Page 47 of Forbidden Devotion

Mark had been my friend since we were kids. His dad was a Capo, so he grew up in this life too, which made him one of the very few people who saw the world the way I did. As soon as he got in the car, I dumped everything on him so we could start brainstorming.

Obviously, he was stunned. He knew Fabrizio almost as well as I did, and neither one of us could imagine him killing someone. Even if he did, why wouldn’t he tell any of us? Dad, at least, to help him cover it up? Or me, to help him deal with the emotional toll of the first kill? Everyone had a hard time with the first, no matter how prepared they were—and Fabrizio was not prepared. He’d need support and promises that we loved him, and instead, he was getting a concrete cell. Not that he’d actually killed anyone yet.

Guilt was eating me alive. I should have helped him.

“So now she’s saying she needs proof,” I said, keeping my eyes on the clearing like I was actually looking for something to shoot. I wasn’t, I just never looked Mark in the eyes during these talks. It felt like a safety net. “She’s totally brilliant, you know, what she did for dad, and he was literally caught red-handed. All we need is a crumb. Fabri can’t stay in there.” Mark cringed.

“Yeah, it’s no place for him,” he agreed. “I’m sure Lauren’s going to do everything she can, Rich. There has to be a reason she’s not making promises, and I’m sure it’s a good one. From everything you’ve said she’s top of the line.”

“Yeah, but Mark,” I sighed, frustrated, “you didn’t see her face! Everyone’s faces. It’s like everybody just gave up on getting him free. They immediately started talking about how to decrease his sentence, like his staying at all was suddenly mandatory. Like he wasn’t worth fighting for!”

“Hey, man, you know they don’t feel that,” Mark said, frowning. “Besides, we’ll hand them their proof.” I turned and glared at him.

“Don’t defend them,” I said half-heartedly. Still, I knew he was right, and he could tell I knew it too.

“I’m just saying, punish the people who did this, don’t punish the people who are on your side.”

“I’m not punishing them,” I groused. “I just don’t like how they’re reacting to this. I mean, fuck’s sake, Mark, shouldn’t somebody push a little harder? Say there has to be more evidence and go fucking find it?”

“Like by sending the video out to the tech wizard who helped Don Marino get free?” Mark asked. I grimaced. Yeah, Lauren did say she had already done that. “See, man, you’ve got to have some faith. Nothing’s over ‘til it’s over.”

“Tell them that,” I grumbled halfheartedly. Mark just rolled his eyes.

“You’re a piece of shit,” he said. “And you don’t know how to worry about someone without being mad at someone else.”

“Thanks, Dr. Brain,” I deadpanned, making him snort in frustrated amusement. How he put up with me, I sometimes didn’t know. But he did, and I needed him, and I was grateful for him. I was pretty sure he knew it, too. “So now we have the ultimate question: who are we actually going after for this?” Mark hummed.

“There are a couple of people it could be,” he said. “I mean, the cartel probably isn’t too happy that you lost a whole shipment.”

“Oh, they’re not,” I snorted, “but they have no real reason to retaliate. We paid the rest of the fee regardless. Besides, why go after Fabri? They’d go after Dad or me.”

“There’s not exactly a lot of people who would go after Fabrizio,” Mark frowned. “I mean, he’s totally uninvolved in the business, the only thing hurting him does is damage the family mentally. Maybe that’s why they picked him, though? He’s the youngest, the most sheltered—he’s the one you’re most protective of. It’s like they’re causing psychological damage as a precursor to launching a physical attack.” I nodded.

“That’s what I think, too,” I said. “They’re trying to weaken our will to fight or distract us so we don’t see them coming. It has to be somebody local. The police?”

“I think it might be the Irish,” Mark said. I looked over at him. How did I not think of that? “We know they were involved in Don Marino’s arrest, they’ve been trying to take territory from us for years, and they’re rotten fucking bastards with no sense of honor. No Cosa Nostra family would ever target Fabrizio, but the Irish Mob don’t give a fuck who they hurt as long as they win.”

“They have the resources,” I continued. “Not as much as us, sure, but they still have substantial financials. More than enough to fake a video, pay off some fake witnesses.”

“Exactly,” Mark said, snapping his fingers together and accidentally scaring off the squirrel in the clearing that neither one of us was going to actually shoot.

Okay, we had a suspect. Now, we needed a game plan.

We spent a little longer out there, letting the worst of it simmer down, before hauling our asses back to the city. I had to face the music. My family got it; they knew how I worked, although it didn’t mean they always liked it—but Lauren didn’t know at all. I hoped somebody clued her in so she didn’t think I blamed her, even though I did. I knew it wasn’t rational, and I didn’t want to stress her out with it.

Dammit, just twelve hours ago, I was buried inside her while she gasped out my name, and now it felt like I’d opened a rift between the two of us. I knew I’d fix it later; I would have to, but right then, I didn’t have the energy to even look at it. It could wait until tomorrow. Lauren should stay focused on Fabrizio’s case anyway.

I got back home just after dinner and was met with three weary and disapproving faces.

“Sorry,” I murmured. “I had to get out of there.”

“Yeah?” Selene glared. “Well, I had to convince your girlfriend you don’t suddenly hate her after one damn week.”

“Selene,” Mom scolded.

“No, no more ‘Selene,’” she shot back. “I love you, all of you, to the depths of my heart, but Rich is 29! He’s too old to be throwing tantrums.”

“Tantrums?” I seethed. “I’ve been trying to figure out who the hell did this so we can get rid of this problem!

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