Chapter Twenty-Eight Larissa #2
Reaching back, I unclasp the necklace and extend it toward Daniello as he shakes his head, speaking his refusal. “Keep it.”
“Trust him and me,” I say, cupping it into his palm. “I have to see this through.” I squeeze his fist closed. “Talk to him”—I nod to Tyler—“then go home and give them both my love, okay?”
His eyes eagerly search mine for tells I don’t give him as I retreat. Without glancing at Tyler, I stalk toward the tent, my shivering becoming unbearable.
“Cousin.” Daniello stops me at the opening. “You truly wish to stay?”
“Fuck no, but my hands are tied. I’ll see you soon.”
He nods again before looking at Tyler. “I will have your fucking explanation.”
Tyler curtly dips his chin, eyes on the fire until he volleys them between me and Daniello as I take cover back inside the tent.
Shaking off the layer of snow, I strain to listen, only catching a hint of timbre from each man as I start to shiver uncontrollably. Knowing Tyler won’t recap a word to me, but exhausted and aching, I fade out.
Rousing sometime later as I feel Tyler’s presence, I roll to my side to watch him kick off his boots. His movements pausing when he senses my stare. “Are you hurt?”
“Is he gone?” I ask.
“Yeah. He’s gone. Answer me, Larissa, are you hurt?”
“He’s no longer a part of this,” I declare, “and I don’t want him to be, and we need to talk because I am leaving, Tyler.”
To my surprise, he nods without argument. “We will. I just need a few hours of sleep.”
“Please guarantee me that no matter what happens, Daniello will remain out of this. That you will erase that footage.”
“Tula’s brother,” he utters, ignoring me. “It’s a miracle he’s survived this long.” Settling on his blankets, he turns to face me. “Did you know he took some of Ciro’s rerouted guns and cleaned them through customs before making sure they went back into the hands of US soldiers?”
“Of course. Daniello’s been working against Ciro for years. Killing off anyone who threatened to blow his cover. It’s one of the ways Tula and Daniello changed the game. They were both working against Donato before Tula brought him down.”
Tyler stares, wheels turning.
“There are ways, Marine, and if you think critically, our clubs aren’t so different.”
“Don’t preach to me about necessary evils. I’m well aware the mafia was born for the same reason our club was. Immigrants exploited for cheap labor and abused to the point they got fed up with a system predisposed to fail and made their own fate.”
“I’m not trying to deny that greed turned it into something a lot of us aren’t proud of. Then again, we provide jobs—”
“Preaching to the choir, Larissa. I’m aware of the jobs organized crime provides. Clean streets equal no cops, no task forces, and no alphabet agencies. I’m aware of the delicate balance. Do you think we didn’t take a page from your book? Trust me, we’ve taken pages from every book.”
“So you think there is honor among thieves? Because, to be honest, I didn’t think there was until I watched how you all work.”
“Maybe amongst thieves, but not murderous criminals,” he quips, “and if you’re so impressed, why did you wait so long to come to us, to me?”
“Because …” As I search for the words, the hesitation costs me.
“Forget it.”
“I’m going to answer you, I was just—”
“Forming another fucking lie.” He stares at me for long seconds, his implication clear that Daniello’s unwelcome intrusion has consequences for me.
“Which is why this will end badly.” I hide my swallow even as my body involuntarily shudders at the unshakable chills running rampant. “So, why was he your lifeline?”
Lifting, I fluff the thin blanket beneath my head and glare back at him. “You fucking know why.”
His expression twists into utter smugness as he speaks. “He’s the only one you thought had a chance to best me if things went south.”
“Don’t let your head explode, it’s already fucking disproportionate.”
He palms his chest, lips simpering. “I’m flattered.”
“As long as you know you’re flattering yourself.”
Unable to pull my eyes away from a slightly more relaxed Tyler, I watch as he sinks into his own makeshift mattress, eyes scanning the top of the tent.
A view I’m growing tired of. Trying to relax while warming, he interrupts my doze a few seconds later.
“I heard about him in the service. Early years. He’s a legend in his own right.
If I had to go head-to-head with anyone …
” He trails off, respect evident in his tone.
It’s then I flit my focus back to him, giving him my full attention. “Which is why he deserves the peace he’s earned. After he fell in love with his wife, Taylor, and Tula took Donato down, Tula freed him from her cause to live in his bubble. So don’t go thinking he needs to join yours.”
“Shit … if only,” he chuckles in rare animation.
“If only nothing. Trust that if he ever gets called back into action, it will be to fight beside me.”
The tent again falls silent as I catch sight of the drizzling snowfall in the rapidly spreading morning light. Realizing they must have talked for endless hours. “And what about me?” I ask.
“What about you?” he replies, eyeing me briefly.
“Oh, I don’t know, should I look forward to some shady future blackmail if we make it out of this? Last night, the shower—”
“Remains our business,” he drops easily. “And it didn’t seem to bother you when you were parading around naked in my penthouse in a scrap of fabric.”
“That was different, and my fucking choice, just like last night was. Try and take that away from me and see how far you fucking get.”
Unfazed by my threat, he continues to stare blankly in thought, which I know has everything to do with Daniello. Though it’s apparent respect has been given or earned by both men, I appeal to him, still unsatisfied.
“Tyler—”
“He’ll remain vapor.” He finds my eyes once more. “Let that be my lone promise to you.”
“You know that’s not the promise I want.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting,” he delivers pointblank. Shivering again, I turn my back, deciding to leave that battle for when I wake.