“A favor?” I ask, a tone of incredulous amusement leaking through. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“It won’t even require you to dirty your hands, and who knows, you may even enjoy it,” Domenico adds, dancing around the exact offer.

My eyes drift quickly to Harkin’s relaxed form in the chair. It doesn’t match the energy billowing off him. He’s anxious to hear what’s on the table. I don’t put anything past Domenico with the hand he holds over us. But I know Harkin’s limits are a lot more cut and dry than mine have always been.

“Out with it. We don’t have all day,” I snark, irritated and ready to leave.

“Join me for a meeting with your grandfather. He’s eager to meet his granddaughters.”

My mouth runs dry like thick cotton trapped on the roof of my mouth after a night of drinking one too many. Ironically, I’d do about anything for a swig of something neat right now.

“My grandfather,” I repeat like a mockingbird balanced on an overhanging tree limb. “He knows about us?” It’s like I’m reliving the realization that my father knew where I was for over a year, yet did nothing to join my life sanely.

“I’ve approached him with the unexpected news, and he would like to meet you both as soon as possible if you agree.”

Three sets of eyes burn against my exposed skin. The expectation to decide at the drop of a hat holds me hostage, which doesn’t bode well for any of us.

Clearing my throat, I stand and drop the photo back on the table. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”

Dom’s fury gets the best of his otherwise collected demeanor as he shoots to his feet, closing the space separating us. I feel Harkin do the same, ready to intervene should the moment call for it.

“Listen here.” He leans closer, his hot breath fanning across my cheeks. “You have the power to make sure your little dog here doesn’t have to run to Mommy and tell her the news about her husband. I’m not a generous man, Keira. Take it or leave it. But if you walk out that door, that man’s blood is on your hands,mio cuore.And maybe we aren’t so different after all.”

Harkin doesn’t cut in. He doesn’t try to fight the battle of wills before me. Instead, his strong presence gives me the strength to throw out an answer I might later regret. “Set the meeting,” I spit out and shove past Domenico, even though the opposite direction is free.

His man on the door doesn’t move from his post. The silk of my dress pushes away as I slip my fingers along the hilt of my knife. His eyes dance from my short frame to his boss behind me. He moves to the side just in time to avoid a deep gut wound.

I follow the thin lights in the darkness to the hidden door and pop out back into the busy bar. Eyes swing in our direction as we enter from seemingly nowhere. My favorite blonde beauty is talking up a man in an expensive suit while her captor watches on from three tables down. They both stand abruptly when they see us and join in our exodus.

Quietness falls around us as we enter the elevator and descend four stories to the lobby. A restless energy radiates off Stacey. She wants to dive into what happened to us behind closed doors, but she’s holding it in. I’m sure James whispering in her ear is helping if her eyes are any indicator.

We wait for the valet to bring the SUV around before we load in. There’s a collective sigh of relief as we pull away from the hotel. James and Harkin keep their eyes peeled for the potential of a tail, but I let my head dip against the seat back and close my eyes. Why couldn’t my family be average? A couple hard working, nine to fivers. No, instead, I get the bottom of the barrel. A family legacy that leaves much to be desired, even from someone who’s done her share of shady shit throughout the years. But I can’t deny the nagging curiosity to meet this person who might offer another connection to the only family I ever knew.

Whispers draw me out of my head. Since Nikita found us, the guys have been antsy about our location, so they decided to move again. I’m starting to feel like I’m back to being a teen, couch-hopping every few days for a roof over my head. I miss the stability of my apartment and the safety it offered. But those days seem to be long gone.

“Where’d you settle on?” I ask no one in particular.

“Home.”

“What?” I sit forward, peeking between the two front seats.

“There’s no point in hiding anymore. Domenico thinks he’s gotten exactly what he wants.”

“Hasn’t he?”

“Oh, sweetness, if there’s one thing that meeting did, it was give us the upper hand. He wants a meeting. We know the who, and thanks to Nikita’s dossier, I might know the where.”

“We’re going to cut him off at the knees?”

“Domenico is never going to be an ally in our corner. But your grandfather, you both have something in common.”

“Mom,” I say in the softest whisper.

Stacey’s warm hand runs up and down my back, and the comforting touch is much appreciated.

“Exactly, I can’t imagine, even after all these years, his feelings toward the Morelli family have grown warmer,” Harkin confirms my suspicions.

“The feud was there long before your parents were ever born. Since they immigrated to New York from their home countries, the families have been at war. The city’s only so big, and everyone wanted a piece of the pie. The animosity only heightened when a beloved daughter was gunned down by the mafia don himself,” James adds to the conversation, like a historian finally able to share their knowledge.