“It’s Johnny.” Concern is clear in her voice. “He’s with—Ari’stakenhim.”
“What?”
“Right?! I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. Why the hell would ArithreatenJohnny? They’re friends. Family, even. At first, I thought he was joking, but Ari’s voice was so hard. So…cold.”
Now is not the time to explain to Bianca how inexplicable everything about Ari has become. Or how dangerous. “What happened, exactly?”
Bianca’s eyes are wide with disbelief, the whites glinting in the dim hallway. “Johnny called to say he didn’t have to stay overnight at the hotel anymore, that he was coming home instead. But he never showed up. Didn’t answer his phone. Lorenzo confirmed he’d been with you at the hotel when Mr. Cerreti arrived, but after that...nothing. Not until I got a call an hour ago from Ari warning me that if I ever want to see my husband again, I have to bring you and Rem to Montecristo.”
I hear a curse behind me, feel Rem’s hand on my shoulder an instant later. “What were Ari’s instructions exactly?”
Bianca flicks her worried gaze up to my husband. “That he’ll release Johnny, unharmed, if you and Lena are at the restaurant by five. It can only be you two, he was very clear about that. No Aldo, no guards.” I can hear the strain in her voice. “Not even me.”
“We’re not going to let anything happen to Johnny. He’s going to be home safe with you and the baby in no time.” I give Bianca’s hand a reassuring squeeze before letting Rem pull me down the hall.
“He’s setting a trap,” Rem says.
“Yeah. Obviously.”
“Obviously, Lena, you’re not coming with me.”
“Nice try, but obviously I am. I’m the one Ari wants, and it’s very clear he isn’t going to stop until he gets what he wants. We need to end this, before anyone else gets hurt. Including your best friend.”
I can sense Rem’s refusal before he opens his mouth. I cut him off. “You know it’s the right thing to do. I can’t live in a bubble, Rem, and you can’t be my bodyguard every waking second. I’m a Cosenza now. And a Cerreti. I’m not going to run and hide.” I flatten my palms against his bare chest. “We do this together. I’ll follow your lead, follow whatever order you give, but I’m not staying here while you go off to face your brother. The only way this ends is if we finish it together.”
“At any other time,” Rem grumbles, “I’d be so proud of your fight, little one, but right now I’m just really fucking pissed.”
“Understood,” I say with a nod. “Now let’s stop wasting time in this hallway, put some clothes on, and get your best friend back.”
Less than thirtyminutes later Rem, Bianca, and I are parked in Rem’s car down the street from the Cerreti family’s soon-to-be newest business, a restaurant in the city’s former warehouse district. It’s still months from opening, the building currently under renovation. It’s a few minutes before five in the morning; all the nearby shops and offices are still closed.
Rem looks at Bianca in the back seat. “You stay here. No matter what happens, no matter what you see or hear, you stay in this fucking car. I’ll make sure Johnny gets out and gets to you, and then you two get the hell out of here.”
“But—”
“No.” Rem cuts off Bianca’s protest. “You know you have to leave, Bianca. For all our sakes.”
Bianca starts to argue, and I say, a little softer, “None of us will forgive ourselves if anything happens to you or the baby.Rem’s right. You need to stay put until Johnny gets in the car, then you guys get out.”
Bianca glares at me. “Yes. Fine. But—do you really think Ari is dangerous? I mean, he’s yourbrother. None of this makes sense. I just can’t make any of this make sense…”
“I’ll fill you in on everything as soon as I can.” I give Bianca what I hope is a reassuring smile. “Over a cappuccino andcornetto. Promise.”
She leans back against the leather seat with a huff, arms crossed over her still-flat stomach. “Bullies, the both of you.”
That makes me smile for real. “What can I say, Rem is wearing off on me.”
“He looks good on you,” Bianca says. “Genuinely. You two are good together. Good for each other. Stay safe in there. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself anything happened to you, either.”
“Promise,” I say.
Rem nods, expression stony. He looks to me. “Time to go.”
Three words and the bravery I’ve been fronting falters. I’m about to walk into an unfamiliar place and face down a near stranger who’s spent the past few weeks trying to kill me. Even with Rem by my side, this feels beyond reckless. And unavoidable.
“Right,” I agree, throat tight. “Time to go.”
The restaurant is a construction site.Walls stripped down to the studs. Unopened boxes of appliances clustered in one section, building materials and tools scattered in another. I can make out the footprint of what will be an impressive kitchen, plumbing lines and gas valves protruding out of one wall. What looks like a giant stack of flooring tile stands in the middle of the cavernous room. At the far end of the space, harshly lit by a work light on a tripod, stand Ari and Johnny.