Page 92 of Dark Truths

I sometimes forget she’s an O’Leary and youngest daughter of the late Irish mob leader. And when she's married to Michael, she’ll stand by his side just as Mom does for Dad, supporting him in his rule as leader of the High Table. If there is a High Table after this.

“I go back undercover,” Dimitri reveals his plans for the first time, even to me. “I need to track the missing girls and uncover the leader behind it all. I think if I do that, it could be enough to earn my freedom from the FBI and prevent them from continuing to investigate the High Table.”

“That’s a very ambitious plan,” Raphael comments.

“I don’t like the idea of you going back undercover,” I share my reservations.

“I know,” he says back, squeezing my hand. “But if I don’t, Sergei will get suspicious. He’s already suspicious as it is.”

“How so?” Michael grunts, his curiosity outweighing his anger.

“Ever since Igor died, he’s become increasingly paranoid. He even accused me of betrayal when he heard from our men that Gabriella was seen at thePlaygroundthe night of New Year’s.”

“How did you play that one off?”

I tilt my head at Dimitri, my curiosity now peaked too. “Yeah, how did you?”

He looks at me with a hint of shame, and I know I won't like his answer much. “I told him you had a silly little girl crush on me and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

I smack his arm. “Are you kidding me?”

Michael snorts while Raphael chuckles, but it’s Enzo who busts out laughing.

“It’s not funny, Enzo!” I shout at him.

“I don’t know about that,” he defends his outburst with another laugh. “We may just be friends yet, Dimitri.”

34

Dimitri

The sun is just beginning to rise over the distant horizon when Jacob finally arrives. The aromatic smell of coffee reaches my nostrils mere moments before a traveling cup appears in my vision. I accept it and take a big sip, savoring the way the warm, dark, rich flavor encases my grumpy and tired soul.

Jacob joins me on the bench with a cream-colored drink in his hands. I motion to it and ask, “What’s that?”

Jacob glances at his drink. “An iced pumpkin cream chai tea latte.”

“Iced?” I frown at it. “It’s cold out, Jacob.”

The man snorts before taking a sip of his girly drink. “Warmer here than back home.”

“How is the capital?”

The capital has never been my home. It’s not where I grew up, but I spent several years there before coming to Miami. For Jacob, though, it is home. His family is there. His entire life.

“Got out on the red eye in time to avoid a snowstorm blowing in.”

“I don’t miss that.”

Jacob chuckles. “Yeah, you’ve always had thin blood.” He then sighs and a foreboding cloud settles over us. “It’s a fucking shit show up there, man.”

“What’s going on?”

“Ford’s up in arms over Xiao’s death to start,” he explains. “He wanted him brought in alive to see if he could flip on the figure he’s taking orders from.”

Moments before Xiao fell overboard and was pulled under the waves where he subsequently drowned…from a knife to the throat, he revealed he was the man responsible for the human trafficking in Miami. But that he was also taking orders from someone above him.

“It’s not like I had any control over what that man does or what happened on his yacht.”