Family brings in a year. It’s worth at least that if they could pick us all off and take over.”
Oh, my God.
“Do you have a box?”
“A box?” I parroted, confused.
“I need to pack this all up and bring it to Lorenzo. We do,” he clarified.
“We?” I squeaked. “But… but I didn’t know. I wouldn’t help do something that might harm children. I promise, I had no—”
“Hey,” Nico broke in, tone much softer. “I know that, honey. I’m not saying you’re in any kind of trouble. I promise you, you’re not. But I do think you’re in a lot of danger. More than I realized.”
My pulse quickened as I glanced around like someone might be hiding in the corners.
“Oh.”
“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. But until I can talk to my boss, I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
There was no good reason for the way my heart squeezed at his words. At the fierceness behind them.
“Okay. Yeah, I have a box.”
I got up to grab it.
“Can you pile the papers inside? I am going down to my apartment for one minute.” I must have tensed at that, because he held up his hands. “I’m grabbing a gun. That’s it. Literally less than five minutes. I will be back. You will be behind a locked door.”
“Okay,” I agreed, shaking off the fear. “I’ll be right here.”
“Five minutes,” he assured me, rushing out of the room as I started to stack the files, keeping them in their original order, since I was pretty sure Lorenzo was going to want to see exactly what Matthew had compiled about him and his family.
Once I was done with that, I rushed across the hall, slipping my feet into flats, then making sure I had my phone, a charger, my cards, and a stash of cash.
In case, I dunno, I had to go on the run or something.
I wouldn’t pretend to know anything about how a situation like this would play out. I just knew I liked to be prepared for any eventuality.
If Nico took any longer, I might have started to pack a go bag. But by the time I shoved a small paring knife into it and pulled my bag on my shoulder, there was a gentle knock on the door.
“It’s me,” Nico called, but I checked the camera anyway before unlocking.