Page 96 of Thorns of Silence
“I had some business with Ghost in Italy,” Marchetti answered vaguely.
I heard Romero’s voice as he came through the door behind me. “Are we going to stand here and bullshit all night?” he snapped. “My daughters have disappeared and you two are shooting the shit.”
“I didn’t know you were familiar with the term,” I deadpanned.
The Omertà was a lifetime commitment—to its members and its cause. One way in and one way out. It didn’t matter if there was a member we didn’t like, like Romero, you still had to listen to their shit. I was usually friendly enough, but Romero always rubbed me the wrong way.
We made our way inside, shedding our weapons by the entrance. I couldn’t help but snicker at the formalities. As if any of us would come out unscathed if shit were to go down.
The Mediterranean vibes were everywhere in the restaurant—in painted motifs of vineyards, Roman ruins and statues, and Sardinian beaches. The tinted bulletproof windows blocked the view from the outside and kept the elegance inside.
I took in the men at the table. All the usual faces were here, except for my brother. Luca DiMauro I had given up on seeing ever again. This Callahan dude might as well get re-baptized as an Italian at this rate.
“I want my daughters back,” Romero said, slamming his fist against the table.
“Are we sure they didn’t… run off?” Romero shot a death glare at an unfazed Agosti. “Just saying. I have a younger sister and she seems to disappear with her friends all the time.”
“All her friends are accounted for,” Romero snapped.
“Except for Phoenix,” I chimed in unhelpfully.
“Maybe Reina went with Amon willingly?” Illias suggested, familiar with their history.
Romero shook his head frantically. “She wouldn’t be that irresponsible. I need assistance getting my girls home.”
I snickered. “What if she doesn’t want to be saved?”
“Amon snatched my daughters. I trusted him,” he said with a dark expression. “He must be dealt with.”
“Maybe he learned Reina killed Angelo Leone,” I snapped. “Your daughters aren’t exactly innocent angels.”
Okay, not exactly how I planned to break the news, but to hell with it. That fucker Romero couldn’t be bashing Amon without getting something in return. Sometimes I wondered why I bothered to plan. Things always went to shit. It worked out best when I flew by the seat of my pants.
“That’s impossible,” Romero hissed. “They can’t even operate a gun.”
Fucking wrong. Both of his daughters were clearly capable of shooting and killing. I had the scar to prove it.
Konstantin let out a groan, giving me anAre you madlook.Probably. I looked at Marchetti, who watched the exchange with disapproving silence. He wasn’t a fool and was probably working out what was going on.
“Elaborate, Dante,” Marchetti demanded. “You cannot expect to drop a bomb like that and not raise concerns.”
Fuck, let’s hope that Isla had Marchetti wrapped around her little finger. The girls were close, and she wouldn’t let her husband hurt her best friend.
“The clips I’ve been receiving…” I started. “They revealed my father’s murderer. The footage captured Reina.”
“Do we believe it?” Callahan asked, and we all shot him wry looks. There hadn’t been a member complaining about false clippings yet.
“I don’t give a shit what the video shows,” Romero chimed in. “I want my daughters back.”
So did I. I didn’t care which one I found first, because if it were Reina, she could help me track Nix down if she wasn’t with her. If I had to leverage this video, I would. Reina would help me locate Phoenix.
My phone buzzed and I flicked a glance at it, reading the notification. My mother’s location had finally registered. She was in the Philippines.
* * *
I had a bad feeling.
I’d been on Amon’s trail—correction, Mother’s trail for weeks now, but something wasn’t clicking. Everything seemed wrong in some way—not being able to get in touch with my brother, Reina and Phoenix were out of my reach… and my gut warned Nix wasn’t with them. But I still held out hope that she snuck out to meet her sister.
