Page 25 of Reign of Hope

“Nothing’s wrong,” I tell her, clasping my hand around hers, lifting it to my lips, and kissing her fingers. “You look perfect.”

Her face lights up, and her smile beams like a bright, shining light. “Thank you.”

“That’s better,” I say. “You were looking pretty serious there.”

“Reno is very… Well, intimidating. And I’m sure he’s not too pleased with yesterday’s problematic start.”

“He’s more than intimidating. He’s a lethal motherfucker and is pissed as hell. But he’s not upset with you. You were a victim, just like Elena.”

“But I’m not family. Like Elena.”

“The minute I claimed you, you became part ofNostra Casa.That makes you ours, and in Reno’s eyes, he is responsible for all of us. What happened is an unacceptable attack, and Reno will ensure that the people behind it will be held responsible.” Reno will track these people down, and then he will destroy them, but I don’t tell Ally that. She’s already nervous around Reno. Although, she was part of this life for quite a while, and I doubt she’s oblivious to what happens when our enemies come calling.

Dad was always very quiet about Mafia business, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t aware of the dangers. Subtle changes in Dad’s behavior would alert us that problems were happening. He would make sure that Mom and Elena were never out and about without him present. Elio and I weren’t allowed out at night to party, which pissed me off, but as I grew older, I got it. Even with all our warnings, I still got a knife to the gut when the Red Dragons found out that Elena was Dante’s intended bride, the one night she went to the club with some girlfriends.

As we pull up to the gate, the guard recognizes me and opens the gate. As I’m pulling through, he says, “The others have already arrived. They’re waiting for you. I’ll let them know you’re here.”

“Thanks, Tio,” I respond. He gives me a nod, and I hurry up to the main house. Reno doesn’t like being kept waiting.

The front door is already open, and Victorio is waiting for us. I don’t get a word in before he says, “Reno and the other men are in his office. He says for you to go right in. I’ll take Ally to the ladies on the patio, out back.”

I give her hand a squeeze before letting go. “It’s fine,” I reassure her. “We’ll be out soon.” I watch as Victorio leads her away; she looks over her shoulder, but follows her brother out. I can hear voices as I approach the office.

Reno is sitting behind his desk, with Sebastian, Dante, Leo, and Elio all standing around the room. I find it surprising that Raffaele, Alessio, and Marco are all here as well.

“Good morning, Capo,” I say, then scan the room and greet the others. “It’s good to see you all again.”

“How are the honeymooners?” Sebastian asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Can’t complain,” I respond. Dante jabs him in the stomach.

“Can we get down to business?” Reno asks, his patience running thin.

“Yes, sir,” I say, but Reno is already looking at his best friend, Leo.

Leo steps forward. He drops his arms that were crossed over his chest. “After speaking with Victorio and getting a good description of the red vehicle, we traced it back to a rental company. It was never returned, and the police found it later, abandoned in a mall parking lot. The paperwork is a dead end. They used a false name and driver’s license. The rental company has a security camera. They’ve already handed it over to the police for insurance purposes. We’ve got a couple of calls in to our inside men at the station to get us a copy,” Leo explains.

“There’s more.” Dante speaks up. “Our men exchanged fire, and we hit one of them. He bled in the car. We need to get the results of the DNA sample. This will give us a name.” He pauses, looking at the capos. “Here’s the thing: our soldiers are telling me that these guys didn’t look like our typical Russians. These guys either disguised themselves, or they weren’t responsible.”

“We all have many enemies,” Raffaele states. “It makes me wonder why they went afterNostra Casa.”

“Random?” Alessio says, raising his hand. “Or is this a ploy to place the blame on one of us?”

Marco rubs a hand over his chin in deep thought. “Perhaps the question to ask is what were they after?” All eyes are on the eldest capo. There’s no doubt that he’s seen more than any of us and has the most experience of anyone in this room. We all wait for Marco to continue. “Was the target Elena? It may be so, but all our enemies are aware that this is a death sentence. The Russians are still weak from our last encounter, and sources say that they are regrouping and not yet ready for a fight of this magnitude. This leaves us open to local gangs and MCs.” He pauses and looks to Reno. “I’m sure if this were an MC, your contact would give you a heads-up, no?”

“Most definitely. If Risk even caught wind of an impending attack, he’d call,” Reno responds, but he turns to Sebastian. “Call Risk. See if he can get a read on whether we have an enemy that we’re not aware of yet.” Sebastian is already out the door before Reno is done.

“That leaves open the local gangs, or Alessio’s thoughts on whether a rival family wants to disrupt our peaceful alliance,” Raffaele jumps in.

All are very viable options and all reasonable assumptions. However, Marco’s not quite done. “There’s one other possibility.” Marco looks me square in the eyes. “The target could have been Allegra, not Elena.”

“What?” I exclaim. “Why? She doesn’t know anyone inNostra Casa.She hasn’t even been visible. The most anyone has seen of her has been yesterday at the church.”

“You forget, Zano, the situation that brought Allegra toNostra Casa,” Raffaele says.

“We left Philadelphia within hours of when all that went down. There’s no trace of Allegra leaving. No passport. No flight plan. No one has been back to their apartment, for just that reason. They left everything behind. Even the call she made to Melissa was through an untraceable phone, rerouted by Dante, bouncing off twenty different cities and towers. It’s just not possible.” I shake my head, turning to Dante. “Is it?”

“Allegra and Victorio may have been untraceable, but we are not,” Reno states. “The gang members saw Raffaele and all of us. It wouldn’t take a genius to come to the conclusion that we smuggled Allegra and her brother out of their grasp.”

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