Page 28 of Of Vows and Betrayal

“You got something out of this?” He’s a magician, but this seems almost impossible.

He nods. “Yep.”

I raise an eyebrow when he doesn’t move or do anything. “Are you waiting for a magic word or something?”

The corner of his pierced lip quirks up—a rare, almost imperceptible smile that says more than words ever could.

“There aren’t that many boats coming this way, and in the next few months, only four are from unusual companies. Out of the four, only two are offshore companies, and only one was extremely hard to trace back to the Gambino family.”

“Hard but not impossible.”

“For me? No.”

He’s not even cocky, it’s just a fact. There’s nothing Derek can’t hack into. His first offense was hacking into NASA at age eleven, just to show he could.

“And?”

“We used our Bahamas shell company to buy shares in the freighter and the port conditioning company.”

“Impressive.”

He snorts. “Hardly, I could do that in my sleep. So now we can send the conditioning and port authorities to the shipwhenever we want. We can even get a signed authorization to the DEA without needing a warrant.”

“Okay, you launched it already, right?”

“No, I’m just thinking that once I press that button and give you the stuff, there’s no turning back.”

I frown. Derek is not known for his empathy—it’s not that he doesn’t have any; he has some, at least for a select few—but this is out of character.

“Worrying about Bergotti now? Is there something I need to know?”

“Bergotti deserves his downfall, but using his daughter—can you bear that burden?”

“Ah…” I nod. “Tiago got to you? What a conniving church snake.”

“No, not like that. I went to mass, and we got to talking. You know I care for her.”

I keep forgetting Derek’s peculiar faith, a miracle considering his scarred past—the cigarette burns from his drug-addict mother, hidden beneath layers of ink, each tattoo a painful reminder of survival.

Revenge is not the only answer, I can hear Tiago say. No, it’s not, I concede, but it’s the right one.

“She’s not in danger. She doesn’t know anything.”

Derek turns to face me, his piercing gaze intense. “Is that true?” He fiddles with the titanium band on his thumb; his tell when deep in thought.

“Are you convincing me or yourself? All the info she’s given you by accident. About the consigliere’s animosity, Little Island.” He gestures to his screen. “It sped things up.”

I pace the room. Her presence is becoming a distraction,making me question my motives. I’m not an idiot—I know why I want out. Each day with her complicates things, making it harder to remember why I started this. I see the way she looks at me, the flush on her neck when our hands touch. I should play this card, but I can’t—not when I spend too long looking at her lips, distracted by her smile. Seeing that ten-cent Romeo eyeing her irritates me more than it should.

I need out because soon, I’ll cross that line, and there’s no going back—unless I take her with me.

I sigh. “Just press the button, Derek.”

He looks at me for a few seconds, then turns to his screen. He types, throws me one last look, and when I nod, he presses enter.

I know it’s impossible, but the air around us seems to thicken, charged with the impending chaos Derek has just set into motion. How long will it take Bergotti to understand that he lost three companies in this hostile takeover? How long will it take to reach the Gambino’s head and for him to figure out that he’s lost a few strategic businesses and come for Bergotti?

A lead weight settles in my gut at the thought of Ophelia being in the house when the havoc erupts, a cold dread that refuses to fade.

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