Chapter 22 #2
We moved toward the living room doorway. Inside, Alex stood with her back to us, her body rigid. Cam leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest, while Kara sat perched on the arm of the sofa.
The tension in the room was palpable, thick enough that I felt it press against my skin as we stepped inside.
Alex must have heard our footsteps because she turned, and the expression on her face made my stomach drop.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face pale except for two spots of color high on her cheekbones.
Whatever had happened, it was bad.
Alex swallowed hard. "My cousin Salvatore is dead."
The words hung in the air like smoke. I watched Ellie's body language shift instantly, her spine straightening as if bracing for impact.
"How?" Ellie asked. "What happened?"
Alex's jaw tightened. "The Scorpions happened."
I felt Ellie tense beside me. Cam pushed off from the wall, suddenly alert, while Kara leaned forward, her forearms resting on her thighs.
"Lorenzo's squad," Alex continued, her voice flat but with an undercurrent of rage that made the hair on my arms stand up. "They're hunting for the mole who betrayed the family. Got the wrong man." She shook her head. “Obviously.”
"But why?" Kara's brow furrowed in confusion. "Salvatore was one of Arturo's guys, right? Why would they even suspect him?"
Alex nodded, her eyes fixed on some middle distance. "Sal was loyal to a fault. The big dumb..." Her voice cracked, the words dissolving into silence.
I watched her throat work as she struggled to maintain composure. Her hands were perfectly still at her sides, fingers splayed slightly as if she was afraid to make a fist, afraid of what might happen if she allowed herself that small expression of the fury I could see building behind her eyes.
"My brother’s a fucking idiot. Sal never would have betrayed them," she whispered. "Never."
Alex's composure cracked as she tried to continue. "That was his wife on the phone. Sara." Her voice caught on the name. She blinked rapidly, her gaze fixed on the floor. "She found him."
A tremor ran through her hand as she raised it to her face. "They worked him over for hours before..." She swallowed hard. "They cut off his right hand. Left him to bleed out."
The room went still. I watched her shoulders rise with a deep breath.
My mind was spinning out of control, trying to fit the pieces together.
Her cousin’s wife knew she was here. Her dead cousin’s wife knew she could call here and reach Alex.
Did her brother know she was here too? What happened when he—
"And for what?" Alex continued, her voice hardened, though it wavered at the edges. "Sal never knew anything about a mole. He was just..." Her fist clenched at her side. "Lorenzo is a fucking animal. Going after family like that."
She turned away suddenly, facing the wall. "Sal was loyal. Always. And they butchered him anyway."
The muscles in her back visibly tensed beneath her shirt. I glanced at Cam, who stood motionless, her face unreadable. Ellie shifted beside me, her arm brushing mine.
Kara moved first, crossing the room with quiet steps. She placed her hand on Alex's shoulder, then slid her arm around her. "I'm so sorry," she murmured.
Alex remained rigid under Kara's touch. I could see her profile now, the tight clench of her jaw, the way she stared straight ahead as if forcing herself not to break. Her body language screamed for everyone to stay back, even as Kara held her.
"We need to focus," Alex said after a moment, her voice controlled again. She stepped away from Kara's embrace, straightening her shirt with a practiced motion. "This changes nothing."
I recognized the mask sliding back into place—professional, detached. But beneath it, I glimpsed something I hadn't seen in her before: raw, unfiltered grief transforming into something darker.
Cam shifted her weight forward, arms uncrossing. "Do we need to be concerned about—"
"No." Alex cut her off with a sharp gesture. "They all know where I am. My brothers sent me out here, where I’d be safe. That’s why they pay you, right? To protect me. Nobody suspects me." Her voice hardened with conviction. "Why would they?"
I watched the exchange, noting how the others accepted her assessment without question. The certainty in Alex's voice was absolute, but something cold settled in my stomach as I pieced together what wasn't being said.
The Scorpions were hunting a mole. They had tortured and killed Salvatore, a family member, looking for information. A loyal man who knew nothing. And now they would keep looking.
"What about your other cousins?" I asked. "Your aunts, uncles?"
Alex turned to me, her expression guarded. "What about them?"
"If they're targeting family members to find the mole..."
"They targeted Salvatore because he worked directly with my father," Alex said. Her tone was dismissive, but I caught the slight tightening around her eyes. "The others are civilians. Lorenzo wouldn't touch them."
Kara and Ellie exchanged a glance I couldn't interpret. Cam remained motionless, her face unreadable.
"Your brother ordered the hit," I said carefully. "On your cousin."
"Lorenzo follows orders," Alex replied. "My father makes the decisions."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The pieces were falling into place, forming a picture Alex refused to see. The Bellantes were methodically eliminating potential leaks, working their way through the organization. How long before they connected the dots that led to Alex?
"We stick to the plan," Alex continued, her voice steady. "Nothing changes."
She moved to the bar cart in the corner and poured herself two fingers of whiskey. The amber liquid caught the light as she raised the glass.
"To Sal," she said quietly, then drank it in one swallow.
I watched her set down the empty glass with perfect control. Her composure was flawless, but I could see her calculating. She truly believed she was untouchable, that her position in the family hierarchy protected her.
"I'm going to check the perimeter," Cam announced, breaking the silence. She slipped from the room like a shadow.
Kara followed, murmuring something about security protocols. Ellie hesitated, looking between Alex and me before following the others.
Left alone with Alex, I replayed what she'd just said. The pieces didn't fit together.
"Wait." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Your brothers sent you here?"
Alex turned from the window, her expression carefully neutral. "What?"
"You just said your brothers sent you here. That they know where you are." I took a step closer. "The same brothers who are hunting for the mole who betrayed your family. They know you're here?"
Her jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "It's complicated."
"And they're paying for this?" I gestured around us. "They're paying Kara and Ellie and Cam to protect you?"
"Sabine—"
"You're the mole." I kept my voice low, aware of how sound carried in this house. "You betrayed them. You gave me everything I needed to publish that story. And now you're telling me your family is funding your protection?"
Alex's eyes went cold. "You don't understand the situation."
"Then explain it to me."
"I don't owe you explanations." She moved toward the doorway, dismissing me with her body language. "Stay in your lane, Sabine. Your job is to stay alive, not to question how we keep you that way."
She was at the threshold when I spoke again. "They're hunting for you. The Scorpions just killed your cousin looking for the traitor, and you think you're safe because—what? Because your brothers sent you here?"
Alex stopped. For a long moment, she stood perfectly still, her back to me.
"They'll never suspect me," she said softly, without turning around. "Why would they?"
Then she was gone, her footsteps fading down the hallway.
I stood alone in the empty living room, my mind racing. Nothing about this made sense. If Alex's family knew where she was, if they were paying for her protection, then what was I missing?
The answer whispered at the edges of my thoughts, just out of reach. Whatever game Alex was playing, it was more complex than I'd understood. And far more dangerous.