Chapter 9
My heart pounds in my chest as I stride down the bustling Miracle Mile. I can't shake the feeling of being watched. I glance over my shoulder, scanning the crowd for any sign of Luca or his men.
I take in the smells of exhaust fumes, fresh coffee, and damp asphalt. It feels good to breathe the air outside the Starlight Suite's suffocating walls.
A flash of movement catches my eye, and I quicken my pace, weaving through the crowds of people. I can't let Luca find me, not when I'm so close to making contact.
I've got to keep moving forward.
I slip into a women's boutique—an FBI front. I'd almost forgotten about this place, as I've only been here once, during my first few days in Chicago after arriving from Quantico with Bill.
I make my way to the dressing room, and my fingers tremble as I enter the code to access the hidden area.
It's smaller than I remember and full of boxes, a laptop, radios, and shelves of files.
Two men sit at a small table. They stare at me with a mixture of surprise and relief.
"Agent Bennett," one stands up, offering his hand. "I'm Agent Harris; this is Agent Russell. We've been expecting you."
He gestures for me to sit, and I take a seat across from them. I recognize their names from Bill, but I'd never met them until now. That's how things work undercover—you only meet in person if absolutely necessary.
“We know about Bill. We know you're with the Bonventis now,” Agent Harris says.
Anger flares in my chest. "You've been watching me this whole time?"
Agent Harris nods. "We've been trying to find a way to communicate with you, but it's been complicated."
"Complicated?" I say in a firm tone. "I feel like I've been fucking left on my own."
Agent Harris and Russell exchange glances, weighing their next words carefully. Agent Russell speaks up, his voice firm.
"We understand this has been incredibly difficult for you, Agent Bennett. Being so fresh in the field and, well, losing Bill. It's a devastating blow to all of us. But it's important to remember that he would want you to stay focused on the mission."
"Stay strong? Focused? He's dead, and I'm stuck here with what feels like no support, with the fucking mafia!”
Their expressions harden, and Agent Harris leans forward, his eyes locked on mine. "We've been working behind the scenes. We know it's not easy, but you have to keep going. You have a job to do, and Bill would want you to finish it."
"I just... Shit, I don't know. I feel in over my head. Like I can't do this alone. I need help."
God, I wish Bill was alive.
Russell leans forward. “We need everything you've learned. The Bonventis, Russians, the Irish—what's going on?"
I spill it all—how I’m Luca's mistress, the alliance that went south between the Irish and Russians, the impending war, anything I can think of. Well, almost anything.
The agents exchange worried glances.
"Wait... wait, so the hit at the party. You know it was the Russians?" Agent Harris asks.
"Yeah. I was in the fucking room when it happened. Gabriel saved me and took me away."
Agent Russell leans back in his chair. "Shit, this is going to be a huge fucking mess. We'll have bodies littering the streets of Chicago soon."
Russell leans forward and scribbles something down on a yellow pad of paper in front of him. I try to read it, but I'm sure even he will have issues reading it later.
Without looking up from his yellow pad, he asks me, “So Gabriel. He was there?"
I sit up straight at the mention of his name.
"Uh, yes, yes. Bill got me in the room, and when the shooting started, I dropped to the ground. Gabriel killed the Russian hitmen and then took me."
"Okay, and have you seen him since?" Agent Russell asks.
"Only briefly."
"He's been busy," Agent Harris says with a smile.
"What do you mean?" I ask without hesitation.
"Found a bunch of dead Russians in an abandoned warehouse outside the city. Looks like his handiwork. Of course, nothing to go on, but you know."
His words catch me off guard, and I'm not sure why. Gabriel is a hitman; that's exactly the kind of monstrous stuff he does, but it feels different reading about it in FBI files versus now, since interacting with him.
"Look, Anna," Harris starts, his voice calm yet stern.
"We understand that this is a difficult situation for you, but you're in a unique position to gather valuable intel on the Bonventis.
You've already proven yourself a capable asset, and quite frankly, we can't afford to abandon this operation now. "
I nod. “I understand.”
