Chapter 26
MATTEO
I fell asleep right along with her, the lavender smell of her hair and her soft body in my arms making it easy.
But I woke up in the dead of night, my head pounding from all the alcohol I’d consumed after so long of nothing, and possibly a punch or two I received while rescuing her last night.
I’d take ten more just like that. A hundred. For her.
What I can’t take is her leaving me again.
I check the phone she bought, noting down the numbers she called.
Some of them I recognized as belonging to the other members of her family.
Ferro already has those. His IT guys—probably the Russians, since they’re so good with computers and such—even traced those phones to a spot in the ocean about twenty miles from the Codelli beach house.
They must have tossed their phones off the boat as they fled.
But one of the numbers she’d called I’d never seen. And she had called it first. She had called it again and again when she couldn’t reach anyone at the other numbers.
It could be the lead Ferro needs. It could lead us straight to where her family is hiding.
Ferro has been texting me all night, wanting updates, complaining that the damn bodyguard Rafaelle wasn’t talking.
Damn that tough bastard. If he rolled on the Codellis then the burden of this decision would be off my shoulders.
I’m losing my patience with you and both the Codelli bitches.
That text from Ferro came just as dawn started breaking over the ocean. I could just picture him in his study, smoking one of his cigars, swirling a whiskey in his hands and growing madder and madder.
Goldie slept peacefully behind me. Hopefully her sister is sleeping just as peacefully back at the mansion since he’s been sending me angry texts all night.
I promised her I would save her family if I could. If I give Ferro the number she called, that promise is as good as broken.
I can probably still save her mother and her other sister.
But old man Codelli never did much for me and mine.
He’ll probably have to go, and she’ll have to live with that just as I had to.
This is war and she’s on the wrong side of it.
I won’t be any help to anyone if I join her there.
And I swore a blood oath to avenge my family. Swore it on their graves.
I text Ferro back, explaining what had happened and giving him the number she had called.
And once that’s done even a long shower—hot and cold—doesn’t chase away the nausea in my stomach. Or the pounding headache. Or my shaking hands.
That only happens as I lie down beside Goldie, kiss her sleeping cheek and hug her close.
“I’ll do my best for you,” I whisper in her ear.
She’s still sleeping, she couldn’t possibly have heard, but she moans softly anyway and burrows closer to me. So maybe she did hear. And maybe she told me it was fine, that she understands.
That’s the hope, anyway. And it’ll have to do.