Page 15 of Psychotic Faith
"The whole family's here tonight." She points discreetly, savoring the gossip. "Marco there, by the main doors. He runs everything. That's Dante beside him, the one who doesn't speak. Nobody knows why. His wife's Ana, the pregnant woman in the gold dress."
Each identification cuts into my chest. These are the people Dad loses sleep over. The people I promised to stay away from.The people who run Chicago's underworld like their personal kingdom.
"Sofia there in the cream silk. Don't let the sweet face fool you. And that's Luca." Her voice drops to a whisper. "The psycho. They say he doesn't sleep anymore. Just works in that basement of his, doing things that make grown men cry."
She's pointing at my guardian. The man with pale eyes who's been in my apartment. Who leaves me photographs like love letters written in violence.
Luca Rosetti.
The glass slips from my numb fingers, shattering on the marble. Several heads turn, but I can't move, can't breathe. The man I've been writing to, been trusting, been having inappropriate dreams about—he's Luca Rosetti. The one Dad specifically named. "If you see any of them, especially Luca, you run," he'd said. "That one doesn't have normal human limits."
Of course it's him. Who else could move through shadows like smoke? Who else could kill nine men and make them disappear completely? Who else would have a basement for "working"?
Dad says he's the worst one. The enforcer. The torturer. The one even other criminals cross the street to avoid.
He's protecting you, my mind argues weakly.
He's a Rosetti, my panic responds. He's been in my apartment. He knows where I sleep. He could—
He's ruining everything, my fury cuts through the panic. Trent Neumann is here somewhere, and now I'm trapped in the Rosetti heartland.
He kills for you.
I didn't ask him to.
But you like it.
God forgive me, I do.
My knees threaten to buckle. Luca Rosetti. I've been letting a Rosetti into my apartment. Into my dreams. Oh God, I've been wet for a man my father considers the devil incarnate.
"Father's enemy" doesn't begin to cover it. Dad calls them the cancer eating Chicago from the inside. Says Luca specifically is the worst of them, a genuine psychopath who enjoys his work too much.
And he's been in my apartment. In my bedroom. Watching me sleep.
I spot Neumann's wife near the auction tables. She's my secondary target, the one who might get me back into their social circle. I smooth my dress, paste on my librarian smile, and approach.
"Mrs.Neumann! How lovely to see you here. I volunteer with the library's program and…"
Her face goes white. "Oh, I just remembered, I need to… the ladies' room." She practically runs, designer heels clicking frantically against marble.
I don't need to look to know why. Luca's somewhere behind me, not even trying to be subtle anymore. He's systematically terrifying everyone away from me, creating a bubble of isolation in this crowded ballroom.
"Mr.Harrison," I try one of Neumann's business partners, desperation creeping into my voice, "I heard about the new psychiatric ward funding."
His eyes flick over my shoulder and he actually stumbles backward. "I… excuse me."
Three attempts. Three failures. All because of him.
The anger builds slow and hot in my chest. For years I've been patient. Studying law, of volunteering at Neumann's charities, of getting close to his circle of influence. And in one night, this Rosetti psychopath is unraveling everything.
I grab champagne from a passing server, gripping too tight so it doesn't slip from my grasp, and position myself where I can observe the whole family. Knowledge is power, and I need to understand what I'm dealing with.
Marco Rosetti commands without trying, people approaching him like supplicants to a king. Beside him, the silent one, Dante, watches everything with dark eyes that miss nothing. His pregnant wife touches his arm, and his whole demeanor softens. Even killers have people they love, apparently.
Sofia Rosetti laughs at something, the sound like crystal bells, but there's something sharp in her smile. Beautiful and dangerous, the kind of woman who could destroy you while wearing pearls.
There are two more brothers here somewhere, though I haven't picked them yet. Alessandro and Nicolò.
