Luca grabbed my shoulders, pulling me into a tight embrace that felt like my Papà’s.
“There was a time when Gaetano told me the exact same thing about yourmamma,” he murmured against my hair. I could only choke back sobs like the pathetic piece of shit I’d become. Like what I truly was. “When Natalia arrived in Italy, your Nonno’senemies held her captive in a warehouse and demanded a ransom. Your Papà, who had always sworn their marriage was just an obligation, that he would never, under any circumstances, fall for the girl he’d married… he broke down. He sobbed into my shoulder, telling me how much he regretted bringing her into our world and that he would give his life to save her.”
He told me this while I looked past his embrace, watching Daisy still in that room, the worst of my crimes replaying before her distant gaze, giving shape to my darkest nightmares.
“Days later, Gaetano delivered the ransom and brought her out of there safe and sound.”
“The problem is that Accorinti doesn’t want to negotiate, Luca. This isn't about money. This is pure revenge.”
“Sì,” he admitted, pulling back to give me a firm pat on the cheek. “But we’re going to find Signorina Daisy. And Accorinti is going to pay for this.” He promised me. “Do you know what Gaetano told me the moment we saved yourmamma?”
“What, Luca?”
“That there are women we choose to love. And others we love without knowing why, whether we want to or not. And that whatDioputs in a man’s destiny, the devil cannot take away.”
Accorinti’s voice crackled through the speakers, and both Luca and I went still, listening. Daisy was talking to him, asking to send me a message. When she stood up and stopped right in front of the camera, just long enough for me to see her face harden into a mask of steel, it stole the breath from my lungs.
“Make sure you’re the first to pull the trigger, sugar.”
Time began to rewind. I went back a decade in mere seconds.‘But will she be able to be terrible when necessary?’My Mamusia’squestion flashed like a bolt of lightning in the darkness of my mind.
Accorinti lunged at Daisy, delivering two blows that sent her sprawling across the floor. I gasped, my world going white, as I watched the hooded soldati drag her out of the room.
Cissio Accorinti stepped into the very spot where Daisy had stood.
“It seems your American doll is tough, Don Vicari. Let’s see how long it takes me to break her.”
The transmission cut to black. Luca let out a string of curses, already barking orders into his phone. I heard him yelling at our men, demanding they track the signal immediately or he’d castrate them himself. I, on the other hand, rose from my chair, my movements slow and deliberate.
Luca hung up and turned to me, his breath coming hard. “Are you okay?”
“Luca.” My voice cut through the room like steel. “Do you remember what Don Barone told us?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luca hesitate. “About the FBI hunting Antonio Palumbo?”
I nodded, my gaze fixed on the empty screen. We’d discovered that Palumbo had been trafficking young women to American elites long before Accorinti ever crawled onto the scene. He’d established brothels across several U.S. cities, and the FBI was practically salivating at the chance to bring him down.
“What are you planning?” Luca asked, his voice laced with caution.
“Our sources said District Attorney Olivia Goodwin has ties to the FBI, didn’t they?”
“Don Camillo, no.” Luca snapped, stepping closer and grabbing my arm. “It’s too risky, for you and for the Signorina. It might just lead to a dead end.”
“If the FBI is hunting Palumbo, they already know where his wife and children are hiding. Right?” Luca paled, and a dark smile pulled at my lips. “Let’s see just how deep Daisy’s friendship with the District Attorney really goes.”
“And if she won’t help us?”
“Prepare our American partners for that eventuality. Speak to Lombardi. If Olivia Goodwin refuses to cooperate, I want her erased.”
Luca obeyed, dashing off with his phone already pressed to his ear. When he was gone, I pulled the address book from my desk drawer. I liked keeping this kind of information on paper; digital trails were for men who wanted to be caught.
As the phone rang, Daisy was the only thing on my mind.Hang in there,Piccola Furetta. I’m coming for you.
“Olivia Goodwin. How can I help you?”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “Signorina Goodwin, my name is Camillo Vicari. I’m the man who took your friend Daisy Parker to Italy. I trust my name precedes me. Or does the word ‘Ndrangheta ring a bell?”
I heard her sharp gasp on the other end. Then, the frantic click of high heels and the sudden fading of background noise told me she was ducking into a private room.