Page 167 of Matteo
Simón tried to kick himself off the hook but failed.
In the next moment, Matteo lunged, smashing his fist into the man’s face and the sound of crunched bones and a howl filled the basement.
“Tell me who you’re working with,” Matteo snarled. “Names. Your connections. Everything.”
“I’m not telling you shit.” The man tried to appear strong, but I knew that would soon change.
I smiled cruelly and dragged the knife across his chest, cutting him open. The next cut I inflicted was on his arm. Matteo smashed his fists into his sides, over and over again.
It took five minutes for the bastard’s screaming pleas to start.
“Let’s try again, shall we?” I said matter-of-factly. “Who are you working with?”
“I… don’t have a list of names,” he cried. “It protects and ensures that the cause goes on.”
“Organ trafficking,” I hissed. “You call that a cause?”
“And the FBI?” Matteo asked.
Luciano had filled me in on the potential undercover agent who worked the case and we knew his name. We think. Unfortunately, Aurora Nikolaev and her contacts haven’t been able to share any details. The case was classified as top secret and we had yet to identify a contact that had proper classification to be able to access the files on it.
“Wh-what d-does the FBI have to do with anything?”
Matteo and I shared a look before I reached into my pocket for the sketch Arianna shared. It was the man she claimed helped her and Gianna escape. Agent Lloyd. The very same agent that constantly crossed paths with Matteo.
I shoved it into our prisoner’s face who was heaving as he stared down at us.
“Who’s this?” Blood, sweat, and tears smeared all over his face, he blinked harshly. “I hate repeating myself. Who. The. Fuck. Is. This?”
“O-one of the men,” he cried. “He works for the organization.”
“What’s his name?”
“R-Ryker,” Simón sputtered before his eyes widened. “H-he works for the FBI? No… no… It couldn’t… be.”
But something in his eyes told me he just realized that indeed it was, but it was too late. Matteo clocked him with the handle of his gun, knocking him out cold.
“Why does it feel this organization is much bigger than we realize?” Matteo grumbled, facing me.
“If it’s on the FBI’s radar and they have undercover agents working it, it must be,” I admitted reluctantly.
It would be on our children to end it. Just as my friends and I’d ended it two decades ago.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
ARIANNA
Weeks had passed since we returned from the island, and life would never be the same.
It was a given considering the witch hunt that was about to happen hit the families who had once worked so hard to eliminate human trafficking. They wouldn’t only fight our families, but those of the Omertà, Kingpins of the Syndicate, Yakuza, and Billionaire Kings. Now, we would all be targeted for our organs, and something told me the years to come would be hard.
For everyone.
Since we were back in the States, Matteo, being Matteo, refused to stay with his parents. Considering the tension that still lingered between my dad and my husband, staying with my parents was out of the question too. Matteo was still working on smoothing things over with Dad, who wasn’t as forgiving with him as he was with me and my sisters.
The penthouse in New York City was our first choice, but my parents complained that it showed favoritism to my new in-laws.
So, my dear husband found a solution that worked for all. A large estate between New York and Baltimore.
