Chapter Fourteen
Lilianna Genovese
Matteo sat on the driver’s side of the old beat-up BMW with blacked-out windows, glancing around the street that we’d been scoping out for the past two hours in near silence. This was familiar. This was something I’d grown accustomed to in my years as a PI. Sitting in a car and staring at people’s houses and businesses were my specialty, and I found myself keenly focused on my surroundings.
Matteo seemed just as intent as he continued checking the rearview mirrors.
My eyes caught on the same man who had strolled down the sidewalk three separate times in the past twenty minutes. He glanced around, eyes sweeping over all the cars in our vicinity. He couldn’t see us inside—not with the blacked-out windows—so his eyes veered right over us as he continued forward.
His lips moved as if he spoke to someone, and I squinted to make out a small bud in his ear.
“It looks like they have a lookout,” I mentioned, pointing discreetly to a man. “He’s gone by two other times, and he’s looking for something.”
“On the rooftop behind us,” Matteo gestured.
I ducked in my seat and peeked behind us. The top of someone’s head peeked over the roof’s ledge.
“They’re going to be here.”
I didn’t know why I spoke the words out loud. We knew they’d be here. It was a routine for them, but a part of me hadn’t believed it entirely. It felt impossible to believe that we were this close to getting the justice that we were owed.
Matteo reached into the backseat of the car and grabbed a long rifle with a scope. I eyed it warily as he began checking over the weapon and situating it in his grasp. This was why we were here. Matteo had made it clear to the Russian boss what would happen if he continued pursuing me, and he had continued. He didn’t care.
He deserved this.
Yet somehow, this didn’t feel right.
“You’re just going to… kill him?” I asked.
“That’s the plan.”
He said it so nonchalantly, like this was everyday business for him. Hell, it likely was.
I had had plenty of time to consider how today would go. I knew that Matteo would want to end it, and a part of me wanted that, too. I wanted to guarantee my son’s and my safety, but there was so much more to it. I still didn’t have my brother or father’s bodies, and these were likely the only people who could tell me where to find them. I needed to lay them to rest.
My eyes flashed to two people striding down the sidewalk and toward the tech shop doors, the smaller one carrying an empty bag as usual.
“There,” I whispered, pointing.
Vlad walked with a confidence that had me gritting my teeth, and Aelita strode coolly at his side. They walked as if they had no reason to be concerned. As if they hadn’t made two dangerous enemies in the past weeks.
Matteo leveled the rifle, training it on the figures on the sidewalk.
I watched as a young girl ran by them and flung herself into the arms of a caretaker a few feet away. Matteo still adjusted the scope of his gun, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the innocent people all around. The ones who would be permanently scarred by watching a stranger die.
Nobody here deserved to see this. Especially not a little girl who wasn’t much older than Callum. How hard had I worked to keep Callum away from the carnage of the mafia life? Why would I let someone else’s child endure this?
Nobody should be taking part in this war. It was ridiculous to kill one another so openly like this. I didn’t want to be a part of this, but it felt unavoidable. How could I let someone like Vlad and Aelita get away with killing my family?
I couldn’t help but be torn. I didn’t want blood on my hands, but it was necessary.
My mind raced over all the reasons we shouldn’t do this. My family’s bodies. The innocents standing around cluelessly.
But there was another reason.
It had been my fault that Jeremy had been killed. Aelita’s brother and Vlad’s son had been killed because of my choices. I might not have pulled the trigger, but I could have stopped this. If I went through with this right now—if I didn’t give them a chance to talk—they would never get closure. It wasn’t fair. Every part of this life was unfair, but I knew Aelita’s pain. I knew how it felt to lose a brother.
I’d never forgive her for pulling the trigger on my brother, and I wanted to see her suffer. I wanted that so damn badly, but I couldn’t do it here. Not like this. Not when she wouldn’t even know it was us behind the gun.
“Stop,” I told Matteo.
