Page 35 of Wild Card

Someone pounds on my door and she jumps. I push her behind me and jump to my feet.

“Gio! I want to talk to the little tramp.”

He’s drunk. Or high. Or both.

I walk up to the door. “Watch your mouth. She’s sleeping,” I shout through it. “Go home.”

“Then get her up,” he shouts.

“No. Fuck off. You’re going to disturb Nonna. Go back to your apartment.”

He pounds on the door again. “I’m going to find her little sister and bring her here. I’m going to get that fucking money.”

He pounds on the door a few more times and then gives up.

I turn to Catriona, who’s panting with fear.

“He can’t hurt Birdie,” she says, frantic. “Tell him not to hurt her. Gio, I’ll do whatever I can to get you what you need. Please.” She stands up, trying to rush toward me but has to grab onto the couch for support. She presses a hand to the side of her head. “Don’t let him take her.”

“Ssh,” I say, holding her up. “I already told him that was a bad idea. He’s just drunk.”

“You talked about it already?” she gasps. “Oh my God. Is she okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Like you said, your sister has a full entourage at all times. I’m sure even more now that you’ve been missing.”

She’s shaking, her teeth chattering. Fuck. I don’t want her to be afraid, not here with me. I get an absurd idea.

“I’ll contact your brother,” I say. “Okay?”

Someone, probably one of her brothers, threatened to kill my entire family. We’re not allies in this but giving them a warning is the right thing to do.

She takes a few deep breaths and presses her hands into my chest.

I want to hold her. Protect her. Doesn’t she know that she deserves to be safe, too?

“I’ll let him know to keep an eye out. I promise.” I wrap my arms around her for just a minute and ease her back on the couch, sitting next to her. “You need to rest, Catriona. Rest and get stronger. Your sister has a lot of people looking after her.”

She looks frightened, still, but leans against my chest. Once she’s asleep, I pull out the burner phone. Callan’s pretty regular with his texts—I’m sure he’s trying to bait Lorenzo into making a mistake, but that mistake could cost Catriona her life. I won’t allow it. I hit reply to his last text.

Why does it feel like I’m betraying my family by doing this? Lorenzo doesn’t deserve my loyalty, not after the position he’s put me in. It’s a real fucking trip that his burning down my bakery barely registers on his list of crimes. Still, loyalty to family has been ingrained in me since I was a baby.

And my hatred of the Carneys has been with me nearly as long.

It’s unsettling how the values, the truths my actions have always been rooted in are shifting, I’m not sure for good or for ill. I type in a message: Watch Birdie and hit send.

The reply comes in seconds.

The fuck are you threatening?

In any other circumstances, I think I’d really like Callan.

Not a threat. A warning.

I know in my gut that Catriona’s brothers will come for her eventually—it’s just a matter of time before they figure out where she is. I have to fix this before that happens and there’s some uncontrolled shoot out that could get Nonna or even Catriona killed.

The more Catriona tells me, the more I realize that James Carney’s children know exactly who he is. I always had imagined them as a happy family unit oblivious to the destruction of others. Oblivious to my loss. But I should’ve known that someone who could destroy lives so carelessly wouldn’t be a kind parent.

A man like that should be parted from his money, but not like this. Not at the expense of Catriona and her sister.

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