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“I don’t either, but I do want the two of you protected. Plus, the attack indicates there’s someone on the inside.”

“Shit. My father always worried about that. Can you flush them out?”

I shrugged. “I’m going to try. You’ll need to trust me. I can get you out of town safely, but you’ll need to take it from there. And if anyone from law enforcement stops you, you must maintain your new identity.”

“It sounds as if you know an awful lot about being able to disappear.”

“You learn how to survive, Carmella. This world doesn’t come with a retirement plan. And often you can’t trust anyone.”

“What about Amber and Michael?”

“Your father is perfectly capable of handling their safety. He’s done a very good job up until this point.”

She leaned in even closer. “I understand, but you have no clue who’s behind the threat. I won’t leave my sister and brother.”

“You will do as I say. I’m not fucking around with this.” I wasn’t trying to be harsh, but I also couldn’t allow her defiance to interfere. Perhaps she had no clue that the target on her back had increased significantly.

Just because of being married to a man who stood a chance of discovering and exterminating the enemy.

Whoever that was.

“And neither am I. You might be my husband and I do understand you want to take care of me, but I’m a grown woman who can make decisions for herself. If you don’t understand that, then I don’t care. I just… I won’t be railroaded into accepting yet another life.”

“We’re not going to argue about this.”

“No,” she snarked and tossed her napkin onto the table. “We’re not. I will keep a watchful eye. I will find out about whether I can stay with my friend, but my sister and brother will come with me.”

“Carmella.”

She jerked up. “I think it’s time we go home.”

CHAPTER22

Carmella

We’d argued.

We’d talked.

My new husband had refused to relent on his decision. Even though I hadn’t offered my bank account number, he’d used his power to discover it by himself. I’d woken up to one hundred thousand dollars added to my account.

I’d been incensed, calling him on the carpet for it even though he was merely attempting to keep me and Gabriel safe. I continued to try to tell myself he was doing the right thing, but the other side of me still wanted to hate him.

The dichotomy of feelings was ridiculous. I knew that, yet I was an independent woman and had no intention of allowing him to take over my life.

What continued to nag at me was how different he seemed to everything I’d learned about men in his position. Plus, he knew things no soldier in my father’s army ever had. Maybe I was trying to find something, anything wrong with him. However, I was a cautious woman if nothing else.

Now we were moving into our new house. What few things I’d brought from my home in White Plains could be fit into the trunk of a vehicle. Seeing them being placed in the small compartment reminded me how much my life had been disrupted.

I’d heard Alejandro making several additional phone calls, including checking on my father as well as Don Santorelli. While I’d seen him engage with a few of his men, hearing him being oh-so politically correct and respectful to both mafia leaders had been interesting. I’d never been allowed an up close and personal look at the business side of a crime syndicate before.

I wouldn’t say I was in awe. After all, while there were several legitimate businesses my father operated, the majority of his wealth had come from illegal arms deals. Before that, he’d been involved in the sale of drugs to very wealthy clients.

That’s almost all I’d known.

With getting into real estate and casinos as well as some import-exports, he’d had a much easier time of laundering money.

Of course my summation was based on observation and small tidbits I learned here and there. Like putting crumbs of a smashed cookie back together. I sensed Alejandro had a desire to continue shifting the Santorelli business into the modern world. Obviously, he’d had some influence with the use of texts, emails, internet banking, and the hiring and use of hackers. That much I’d gleaned as they’d discussed day-to-day business operations.

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