He pulled his head back slightly and looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “If I don’t do it now, they’re going to make it inside.”
“Just wait,” I demanded again.
“We might not get another clear shot,” he argued.
“I know.”
Matteo surprised me by straightening and unloading the rifle. He turned to face me fully. “We’re here to end this, Lili. If you’re getting cold feet—”
“It’s not cold feet,” I assured him as they walked into the shop together, the door closing behind them. “There are children. We can’t do it in front of them. Not in front of all these innocent people.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m not going to let them leave here, Lilianna. Not when your safety is on the line. Not for the sake of a few people.”
“I don’t have my family’s bodies yet, and they’ll know where I can find them.”
“I don’t care! ” Matteo’s voice boomed out as he ground his teeth. “I don’t care that people will see. I don’t care about their bodies. They are gone, and we won’t get them back. But we can avenge them, and this is how we do that.”
“Matteo—”
“You’re only here to get revenge. You’ve told me that time and time again. You’re going to leave after you get the revenge you’re owed. You’ve been abundantly clear about that. I’m going to get that revenge today.”
“I need to talk to them first,” I finally shouted back.
Matteo’s mouth fell open. “Why the fuck would you need to talk to them?”
I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. “They’re only coming after me because I indirectly caused Jeremy’s death. I’m the reason they lost their loved one, and I owe them an explanation for that.”
“They killed your family.”
“And I want them to pay for that, but not before they understand. This isn’t as black and white as it seems. I caused them pain, too. I’m not blind to that.”
“Your soft heart is going to get you killed,” Matteo growled, shaking his head in disappointment. “You care too much about the innocent people here. You care about the people who killed your family. I thought you wanted them dead?”
“I do!”
“Then show me that. Let me kill them.”
I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. “We have them in our sights, and we can follow them. It doesn’t feel right to kill them like this when they’re not expecting it.”
“That’s how they killed your brother and father.”
The words stung, and I knew I should agree with him. An eye for an eye was the primary motto of the mafia. They’d killed my family, so I deserved to kill theirs. I knew that.
But it wasn’t so simple. The black-and-white way of thinking wasn’t right. I didn’t know how to put it into words. I wanted them dead. I wanted them to know I was responsible, and their actions had been the reason for this.
“We will kill them. We will. But I’m not like them. If I’m going to take a life, it’s going to mean something. They’re going to know it was us who did it. I need them to know that they’re dying because of what they did to my family. And before they die, I need them to know that I hadn’t meant for Jeremy to die. They deserve to know that his death was never intentional.” I shook my head and tucked my knees into my chest as I leaned back. “I’m not like them, Matteo. I’m not like you. Killing has to mean something.”
Matteo’s expression was cold. Unreadable. His eyes flashed with no sign of emotion as he moved his rifle from his lap and put it in the backseat again. Once it had been tucked away, he looked at me.
“You understand that we may not have the opportunity to be face-to-face with them, right? We may never get that closure that you want.”
“We have to try,” I insisted.
“Then what do you propose we do?”
* * *
This was my element. This was what I’d spent years doing.
We tailed the Petrov’s car at a distance, careful to keep them from noticing our presence behind them. Matteo seemed to know precisely what to do as we watched them weave in and out of traffic. We reached the part of the city where Marcus had lost them, and I kept an eye on the direction of their car, making sure that we didn’t lose them.
We could get the information we needed if we managed to keep on their tail. Maybe we’d find more places that they frequented. We’d learn where else to hit them before we killed them.
It was a solid plan.
“They’re stopping at the Mediterranean market,” I said with furrowed brows as their driver stopped and allowed them to exit the car before driving away. “Let me out.”
“They know what you look like,” Matteo argued.
I looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Can you trust that I know what I’m doing?”
Matteo stopped the car. “You have your gun?” I nodded. “Loaded?”
I opened my door and took the tie from my hair, allowing the short strands to hang around my face. “It’s loaded. Park across the street. I’ll be back soon.”
