Page 196 of Forced Vows

"None of us did." Salvatore sounds as pissed as I am.

Do we have other spies in our ranks? Is Róise safe? Are my family?

"You sold out your don and tried to have an innocent woman killed for what, you traitorous prick?" My fury and disdain drip from every word. "Our don had you under investigation already."

Lorenzo is back to looking wild eyed. Maybe he's finally figuring out that he won't be breathing when he leaves here. "No."

"His guy found your duplicate books and your hidden accounts." Salvatore sounds about as impressed with Lorenzo's stealth as I am.

I give the man who betrayed his made man vow a look of contempt. "All of them."

Lorenzo's moan is music to my ears.

The money will go to the soldiers and their families that weren't complicit to make up for working under such a huge, steaming pile of shit all this time.

After we've extracted all the information necessary, Salvatore leaves.

"Now, it's just you and me, Lorenzo. You betrayed my brother. You betrayed my father. You betrayed your vow as a made man!" I shout the last.

And then I begin meting out the punishment that level of betrayal deserves.

Chapter 68: RÓISE

I laugh out loud at the post Fiona put up on the family social media app.

Rambo has started living up to his name. He's taken over for Pusheen and is jumping on the soldiers' heads from high perches.

The latest picture Fiona posted shows the cat sitting on the face of a soldier knocked flat on his back. It must have been quite a jump.

This isn't the only picture Fiona posted of Rambo's new pastime. I scroll through giggling.

Everyone has posted comments on them. Everyone but Aria.

Enough is enough. Miceli says that trust has to start somewhere. Maybe if I start trusting his mom, she'll learn she can trust me.

It worked for Miceli with me, didn't it?

I scroll through my contacts and tap on Aria's phone number, calling before I have a chance to chicken out.

When Aria answers, I don't waste time on pleasantries. Moma wouldn't be happy, but sometimes polite behavior just gets in the way.

"We need to talk, Aria. Can you come over today?" I don't identify myself.

She has my number even if she doesn't want to use it.

"I'm not sure I have an opening in my schedule," is her stiff reply.

Refusing to be daunted by her cool demeanor, I ask, "When would be a good time?"

"Well… " The sound of a sigh over the line. "Yes, in fact this afternoon is available. What time would you like me to come over?"

"Would 4 o'clock work?"

"Yes. I'll be there."

I rush around getting things ready, making sure I have both Italian and Irish pastries on hand to go with the coffee. I deliberately mix them on the plate, so it's not like Irish on one side and Italian on the other.

Will she notice the subtle message?

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