Page 97 of Now and Forever

“Come this way,” Contessa said, leading us toward the kitchen.

Jasmine and I followed as Armando and Piero loaded Rocco onto the elevator.

“Are they both leaving?” I asked Contessa, a fresh wave of fright washing through me.

“We’ll be safe,” she said reassuringly.

Once in the kitchen, I used a dish towel to wipe the blade clean before reinserting it into the harness on my thigh.

Next, Contessa opened the door to the staircase that led to the wine cellar. Before I could comment about not being in the mood for wine, Contessa pressed a button, one I’d never noticed within the cellar, and an entire rack of wine slid backward, revealing another room.

“A safe room?” I asked.

Contessa nodded. “Let me lock the cellar from the inside. Only Mr. Luciano and I have keys. Even if anyone manages to get in here, they won’t know about the room.”

Jasmine and I stepped within, both of us looking all around. Illumination, triggered by a motion sensor, shone around the perimeter of the room at the junction of the walls and ceiling. The room wasn’t large, maybe ten feet by twelve feet. There were two twin-sized beds and shelves filled with canned goods and bottles of water. In the corner was a toilet and a sink. It looked more like a cell than a safe room.

Soon, Contessa was back with us, closing the secret door.

I remembered Dante complaining about the wine cellar taking away square footage from his apartment. It wasn’t only the cellar, but also this hidden room. I pulled my phone from my pocket and assessed the strength of the signal. The walls were undoubtedly reinforced, limiting my signal to only a few bars.

“Have you ever seen this room?” I asked Jasmine.

She shook her head. “Never.” A smile threatened her demeanor. “And after Josie caught me sneaking wine from the cellar, the door was always locked.”

“Maybe we should have grabbed a bottle before Contessa closed the door.”

“What you did out there,” Jasmine said, “with the knife, that’s what saved us. Where do you think he wanted to take us?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “All I know is that if the famiglia is divided between Vincent and Dario, Rocco was on Vincent’s side.” That thought and others scared me.

Is anyone on Dario’s side?

What will happen to us if Dario doesn’t prevail?

* * *

Dario

Giovanni racedagainst time toward Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport. He wasn’t the only one trying to beat the clock. Holding my breath, I made a call to Jorge Roríguez. For a split second, I recalled the beginning of our alliance. I’d risked my life for our famiglia. This alliance wasn’t about weakness, but about growing stronger through partnership. In the grand scheme of both organizations, we had different goals. Yes, it all revolved around money—the more, the better.

The Roríguez cartel’s main income stream was illegal drugs. They dabbled in prostitution and gambling, where the famiglia sold illegal drugs and protection from the bratva. We used our businesses as a way to clean our income, better known as money laundering. Our established contacts within all levels of government and law enforcement allowed us liberties the cartel didn’t have.

Jorge answered his personal cell phone. “I’m disappointed.”

“Me too,” I replied. “Not like you think.”

His volume rose and his accent thickened. “You’d double-cross me?”

“No.” I took a breath. “We don’t have much time. Listen to me.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m now capo.”

Thirty minutesago~

The realization hitlike the strike of his hand against a ten-year-old child. Our father was double-crossing Roríguez.

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