Page 3 of Reign of Psychos

“Not so much. I’m feeling most unwell today.”

Fuck.He’d mentioned last week that he thought Francesco had put a tail on him. I’d hoped he was wrong, but it seemed not.

“Maybe you need to go see a doctor, papa. Tell him your symptoms and see if there’s anything he can do to get rid of the infection.” By which I meant contact the DIA and hand over all the evidence he’d accumulated, so they could arrest and imprison Francesco once and for all.

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“I might spread the infection.” I sighed. It was the same old argument. Papa was worried that if he became an informant, the DIA would arrest me, or Francesco would put a hit out on me.

“Maybe I should visit the doctor with you. I could come stay with you for a while.” Perhaps it was time to do what my papahad wanted me to do for years. I knew plenty about Francesco’s operation. While Dad had access to all the financial data, I could give the DIA all the info they needed on Francesco’s drug trafficking routes, the names of several corrupt officials, and more.

“No, I’d rather you didn’t. That girl of yours needs you.”Thea.

“She doesn’t need me,” I muttered, shivering as a gust of wind hit me.

Dammit, this country was too fucking cold. I needed some sun on my face. The scent of lemon groves and freshly cooked pasta with basil and Parmesan. The food they served here was too stodgy. Way too many potatoes for my liking. And cabbage.Grim.

“She does, figlio.She’s always needed you,” he reminded me.

“Nah. Besides, she’s left me. Disappeared last night. Think she’s gone to visit her family.”

“I know.”

“You knew?”

“Yes, we’ve been talking.” I didn’t know Thea had kept in touch with my father.

Cazzo. If Francesco knew Papa and Thea were close, it would be the final nail in his coffin. He would view any illicit communication between them as a betrayal.

“Please make sure you reconsider going to see the doctor. I’m worried about you, old man.”

“Eh, I’ll be fine,figlio. I have people I trust to take care of me.”

“OK, well, I have to go. I need to call the boss and give him an update on our missing package.”

“No sign of it?” The amusement in Papa’s voice was unmistakable.

“Not so far.” And there never would be if I had anything to do with it.

3

Thea

Iplucked at my now short hair and grimaced. The bathroom haircut I’d given myself wasn’t up to salon standard, but having long hair almost to my waist tended to attract attention.

The pizzeria guys hadn’t paid me much attention earlier, but that was mostly because I’d pushed my hair under a hat and worn dark glasses. In addition, they were ridiculously busy dealing with the early evening crowd, which meant flirting wasn’t on the cards.

I still planned to dye my hair, but the baseball cap and hooded sweater I wore helped hide my figure and features.

The thick cotton garment still smelled of Milo. Each time I moved, I got a whiff of his signature scent: pine and citrus. My heart squeezed in my chest as I thought about him and the others.

Were they mad at me? Had Kyril gone full-psycho and torn the apartment to bits in a rage?

I hoped not. Declan didn’t seem the forgiving type.

Eden was probably furious with me, too. I’d told her the pregnancy test was negative, but since there hadn’t beenanywhere to stash the used test, I’d hidden it at the back of the cupboard in her bathroom. Eden was no fool. She would have found it by now and realized I’d lied.

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