Page 40 of Assistant to the Mafia

Lucia was still protesting the gesture when Iris answered. “Hi, Romeo.”

“Hey, Iris. I was hoping you were home?” Normally Romeo would never be so bold as to make this request directly. But these weren’t normal circumstances. He had to trust Dante would understand that.

“I am,” Iris said, speaking almost cautiously. “Have you found Grace? Dante hasn’t called with any updates.”

The little bit of lightness he’d found threatened to blink out again and Romeo closed his eyes for a second. “No. Not yet. Not that I’ve heard, at least.” He took a deep breath, and Lucia’s little hands curled around the fist he’d closed over his knee. He offered his daughter a smile and kept speaking. “If you’re feeling up for it, I was hoping I could bring Mom and Lucy by.” Over Lucia’s head, his mother mouthed Felicity’s name.

Iris’s voice brightened. “I would love the company. Do you know what Felicity’s up to? Maybe we can have a ladies’ afternoon.”

He smiled a little easier. “I only know that Cris is busy.”

“Then I’ll give her a call and we’ll figure it out. Gives me something to do while I wait,” Iris said.

“Thank you, Iris,” Romeo said. “We’ll see you in about twenty minutes.” He disconnected and tucked his phone away. “Now it’s settled, Lucy. You’re having a carefree ladies’ afternoon at Uncle Dante’s house.”

Lucia’s eyes widened and she looked over at Eleonora. “All of us?”

Eleonora chuckled. “All of us ladies, of course.” She patted Lucia on the head.

Romeo stood and lifted Lucia into his arms, backpack and all. “Come on, let’s not keep Aunt Iris waiting.”

His chest tightened with apprehension as they neared the exit, because he didn’t know if they’d stalled long enough. We probably didn’t. All he needed to do was get Lucia into the Navigator with him and his mother, then it wouldn’t matter if Amber was still outside, they could slip past. The woman could scream at them as they went by, hurl stones, even pull out a gun. She was too slight to be carrying anything that could penetrate the shielding and that was what mattered.

Visions of Grace’s overturned, bloodied SUV haunted him. He had no way to know how badly she was injured. He had no guarantee that he’d ever see her again.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep trying. He’d find every single piece of shit who’d been remotely involved in the assault on her apartment, and everyone who’d been part of the attack on the SUV. Dante had been spearheading the war against the Ink Blots since the beginning, but it was personal for Romeo now. And where Dante had a tendency to torture and delay the deaths of his victims, Romeo was more about the swift kill.

He would find Grace, or he would find out what had been done to her. And every man who got in his way would die.

He just had to get his daughter somewhere dependably safe first, and the best place for that was Dante’s home. So he buckled her into the SUV, backpack tossed to the floor, and helped his mother clamber in once more. This time he sat up front beside Mo, and they waited only until the other car started moving to swing into motion.

Campus security had Amber on the grass, off to the side, surrounded by four men armed with stun guns. She appeared to be on her ass and Romeo felt no shame in hoping she’d had to be tazed, even though he doubted they’d have actually used the things. He saw her head turn their way as the SUVs rolled by, saw her move as if to stand, and saw the security team tighten in around her. Effective enough.

They managed to slip out without incident, and the school was already behind them when the first of two police cruisers passed by. At least they were responding, he supposed. Another thing to look forward to.

Romeo pulled out his phone to text Dante. He needed to let his brother know the new plan. He was just about to send the message when the screen changed and Dante’s unique ringtone filled the air. A strange sense of apprehension filled him, but Romeo swiped to connect the call and brought the phone to his ear. “I’m not in the mood to guess.”

“I just got off the phone with the chief of police,” Dante said. The irritation in his tone was understandable, then. Neither man cared for the other, but Dante’s overall love of dealing even with the members of law enforcement he effectively owned had shrunk to nearly nothing in the wake of everything that had happened with Iris. “A woman identifying herself as your fiancée was just pulled from the trunk of a car out past the east side of town.”

Romeo’s heart leapt into his throat. The visual—the thought—was enough to make him be ill, to say nothing for his temper, but if she’d identified herself that meant she’d been conscious.

“She’s en route to Saint Michael’s now,” Dante continued.

He let his eyes close, the first true flickers of relief igniting in his chest. “It’s gonna take me some time to get out there. Tell me they’re setting up some kind of protection detail?”

Dante scoffed. “Make an effort for an unconfirmed member of our family? Not a chance. I’ll be having a word with the chief about that later.”

“We can’t just—”

“Ryoma’s taking a team. They’ll keep her safe until you can take over the scene, or until you can get her out of there altogether. Your call.” Dante paused. “Lucy’s welcome to stay the night if that’s necessary. Her room’s always ready.”

Romeo almost laughed. It bubbled up like a snort in his throat, but fizzled out on his tongue. “Let’s just see how the rest of the day plays out,” he said. “Thank you, brother.” He disconnected and let the phone drop to his lap with a hard breath.

“Everything all right?” Eleonora asked.

Grace was being taken to a hospital, because she’d been found in a goddamn trunk.

Conscious. Alive. Coherent, even.

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