Page 90 of Sin & Secrets

“You can’t ignore it forever,” he tries to rationalize. “You have to consider the possibility that she might be working against you.”

“I have,” I reply firmly, turning myself away to end the conversation.

But Teo has never been one to break under the pressure.

“Carmine hired Lazzaro to bring his daughter to Brooklyn with money he stole from the Guild. He’s one of the only people who could have pulled off a loan like that right under Chiavari’s nose. You said it yourself.”

“I’m not disputing that.”

“So it can’t be a coincidence that Cassandra Bellini now resides inyourhome with access to your personal files.”

I drink to cover my grimace. Finding out that Cas had been rooting through my office was a shock and definitely didn’t aid her case. But if she intended to use that information against me, she wouldn’t have boasted about knowing it in the first place.

“What are you saying, Vitale? You really think she’s the rat?”

He glances over his shoulder before leaning in closer. “I think you’d be a fucking idiot not to consider the possibility.”

“Leaks were happening before Cas even came into the picture.”

“So she took over from her father after he ate lead.”

I shake my head. “She doesn’t know anything.”

“Right, so she told you that when? While she was sucking your cock?”

A part of me registers the regret in Teo’s eyes the second the words leave his mouth. But it’s vastly overshadowed by the roar of anger that threatens to consume me.

I dig my fingernails into my palms to steady my breathing.

“You are my brother in everything but blood,” I growl out. “But if you don’t leave in the next ten seconds, I will kill you.”

But Teo only holds my glare with his unnervingly dark eyes. “You are blinded to the truth, Rocco. I’m not going to stop because you wouldn’t let me do something this stupid, either.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“How’s that?” Teo huffs a laugh. “I know you better than anyone. I’ve seen firsthand how you built the Guild up from nothing, how you fought against your father for five years and emerged victorious. This isn’t what you want. The job always comes first.”

The job always comes first.

A truth I have lived by my entire life. It’s the foundation of everything I have ever done, everything I have become, the song that wakes me up every morning and sends me to sleep every night.

Only…

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Miss Cassandra!”

Only Cassandra Bellini has sung another song—one with a pull far stronger than my call to the Guild.

The realization hits me like a ton of fucking bricks.

I’m helpless as I watch Cass take the stage. That tiny black dress and leather jacket are all the more enticing now that I know what they look like on my bedroom floor.

“How are you all doing tonight?” She smiles out to the crowd, that quiet confidence emanating from her very soul.

Only I know she’s not quiet. She’s boisterous and loud and challenges me at every turn. She’s smart, too smart, and far too witty for her own good. I have to work to keep up with her sometimes, but she never lets me lag behind.

“Could we lower the lights a little bit? I want to see who came all the way out here to see little old me,” she continues as her spotlight dims around her. “Oh, hi!” she laughs.

And the room laughs with her.

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