Page 102 of Under Pressure

Stroup lowered his voice. “He’s a nuisance. The most effective fixer The Mafia’s had since Al Capone was El Capo, and he’s wanted for murder.” He stepped closer to Blue. “I want him and I’ll get him.”

“Who did he kill?” A lump formed in her throat—maybe her worst nightmare wasn’t over yet. Sean squeezed her hand.

“An informant of mine from before you two turned state’s witness,” Stroup said.

Blue sucked in a gasp. “What was his name?”

“Tommaso Pesci,” Stroup said.

With that name, a name she hadn’t heard in nearly fifteen years, the world began to slant, give way. Her knees went weak, and a low buzzing sound filled her ears. Sean held her up.

“What’s wrong,” Sean whispered in her ear. “Tell me.”

Stroup turned his beady eyes on Dad for just a moment, then faced his men. “All right, Shaw, Riggs, Danver, and Kline. Chase this lead down. I want a bolo on a black Ferrari within the hour, and check the video cameras on our cars to see if they caught a plate. Have all the borders closed, and put his name and face on the do-not-fly list.”

Blue lurched forward and grabbed his arm. “No stop! Dom didn’t kill Tommaso.”

Every person in the room turned their gaze on her.

“I did,” she whispered. It felt so strange to say it out loud. She never had before. And somehow, keeping it in had made it feel less real. Less real than when it happened than now fifteen years later.

This time, Dad was at her back. “Blue, don’t.”

Stroup held up a staying hand to Dad, but never took his eyes off her. “Talk.”

She swallowed over the lump in her throat, once and then again. “Tommaso worked for Vito Barbieri, an underboss to Capo Salvatore Amato. Vito was Sal’s right-hand man.”

“I thought your dad was Sal’s right-hand man?”

Blue shook her head.

“I was his consigliere, like an advisor,” Dad said. “Consigliere are often mistaken for the second in command, but they’re usually only third or fourth down the line of power. Powerful, but not right-hand man.”

“Continue,” Stroup said.

Blue glanced at Dad, and he nodded for her to continue. “When I was fifteen, Vito petitioned Amato for my hand in marriage.”

“He’s twenty years older than her,” Dad said, and Sean’s free hand fisted. She couldn’t look at him. Dad continued, “He was violent and cruel and beloved by Sal—he was the son Sal never had and the next in line to take over The Outfit. By the timehe asked for Blue’s hand in marriage, he’d already been married twice. His first wife died under suspicious circumstances. His second wife just disappeared. I couldn’t say no to Amato, so I started making plans to take my children and leave.”

“And that’s when you turned state’s witness?” Stroup asked.

Blue shook her head. “No, there was three years to my eighteenth birthday, and they wouldn’t force me to marry him until then, but then Dom and I made friends with this boy who used to work at the fairgrounds. Ian.” Ian’s face, sweet and innocent, smiling at her and Dom as they shared pizza popped into her mind. “He was like an older brother to us. We met him at the Ferris wheel every night during the summer at six p.m. We’d go on the rides, then have dinner.”

“When do we get to the part where you killed Tommaso?” Stroup asked.

His sharp response hit her like a fist and she almost stepped back, but her gaze darted around. Everyone in the room, from Sean’s friends and Don to Jonah’s men to the Marshalls were riveted by her confession.

“Vito found out about Ian and—” Blue choked on the words.

“What did he do, Blue?” Sean’s voice cut through the room with razor-like clarity. “Tell me.”

She didn’t want to tell him. She didn’t want to tell anyone. It was bad enough she’d had to live it, she certainly never wanted to relive it.

Dad scrubbed a hand down his face. “For a boy to become a full-fledged member of the mafia, he has to become a Made Man. And to be a Made Man, you have to kill. These rituals start when they’re young before boys have truly learned to think for themselves.”

“At what age?” Liam asked, arms folded over his chest, jaw tense. His older brother stood just behind him in much the same posture.

All of the SEALs were tense, especially Sean. She’d yet to look at him, but she could feel the tightness in his body next to her.

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