“I don’t want anything,” says Tragen smoothly. “I’m only a hired man.”
“You’re a Devil man,” I protest feebly.
“Until a higher bidder comes along. And that’s what happened.”
His set jaw tells me he won’t answer another question. I sag back on my seat, my head reeling as I take in all this impossible information.
My little nerdy chatterbox of a cricket… the granddaughter of a mafia capo?
It’s insane and yet, it does neatly tie up a lot of questions.
From her parents’ inexplicable deaths, to the people shot for getting too close to the truth. To Devil apparently wanting to kill her, and yet leaving her alive. To Logan’s involvement, trying to get us to a safe place in Oregon.
Fuck. If only I’d managed to get her there. If only I hadn’t said all those words that must have reopened the still fresh wound and made staying with me intolerable for her.
If only she hadn’t run.
If only I still had her with me, in Oregon. None of this would matter, if only I could hold her in my arms.
I know I could make it right. I just know I could.
Maybe it would take years to earn her forgiveness. Maybe a lifetime.
But I would just keep trying, until I succeeded. I would dedicate my life to it. Toher.
Instead, I’m stuck in a motherfucking car with my Tragen, who I’m only now realizing is nothing but a soldier himself. He used my trauma against me, making me kill the soldiers that he knew he couldn’t count on.
I believed him when he said he was letting me get revenge, but I was nothing but his pawn.
Did the soldiers I murder even see Piper that night? Were they really guilty?
Probably, but what happened wasn’t about revenge. It was all just a sick manipulation, so that Tragen could succeed in his contract.
Because that’s what he is. A soldier who accepts contracts.
Only it’s not Devil who gave him this contract.
I have no idea what kind of contract it is. Or who gave it to him.
But I do know he needs me on his side. I’m his best soldier. What he doesn’t know is that I’m also going to be his killer.
Chapter 22
Quill
We continue to drive in silence, while I force my brain to emerge from what feels like a very long hibernation.
If I want to save her, I’m going to actually have to figure out the web of danger that’s been spun around her.
And to someone whose brain has lain dormant as long as mine has, it feels like an impossible task.
But I’m going to do the impossible.
I wrack my brain to try to draw the right conclusion from Tragen’s words, since I can tell he’s not going to tell me anything more.
Factions inside the mafia.
Logically, it’s Coltello—the underboss—who wants to kill Piper. She’s a descendant of the Moretti family, a legitimate leader and a threat to him. If Tragen really does want to save Piper, that means he’s working for whoever is still loyal to Moretti. It’s a small glimmer of hope, but still, I will never allow her to go back to a family that she was brought into by rape.