Page 88 of Tainted Love

She shoots him a hard glance. “Just… don’t.”

Dante’s cheeks twitch with delight. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” she mutters. “Not worth getting into right now.”

Elijah leans over to whisper. “A girl with a boy’s name—”

“Elijah,” she snaps.

Dante chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re okay, though?”

“I’ll live.” Her attention shifts to me and she looks me up and down. “What’s going on here?”

“Just doing a bit of training,” I answer, wiping a bead of sweat from my brow.

“Training for what?”

“Your timing is pretty good, actually,” Dante tells them. “We could use your help.”

The twins exchange a quick glance before their lips curl with curiosity.

Chapter 28

Dante

“Security,” Lilah says. “And lots of it.”

I listen from the kitchen table while Lilah and Elijah practically finish each other’s sentences as they report back what they found on their impromptu trip to Chicago. When I told them about Lucy’s desire to kill Marty Zappia, they didn’t ask questions. They hopped back on their bikes and left — knowing exactly what to look for when planning a hit.

“They added more when they suspected the Lutrovas were in town,” I note. “It’s not surprising they doubled-up after finding out I was undercover for months.”

Elijah shakes his head. “They didn’t just double-up…”

“This was full-on Fort Knox,” Lilah adds. “We couldn’t even get close to the casino.”

I pause to look at Lucy sitting beside me. She’s leaning forward with wide eyes, hanging on every word they say. “Why not?” I ask.

“They were checking everyone for tattoos,” Elijah explains. “Zappia’s casino is officially a snake-free zone.”

Lilah smirks at me. “You really pissed them off, big brother.”

“I can imagine.” I reach for Lucy’s hand beneath the table and her little fingers settle against mine. “What about Marty’s rebellion?”

Elijah shrugs. “We asked around, but…”

“There was nothing,” Lilah says. “Whatever Baby Zappia was planning, it seems to have been forced to the back burner for now.”

Lucy’s hand twitches. “Or he changed his mind,” she says, her voice laced with ice. “He might have mentioned a change of heart while he was beating me.”

“In either case, there didn’t seem to be much of a family feud going on,” Lilah says. “Word is they’ve gotten awfully cozy inside the fortified walls of their casino.”

“There are tunnels underground,” I recall. “Used to smuggle booze back in the day. They must be using them to get around without going outside.”

“They’ve run scared to the depths of them,” Elijah says. “The oldest brother leaves every so often to do some business at his restaurant with two very large men at his back, but little Marty hasn’t been seen outside for weeks. Daddy, too.”

Lilah’s voice goes soft. “It seems like a dead end, big brother. We can’t get in and they’re not coming out.”

My heart aches for Lucy. This wasn’t the news she wanted to hear. She sits quietly, thoughts twisting behind her little eyes.

---