Page 73 of Mercy in Betrayal

“Whatever game you are playing at, Scarpetta, won’t end well for you.” Her voice is deadly.

I glance at Arturo, who is carefully not watching me. “This isn’t a game, Evie. Something’s happened.”

Evie snorts inelegantly. “It’s always a game to a man like you; you’re always plotting something. Look what you did to Rowan. You think you’re so fucking smart.”

I try to remain calm. “This isn’t about me. It’s about Rowan. She’s missing.”

“Do you think your little story is fooling anyone? The only person you’re fooling is yourself, Scarpetta. Put Rowan on the phone.”

I take another look at Arturo. He can hear Cassidy’s roars. The dogs down the street could hear him. He knows better than to acknowledge the conflict, though.

He’s right, you know. You are such a fucking liar. Now everyone sees. My father’s voice taunts me.

I squeeze my free hand into a fist and rub the heel viciously into my eye.

“Don’t make yourself such an easy target, O’Rourke. Fuck, we don’t have time for this bullshit.” My heart starts to race; each second we waste fighting is another second something terrible could be happening to Rowan.

“Well, I’m calling your fucking bluff, Scarpetta.”

“Fucking hell—” Indecision makes me bite back my protest.

O’Rourke and I are going in circles. For all I know, Rowan could be standing there with Cassidy and he’s fucking with me because he can.

If she’s not, he’s thinking the same thing of me.

The layers of distrust are so thick neither of us can see through them to the thing that matters: Rowan is missing. I have no choice but to play this out until I figure out where she is—and then Cassidy O’Rourke can go straight to fucking hell.

“...you Italian pretty boys cluck like fucking hens while the foxes are roaming in your yard.” Cassidy continues to poke at me, doing his level best to provoke a reaction.

“What the hell do you want, O’Rourke?”

Cassidy grows quiet as Evie whispers something I can’t hear. In the frame, he shakes his head. He isn’t looking into the camera but at Evie, who’s out of sight. He turns his gaze on me. “No, we’re going to settle all of this the old-fashioned way. Your crew, my crew. Hell, I’ll call up Luca Marzano and we’ll settle shit with him, too. I’m sure that both of us will want to take a swing at him. I bet he wants to see you too, after what you did to his family’s house.”

So they know what I did. I don’t bother to deny it. “Whatever it takes to get to the point, O’Rourke. What do you have in mind?”

“The three of us settle this, once and for all. No weapons. Just skin. Last one standing wins—the docks, Rowan, final say. I’m sick of words.”

I glance at Arturo, whose face is unreadable. He’s a new capo, accustomed to taking orders instead of weighing in with an opinion.

Cassidy is grinning like I’m about to back out. I can’t overthink this too much, but one thought rises above the rest—Rowan has to be there with her brother. There’s no way he’d take time for something as foolish as this if he thought for a second she was missing.

The idea solidifies my position. I can’t show weakness, even if everything in me urges me to hunt for my wife. I have to trust that she’s there with him. “Fine.”

“Keep your phone close. I’ll send you the address of the location. See you soon, Scarpetta.” Cassidy hangs up, and I stare at the phone for a few seconds before I glance up at Arturo. He’s silent, waiting for his orders.

He’s too new to this game, unused to making decisions. The old capos would have known what to do in this situation. They would have been vocal with strategies and stories of similar situations they have been in. Arturo is loyal, but his experience pales in comparison to those who lost their lives in this very room.

I turn away from Arturo and look out the window. My reflection stares back at me.

“Get the men ready. Remind them of the ‘no weapons’ rule.”

“None at all?” Arturo asks.

“Have them in the cars, out of sight. But let the men know this will be a bare-knuckle situation.”

Arturo nods before leaving the room.

Rowan may be safe, and if I die, she may be single in the morning. My hands and body yearn to have her one more time. But that won’t be possible. I need to keep my mind focused and on track.

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