"Good," Agent Harris says, his expression serious.
"And look, we can't provide you with any type of secure communication device because the Bonventis are paranoid about being watched, so they don't take any unnecessary risks.
If Luca, Gabriel, or anyone else finds a phone or something they feel is tampered with, you won't make it out of this. "
"What Agent Harris is implying is that if you need to speak with us, you'll have to initiate it.
Coming here, another safe house. We are in the process of putting an informant down the street from the Capstone in a coffee shop; he should be in place in a few days.
You're in the big leagues now. Just rely on your training. "
Theory and what actually happens out in the field are two completely different things, and these two middle-aged men know that. Just standard morale boosts that don't amount to shit.
I nod because what else is there left for me to do? I can't back out. I can't leave. "I understand. I'll be careful."
"One more thing," Agent Russell adds. "Keep an eye on Gabriel.
He's a valuable asset to the Bonventis, but hitmen tend to take the fall for things well before a captain like Luca would—and they are a wealth of intel if you can get them to flip.
So, get close to him, find out anything that might be useful to us. "
Gabriel. The mention of his name again, and I start to feel a bit warm. He's dangerous, there's no denying that, but there's something else about him, something that draws me in.
Despite my better judgment, he almost makes me feel like the closest thing to comfort since Bill died, but that’s just a false belief, right?
"I will," I say, trying to sound confident and shake off any other emotion.
"Look, and I don't mean to be out of line here, but use your looks, charm, and, you know, things to your advantage," Agent Harris says, and his eyes drop to focus on my chest.
Fucking prick.
"I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done," I reply, looking away, not allowing myself to show frustration. “I should probably get back.”
The men nod and stand. “Remember, in a few days, the coffee shop down the street from the hotel. Our informant will know you. When you order a coffee, he'll sprinkle a dash of cinnamon on the lid. You'll then know you can speak with him, give him a message, anything," Agent Russell says to me.
I leave the room, grab a dress to satisfy any questions from Luca, and make my way back to the hotel.
When I arrive, one of Luca's guards escorts me up to the Starlight. As we pass through the lobby, I find myself searching for someone, but he's nowhere to be found.
Luca is sitting behind a desk when I enter. He looks up and smiles.
"Ah, Sofia. I was starting to worry about you. Find what you were looking for?"
"Yes," I say, holding up the bag. "Got something special just for you."
As I settle in, one of Luca's guards whispers something to him, causing Luca to stand abruptly.
"Sofia, darling, I must leave. Business. But I'll be back in a few hours' time." He pauses. "Oh, my key card."
I pull it from my bag. "Here."
He nods and leaves without another word.
Something must be going on.
An hour later, a note slides under my door. I run over to grab it, hoping it's something from the FBI.
But no, it's from Luca: "Had to take care of some things. Pick you up tomorrow at 6 pm. Wear your new dress."
I walk to the window and look down at the city below. Somewhere out there, the Russians and Irish are plotting. Somewhere out there, Gabriel is probably killing someone else.
Gabriel.
The thought of him makes my skin tingle. I remember the way his fingers felt on my skin at La Sfera Nera, how his eyes seemed to see right through me. Even now, I can feel the heat of his body when he stood close.
The sound of sirens in the distance pulls me from my thoughts. Red and blue lights flash across the buildings below.
After dinner, I change and crawl into bed, but sleep won't come. My mind races with everything I learned today. The FBI wants me to get close to Gabriel, to try to turn him. But how can I when every time I'm near him, I feel like I'm the one being turned? Like I'm the one in danger of falling?
With Luca, everything is clear. He's a monster wearing an expensive suit. But Gabriel, he's different. The way he looks at me, touches me, speaks to me, it not only makes me forget who he is and what he does—but who I am.
What kind of person does that make me?
I close my eyes, but all I see is his face, and I wonder if I'm in more danger from him than anything else.
Because with Gabriel, I might not just lose my life—I might lose my soul.