My eyes widen. “They were killed… by you. By Devil.”
Logan hesitates. “It’s a little more complicated than that. Everything happened at once. In a single bloody night. There was a lot of tension, tension that had been boiling for years. Your birth father did meet his death at…” His eyes darken. “... at my hands. But that was just the catalyst for a whole lot of self-destruction. The capo, Arsenio Moretti, was not a popular man.”
“So…” I try to figure out the significance of what he’s saying. “So I’m the one surviving member of the… uhm, capo’s family.” It feels weird using the term, that’s only vaguely familiar due to my having read a few dark mafia romances just to see what the fuss was about.
Then I went straight back to Agatha Christie. Romances are definitely not my thing. Especially not dark ones. I have enough toxic bullshit in my real life to deal with.
“Exactly,” nods Logan. “Which definitely makes you a pain in a lot of people’s asses.” I raise an eyebrow. “Not because ofyou,” he adds hastily. “Because of who you are. The last surviving legitimate member of the Moretti family. The capo’s granddaughter.”
“Okay.” I blow out a breath. “What happened at the hospital?”
“Well, I didn’t have much time,” regrets Logan. “Laura happened to be there. I’d never met her before. She had just been given the all-clear by the doctor.”
“The… all-clear?” I repeat, though my heart sinks. I already know.
“Ovarian cancer,” he says quietly. “I spoke to her a bit. Sheseemed kind. I ran a quick background check on her, and decided to hand you off to her. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I had to do something drastic, if I wanted you to live.”
“But…” I frown. “The mafia was defeated. I mean, Devil took its place. That’s what everyone says. They’re no longer able to come to this state. No?”
“Right, but it took a few years for that to happen. A few very difficult years. So I created a program of my own. Bought a plane ticket for Laura, sent her to the West Coast, got her a house. Helped her start over. She met William in California.”
I nod my head. This all makes sense… I guess. And yet…
“Why did you never make yourself known?” I ask, my voice tight. “Once Devil grew more powerful. Why didn’t you come back to get me?”
Logan studies me. “Would you have liked me to?”
“Yes—I mean, no… I don’t know.” I flush painfully, thinking of how much I loved my parents. Thinking how hard it would have been to lose them. And yet, at the same time, thinking how much simpler it would have been not to deal with all the shit I had to deal with growing up.
“I had promised your mother I wouldn’t be involved. It took several years for everything to calm down, and she’d been raising you. William was your father. I was very much aware that I had no right to you anymore. I did my best to look after you from afar, though. Until you came back to Astley.”
“You wanted us to come back,” I guess.
“No,” he says quickly, and I frown in renewed confusion. “That was the last thing I wanted. I was furious when I learned it. Your mother’s cancer had returned, and I understood her motivation to return to her hometown. But I was beside myself with anxiety. Especially when I found out William had gotten a job at Devil Tower, of all places. The thought of you in this town drove me crazy. The closer you were to me, the more dangerous it was.I could help in California, but I couldn’t do a thing for you in Astley. I was aware you were struggling, but my hands were tied. Of course, if it had gotten too dire, I would have helped. But it would have been dangerous.”
“But why?” I insist. “Why was I in danger? WhyamI in danger, if the mafia’s gone? Why was Damien thinking of killing me?”
“He had warned me. The second you stepped out of that program—”
“Whatprogram?”
His features relax into a smile. “I guess some of the ways we spoke back in the mafia days have remained ingrained in me. Theprogramis the witness protection program. You weren’t in a real one, but I did try to create one for you. When you returned to Astley, you were dangerously close to leaving that program, but your mother managed to maintain your anonymity. Giving you the least bit of help risked blowing that cover. But anyway…”
“Damien,” I say, as he gulps down the remainder of his coffee.
“Right. He had warned me that you were only safe as long as you were in the program. The minute you stepped out, he’d have to kill you.”
“Butwhy?”
“Your death is the one thing stopping this whole thing from turning into absolute war.”
My eyes widen. “Mydeath?”
“All this time, the mafia has been in hiding. Those faithful to Moretti, and those faithful to his underboss, Coltello. It wasn’t just us Devil boys fighting Moretti’s men that bloody night. Coltello had betrayed him, and the mafia fractured from within. Ever since Devil came out on top, the mafia—both factions, those loyal to Moretti and those loyal to Coltello—have been in hiding. We’re not naive enough to think they’re permanently defeated. If they found out your existence, that could very well be thecatalyst to an all-out war again.”
I stop chewing my bacon, my mouth hanging open.
“Don’t eat with your mouth open,” he chides, before taking a bite of his own food.