Page 2 of The Boss
Yet, he fooled my father and all the other syndicates. Which means Elio is being propped up by someone else, someone big. My best guess right now is the Irish. They are the most reclusive clan out of the four syndicates, and the smallest.
But why change the game mid-play and pin the kidnapping on us? What went wrong? If they chose Elio as their spy within our family, that was ill-advised. Because again, he’s limp pasta, and because Papa immediately exiled him for almost starting a war with the Delgados, and for daring to touch the best friend of hisprincipessawithout authorization.
I write said best friend’s name, underline, and circle it. Because, Ellie,what the hell?Initially she gave a very clear, detailed account of the attack but when I ask her directly, she claims her memory is “murky.” Murky, my ass. Her husband is in on it. Has to be.
And! She bounced back from the whole ordeal like it hardly happened. One day she’s watching her husband get tortured, the next she’s back to baking bacon maple croissants. The video made me sick for days, seeing her in that cement torture room, she should have at least gone into some intensive therapy.
Unless she knew her husband was in on it.
Unless she knew that they weren’t actually in danger of being killed in that room. That makes the most sense, deep in my gut. Which is why I underline the same conclusion I come to every time.
My best friend, oldest friend, my only confidant outsidemia famigliasince I was fifteen,
is.
lying.
to.
me.
My only comfort right now is that I still have her, so to speak. I can watch her closely, ask seemingly benign questions and dig around without her suspecting. She doesn’t know I’m onto her.
CHAPTER 2
Ellie
“Luna is onto me,” I tell Mark, watching in our bedroom mirror as he tightens his tie.
He sighs, “I promise you, sweetheart, she’s not.”
“She is!” I get up on my knees in the bed. “She just asked to come visit again.”
“Aren’t you best friends?”
“Best friends who FaceTime each other. She lives across the country! We have to go to the same events but beyond that, it’s not normal for her to visit more than once or twice a year.” He turns and stalks back to me, looking well below my eyes. I should have put a robe on over this thin nightgown. “And,” I raise my voice again as I cover myself by crossing my arms. “She keeps asking if I’m alright and if I’ve seen a therapist or had nightmares.”
He frowns, uncrossing my arms and putting his hands on my waist. “Are you still having nightmares? You wake me every time, right?”
“I hardly have any now. That’s not the point,” On that last word his eyes drop to my very hard, cold chest, pointing almost straight through the silk fabric. “Mark!”
“Hmm?” His hands start to move so I jump back on the bed, retreating all the way to the headboard, half laughing.
“Mark, focus. I want to tell her the truth now. Today, this week, this month at least. You said we’d bring her in, warn her. When?”
He sighs, defeated. “Not yet,mi amor.I’m sorry. I told you this life would be lonely and I hate this for you, but it’s not time yet.”
“Why not?” I plead.
“Because O says it’s not. We have irons in fires across the whole world. You can’t just drop this truth bomb on her and hope she keeps our secrets. We have to plan an entire operation just to bring Luna in. And we will. O gave us his word.”
I think through all the things he’s told me so far about the mysterious mentor who raised him, taught him honor, duty, and love. If O’s word is good enough for the amazing man starting to climb onto the bed in front of me, it’s good enough for me. Finally, I take a deep breath and nod.
“Good. Now come over here and make me late for work again.”
“You were late yesterday!”
“La mejor mañana de todas.” Best morning ever.