Matteo’s jaw ticked as he fought the urge to come with me. But if they left prematurely, we’d need someone to drive away quickly. We couldn’t risk losing them.
I moved down the crowded sidewalk, pulling my phone from my back pocket and looking down at the screen the way most people did while walking. Out of the corner of my eye, I tracked where Vlad and Aelita were, following a short distance behind them. They spoke quietly enough that I couldn’t hear anything on the loud New York streets. The sound of car engines and honking was too dominant here.
I passed by a small street vendor and grabbed a hat, tossing a twenty on the counter. The hat with NY stitched onto the front made me look enough like a tourist that I followed Aelita and Vlad into the store without issue.
They went left, and I went right, walking quickly enough down an aisle that I beat them to the other side of the store. I pretended to scan the coolers in front of me, and as they approached, I ducked into the refrigerator and grabbed the first box I saw.
They passed me without a second glance.
I peeked at them under the brim of the hat and watched as they walked down a snack aisle. I moved down the parallel aisle.
“—on time,” Vlad said angrily. “He’ll be punished accordingly.”
I leaned into the aisle as they stopped. “This is the third time,” Aelita commented.
Vlad huffed a few words in Russian that sounded like they were meant to be derogatory. “If he isn’t on post when we drive by, I’ll have his balls hanging on my wall. We don’t need to be making stops at a time like this.”
“He said he’d be at the top of the Trenton Event Center by now.” Aelita’s voice sounded both impatient and exhausted by whatever she discussed with her father. “The rest of the guys are in position. Even if he isn’t at his post, we’ll be safe enough.”
“If we get attacked…” he finished his phrase in Russian as a bag crumpled in one of their hands. They moved down the aisle, and I backtracked, going the long way to prevent being seen. I watched them as they stood in line at the register.
I moved nonchalantly through the aisles and made my way to the exit. When I was out of view, I sprinted toward where Matteo had parked and slid into the passenger’s seat just in time for them to return. They stood outside the market for just a moment, Aelita holding a bag of chips as their driver pulled to the curb.
“What did you learn?” he asked.
I shook my head and tossed my hat into the back seat. Nothing. They hadn’t spoken about anything of significance. “Something about the Trenton Event Center, but I didn’t get more than the name of the place.”
He made a sound of acknowledgment as he pulled onto the street and continued tailing them.
I didn’t expect him to speak again, so when he did, it jarred me. “You would make a good Don.”
My brows shot up my forehead in surprise. “Why do you say that? I thought I had too soft a heart.”
He glanced in the rearview and both side mirrors before taking a turn. “You do. But your outlook is different. Refreshing. We need someone like you. Someone who cares.”
“You care,” I reminded him hesitantly. Maybe he didn’t care about his enemies, but Matteo wasn’t heartless. “About some things, at least.”
“I would have shot them both in cold blood back there and never thought twice about it. I wouldn’t have cared that the little girl would have watched a grown man’s head explode. It wouldn’t have mattered whether they knew I pulled the trigger or not. I’m desensitized to the carnage, but you… It means something to you, and that’s what we need.” He nodded to himself. “A fresh perspective is what we need.”
“Maybe, but the issue remains. I can’t guarantee Callum’s safety here. Especially not once I make more enemies.”
Matteo glanced over at me. “Because of your blood, he won’t be safe anywhere you go. Not for long. At least as Don, you’ll have the resources to make him safe.”
The words struck a chord, but before I could consider them further, a car behind us caught my attention. I gnawed on my lower lip as it grew closer. Was it the same car that had been parked behind us at the market?
“Matteo, that car…”
“We’ve been made,” Matteo agreed. His posture straightened as he looked around the car rapidly, veering to the left and breaking away from Petrov’s car.
The car I stared at in our rearview gunned the engine and charged toward us. In a matter of seconds, I felt the impact of a car crashing into ours.