Page 112 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

“If you warn Riccardo, they both die. If you go to the cops, they both die. If my name comes up as even a whisper, they both die. If you try to run or don’t play this shit out exactly as I tell you to, guess what?”

“They both die,” he murmurs into his lap.

“Good, you understand me. Your life for theirs. Don’t forget.”

“Thank you, ladies. Everyone has done their job tonight. Let’s give Kaling here time to absorb his fate. Kaling, I’ll be in touch. You have a good night.”

I stand and leave with Ny at my side. The others follow us out. Ny and I climb into the SUV as Jace pulls up outside the house.

“Why not kill them now? Save our resources,” Ny says beside me in the back seat.

I turn to her. “He’ll ask to see them. I need them alive until Dante does his part. And Ma will want Bertice for herself.”

“Your way of allowing her to remain in control.Gio,babe, don’t ever play with me on this level,” she warns.

Jace laughs in the driver’s seat. I sit back and close my eyes. “I won’t, if you don’t make me.”

Chapter 43

The Mission

Nyla

I stare into a bowl of cereal as I think about my last doctor’s visit. I was green-lighted to stop my birth control. I’m so nervous. It could take three to six months for it to leave my system.

What if we’re not ready by then? I see how focused Gio is on bringing this all to an end. There’s no stopping him now. There’s this side of him that locks in and gets shit done. He’s there.

“Hey.”

I look up to find it’s Holly singing to me. I jump up and rush to pull her into a hug as I rock back and forth. I’ve missed her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Gio needs me here.”

I release her and look her over. She’s glowing. Something is different. “How’s you-know-who?”

She rolls her eyes. “Relentless.”

I laugh and tug her into another hug. Jace places a hand on my back. I look up at him.

“She’s going to help you with Car,” he says.

I furrow my brows. Gio had told me to hold off on that, but he never told me why. I’ve been waiting for him to give me the go-ahead. Why would I need Holly?

I shrug it off and wave her over to sit with me. “You want something to eat?”

“Not if you plan to cook it,” she teases.

Jace snorts. I look at him and glare. Turning back to Holly, I reach to pinch her.

“We have cereal.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“Hello,” Jace says as he answers his phone.

From the grin on his face, I know something else is falling into place. You would think I would be happy everything is going our way. I just have this eerie feeling something is going to go wrong at some point.

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