Page 73 of The Prices We Pay
38
Luca
Josephine got through a pancake and a half and a slice of bacon before she literally started dozing off at the table. Ever the knight in shining armor, D, scooped her up and carried her to my room since all of her stuff was in there. I assumed he would come back downstairs, but I’m guessing one look at her sleepy face as it snuggled into my pillow was all of the invitation he needed.
Dante can stay up for days at a time if he needs to, but the second his giant body crawls into a comfy bed, it’s game over. Hell, he can’t make it through a movie on the couch half the time.
As much as I wanted the two of them to be part of this conversation, I don’t want to put it off any longer than we have to, and I know they’ll both be more than fine with us filling them in in the morning.
It’s not like Joe even knows what’s in the letters from her dad to help us in that regard.
Not that I blame her in the slightest for being afraid to open them. The trauma that man inflicted on her is enough to make me want to kill him, bring him back to life, and do it again for every time he laid a hand on her, her brother, and her mother. No person should have to endure such trauma, let alone a child. And that’s what Josephine was… She was a child.
I don’t remember my mother, but I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she would have done anything for me. Had I been with her the day she was taken, she would have given her life then and there to save me. And even though she’s gone, I know she’s out there, watching me, protecting me, and guiding me. In this life and the next. That’s what a parent should be. A parent shouldbe someone a child can count on to hang the stars and the moon. A parent should be their child’s protector—always. That’s what I have in my dad, and Enzo with his parents, and Sebastian with his, and Ronan, Mac, and Finn with Emma.
I would give everything I have if I could protect kids who have a life like Dante and Josephine did. To protect them from ever being hurt by the people who were supposed to love them the most. To protect them from a life full of the consequences ofotherpeople’s horrid actions.
Thankfully, Dante’s parents are long gone. His mom died six years ago from an overdose, and his dad died four months later in a house fire. Dante was neither surprised nor upset when he found out after asking Sebastian to look for them. It took Seb all of two minutes. Dante hadn’t seen or heard from them since the day he left for boot camp. Lucky them, too, because had Dante asked, I would have hunted them down myself.
John should count himself fucking lucky. Because the moment his daughter gives me the okay,there is not a corner on this earth where he can hide, and I won’t find him.
The same goes foranyonewho threatens my family.
Andrei Novikov included.
That’s whose name is currently flashing on countless windows on Sebastian’s laptop as he rests between my outstretched legs on the sectional. I want nothing more than to help him, but until he asks me what he needs to know, there’s not much I can do. I’m a whiz on a computer when it comes to spreadsheets, contracts, and emails, but beyond that, I’m basically useless. Not nearly as bad as Enzo, but useless nonetheless. So, I’ll sit here, furiously stewing about everyone who has tried to harm the people I care about most, while I comb my fingers through Sebastian’s hair.
Enzo’s sitting next to us in his usual spot in the corner, wrapped in a cocoon of pillows and blankets, chewing on the end of a pen he grabbed from the junk drawer in the kitchen. “Enz,” I groan. “You’re going to chip a fucking tooth.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he mumbles with the penstillin his mouth. Enz taps Sebastian’s foot with his hand. “Anything?”
“No. I can’t find a single connection between Andrei and Joe’s dad. We’ve got to be missing something.”
“Let’s go over what we know.” Enzo holds up his thumb and continues, “The Bratva has been stealing small dollar shipments from us from under our noses, but we don’t know why.” Sebastian and I nod, and Enzo holds up his pointer finger. “They’re threatening Josephine for finding the discrepancies.”
“Yes,” I snarl as Seb nods again.
Enzo counts another finger. “They came and took the box of letters John sent Joe right out of her apartment two days after he was mysteriously released from prison for being sentenced to life for the murder of his wife and attempted murder of his daughter.”
I can’t see Sebastian’s expression, but I’d be willing to bet that the fire in his eyes matches mine and Enzo’s.
A fourth finger. “And now Joe’s dad, who should know nothing about any of us or our past, is sending us letters at our place of work.” We nod a final time. “Something bigger had to have happened that we’re missing. The Bratva wouldn’t just jack low-level shipments from Vittori Enterprises for no reason. They’re fucking loaded, and it’s a waste of their time. Not to mention how random it is that out of all the businesses he decided to steal from, it was ours. A multibillion-dollar company that’s secretly run by a group of mercenaries who kill pieces of shit like him for hire. And then to add John Jenkins into the mix… something bigger is going on.” I stare at Enzo in awe because… he’s right. This isn’t about the things he stole. Not even a little. That’s just been a diversion. “Would you stop looking at me like that? You made me COO for a reason, Amico. I’m more than my charming good looks, remember?”
Sebastian and I laugh, but Enz is right. We have a tendency to forget how smart he is, but it isn’t because of the way he looks. It’s simply because he acts unlike any other executive I’ve ever had thedispleasure of meeting. Sure, there’s the side of him that’s a trained killer. One who can outfight just about anyone and slips in and out of any building undetected. And there’s another side of him that likes to fly by the seat of his pants. He laughs, jokes, and loves harder than anyone else I know. But he’s also the same man I went to Brown University with. The same man who has helped me run a successful Fortune 500 company. The same man who I turn to for advice when I don’t know how to help myself. And as much as he exasperates me some days, I know I couldn’t do this life without him.
I throw my best friend a wink. “I know you are, Enz.”
“I think we should go through our missions over the last year. There may be something we’re missing, and we don’t have a better place to start,” says Seb.
Enz and I share a look, and I answer, “All right. Let’s do it.”
“Well, fuck me,” Enzo whispers under his breath. The three of us have been at it for an hour. Sebastian printed off his encrypted case files for us to look at since Enz and I have the computer skills of a seven-year-old. We’ve made it through six months of jobs, and nothing has stood out… until now, apparently.
Perking up in my spot, I stare at my best friend as he flips through a few papers in his hand. “What? What is it, Enz?”
“You guys remember that warehouse raid about six months ago? The one in Brighton Beach?”
“Yeah. Local gang was dealing weapons to kids in the street. Wealthy developer in the area hired us after his son was killed by one of them,” I answer.
