Page 27 of Sinner's Vows

Suddenly, I don’t want to know. Not in this world where we hail from—and I’m the one trained to have the stomach for our cruelest depravity.

“How the hell are we going to find her, Nicky?”

Matteo’s voice is a guttural plead, and when I meet his gaze as I hand him his drink, he’s distraught.

“Mom’s gone,” he continues. “The Don is fucking dead. So is Franco Fiore?—”

“The retired capos will know something,” I say as I sit again. “And we have Ariana Morelli. Maybe she’s the real deal.”

Matteo smirks as he wipes his face and drops back in his seat. “And when last was something so fucking easy?”

Never.

“We don’t have time to lose, Matty. She could be anywhere, subjected to—” It’s time to be frank with him and tell him what I know. “Ariana has Randazzo’s seal tattooed on her stomach. She has scarification on her lower belly?—”

“What the fuck?” he growls.

“It was Franco’s handiwork, but who are we going to kill for doing that to her? Franco and Randazzo are both dead.”

“I should have fucking listened to what he wanted to say.”

“No regrets, Matteo. It’s done. It needed to be done.” My brother is gutted, but I stand and walk over to meet him halfway. “Any one of us would have done exactly the same. In fact, if I could kill him again for all of us, I would.” I squeeze him by the shoulder. “We have resources and the means to figure this out. It’s just going to be a matter of time.”

“Which we don’t have.”

“So let’s stop fucking around. How do you want to do this?’

“Pull in Luca and Benedict. Stephano is out for the count.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “Gigi needs to see Don Trapani and make sure he’s safe. Steph will fly out with them to Italy as soon as Carla can travel.”

Fair enough. “Okay. I’ll have to ask Gigi a few questions before they go, though. She might know something, if unwittingly. Vincenzo is still around for what he’s worth, and with his connection with Franco, he might know something if I ask the right questions.”

“Sure, but then he’s done.”

Yep. Matteo doesn’t need to remind me Vincenzo’s days are numbered.

“I’ll need help going through the Don’s paperwork. If there is any trail of what happened all those years ago, it will be here. At least we now have something to look for rather than going through endless papers, having to decide if they’re keepers or tossers.”

“Rosalia can help. Portia might know something, too.”

Great. To think Rosalia and her mom could be into some of the family secrets and never squeaked a word. We’re going to have to pull everybody who worked for the Don at that time into this investigation. Somewhere, someone must know something.

“I’ll get the DNA results and start asking questions.”

“Focus on Ariana Morelli,” Matteo says. “She isn’t a coincidence. Franco didn’t drag her all the way here for nothing.”

I drop my gaze. “She hasn’t been very talkative.”

“I’m not surprised. If she’s one of Randazzo’s girls—” A shudder runs through his body. “Truth be told, it’s a miracle we have one of his women in our care. I bet none of them make it out alive. Who knows what she’s been through.”

But we both know. Sex trafficking. Forced prostitution. Chemical submission until she can’t resist anymore and does whatever someone asks just for a hit. Except for the tattoo and those tally marks on her skin which appeared to be new, I haven’t noticed any track marks of injection scars to hint she’s an addict.

“I’m not wringing information out of her, Matteo.” Fuck knows, that’s the one line I haven’t crossed in my life. I don’t care who she is or what she’s done. I don’t need to torture a woman for information. I’d rather end her and myself before I go there. The next words could cost me, since Matteo is now the Don and I’m his to command, but I don’t care. “I refuse.”

Matteo draws his chin back as if he’s offended. “I never suggested you torture her like one of those Bratva wannabes we’ve locked in the basement.”

“Thanks for that fucking reminder,” I huff out. Another issue I still have to deal with.

“There are other ways to make a woman talk,” he fills in.

---