Page 93 of Depraved
Luca clears his throat and puts his hand on the desk, propping himself up. “We need to call in the other families, Dante. If we’re going to take the Irish down, we need their support. New York, Boston, LA…we need them all.”
“Tomorrow,” I say, the firmness of my answer in my tone. “The other families will want to know how helping will benefit them. Everyone is selfish, motivated only by their gain. Loyalty is a distant second. So, I’m going to need to know exactly what jars Declan’s got his fingers in.” I turn toward Antonio and give him a knowing look. “I’m gonna need to know all the inventory.”
He nods and pulls his phone from his pocket to start to get to work. I take in a deep breath and look out at the room, feeling the violence of my thoughts start to pump blood into my veins.
“Not only am I keeping my queen, I’m taking that piece of shit’s fucking kingdom too.”
MY FINGERS BRUSH THROUGHELLA’Slittle curls from where her head lies on my lap as she sleeps. Gretchen stepped away to speak with Luca, and I stayed here to watch the sweet toddler while Drew put the twins down, and I suspect herself, too, since she’s been gone for a while.
The door from the bedroom opens as Gretchen walks out with a small frown, making her way to the couch in the living room. The small house we’re holed up in can best be described as cozy. Nico said it was left for Antonio by his grandfather, who preferred the silence of the woods to the clamor of the city.
“Hey,” Gretchen whispers, sliding down and lifting Ella’s feet to place them on her lap.
“Hey. How’s everything going?” I question, keeping my voice low.
“Jesus. I don’t know. Luca seems confident, which is reassuring, but I’m worried about you. Not them,” she answers, giving me that look she gets.
Gretchen seems to have an uncanny ability to read people right down to the lies they tell themselves.
“Me?” I counter, rolling my eyes.
“Yeah. You,” she pushes. “You haven’t stopped looking guilty, like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, since we left…this shit isn’t your fault, Sarah. Whatever’s happened to Matteo isn’t your fault. And I don’t trust for a second that you believe that.”
I hate her. She makes it impossible not to love her.
My shoulders give a small shrug. “You’re right. I feel guilty because I wish I could make it all go away. For all of you. But especially for Dante. Because he’ll kill himself to protect everyone so that I don’t have to live with the reality that none of this would’ve happened if not for me.”
Gretchen reaches out and touches my shoulder, shaking her head. “No. That’s not true. Luca said Declan is using you as a means to an end. He wants to expand whatever he’s running into Chicago, and you’re the button he’s pushed to cause a war. A war that would be the perfect distraction for slipping by the guards, so to speak.”
“Jesus Christ,” I breathe out. “This is too much.”
Gretchen brings her hand back to her head, resting her temple on her fist. “Listen, it’s no secret that I wanted my husband out of this game when we married, but that just meant I wanted him out of the day to day…this is about family. You need to trust them. You don’t just have Dante, Sarah, you have all of us. You are our family.” She smiles, reaching for my hand.
I squeeze her hand back. “Thank you. I know it’s not enough, but thank you.”
She nods her head, and we lapse back into silence, sitting with Ella lying across us, me stroking her hair and Gretchen rubbing her little feet. My head begins to form an idea I know I can’t say aloud, but I’m positive is the rightest thing I’ve ever thought.
“I’m going to take her to bed now.”
Gretchen lifts Ella into her arms, and I give a small wave as she rounds the couch and walks toward one of the three bedrooms in the cabin. She nods to the guys who are sitting at a makeshift table playing cards that were sent with us.
I turn, folding my arms over the brown leather couch and resting my chin on them. “Has anyone heard anything about Matteo?”
My gaze drifts to the small digital clock sitting on a wooden bookcase by one of the burly guards as it blinks and changes to 10:30 p.m.
“Not yet, but they put Vincenzo on it…he’ll find him. It’s impossible to hide from Vin,” one of the guys says as I draw my focus back to them.
“Really? That’s what he does? Finds people?” I question, curious to hear more from my chatty Cathy.
“Yeah. It’s like his specialty. That’s why Dante’s family is so powerful—the seven of them together is fucking scary. Nobody in their right mind would fuck with them unless they wanted a war that would destroy everything.” He chuckles.
But what he says hits my gut with a thud. A war. Declan wants that. My eyes falter as I push back and turn around to stand. Declan wants to destroy everything. He wants something long and drawn-out…because he’ll wear them down, so he can pick them off one by one.
I brush my hair back out of my face and then rest my hands on my heart, willing the emotion not to overwhelm me. Flashes of family dinner pass through my mind like a slideshow.
Gretchen and Luca with Ella. Dominic and Drew with their twin boys. Matteo smiling when he speaks about the girl he can’t have. Antonio reading his damn paper. Vincenzo, Nico.
Dante.
