Page 6 of Sin and Redemption

He narrowed his eyes at me and tossed my jeans at me. There wasn’t compassion on his face. He was a Vitiello through and through. Compassion wasn’t part of their programming. “Get dressed. We need to leave. My father’s going to ask a lot of questions.”

I put on my pants, then let him pull me to my feet. My eyes went to Sara. Romero had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She was dressed again but didn’t look my way as he led her out of the cell. Neither did he, though I suspected for very different reasons. He probably didn’t want to kill me in front of his shaken daughter. I watched them leave, then followed Valerio out of the cell.

“Did you catch any of the Russians?” I asked.

“One of them. A guard.”

“Not Jabba.”

“No.”

I nodded. Maybe Luca would allow me to help them hunt Jabba and his men as a last service. He knew how good I was at my job. He definitely wouldn’t do it out of charity.

Valerio took me to a meeting house in Brooklyn. We were the first to arrive. My skin itched, and my skull throbbed fiercely, but I didn’t say anything. I wanted nothing more than a shower.

Valerio and I went to the room that Luca used for meetings on occasion. I sat on one of the hardwood chairs.

“The doc’s on his way to check on you.”

I shook my head. “He needs to focus on Sara.”

“I think Romero and Liliana will take her to a female doctor.”

I nodded, then looked down at my feet.

The door opened with a soft creak. Two heavy sets of steps sounded. I recognized them. I rose to my feet, then forced my gaze up because I wouldn’t act like a fucking coward. Amo and Luca strode toward me. Like father, like son: gray eyes, black hair. But while Luca’s expression was thunderous, Amo appeared emotionless. Before I got a chance to analyze the look in Amo’s eyes, Valerio was already in front of him. They talked quietly for a moment.

I wasn’t surprised that they kept secrets.

When Amo finally came my way, he looked seriously pissed. We’d been best friends for half of our lives. I’d always known it would take a major fuckup for that to change.

Amo put his hand on my shoulder. “They played the wrong cards, those bastards. The bikers didn’t succeed, nor will they.”

Surprise following confusion shot through me until it dawned on me. “The video?”

Amo nodded severely. His gray eyes searched mine. How many had already seen what had happened? “They sent it to my father, me, and a few others.”

“They didn’t put it up on social media?”

“Not yet. They’re on the run. Maybe that will give us some time.”

“I need to know everything that happened, every fucking detail,” Luca said. The door to the room opened at that moment, and Romero walked in, followed by Flavio and Matteo. Matteo, as Consigliere, would know every detail of what had happened.

“I want to be there,” Romero said firmly.

“So do I,” Flavio agreed. Neither looked my way. Their features, hair, and eye color reminded me of Sara, making it hard to look at them.

Luca frowned, but then he gave a terse nod. Matteo’s eyes only briefly rested on me before he joined Luca.

Amo was still at my side even as the others lined up across from me like a tribunal. I wanted to ask about Sara. I needed to know she was okay, or as okay as she could possibly be, but the words got stuck in my throat. Instead, I turned to Amo. “You should go to them.”

“I’m by your side because you look like you need support.”

“Did you watch the video?”

“I know what happened.”

“No, you don’t, or you wouldn’t be by my side. Watch the video.”

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