Page 235 of Rosetti Family New York
"She was tough, you know?" Sloane wraps her hands around the mug. "Way tougher than me. She made me feel normal. Like I wasn't weird or broken or this sad, messed-up kid. Like it was us against the world."
I can see the sadness. I can see it digging in.
"And now?"
"And now I don't even know." She bites her lip, that teasing, wicked mouth going serious. Going hard. "Everyone thinks she was just a dumb girl who got herself killed, got mixed up in something bigger than she could handle. And, well, with Ethan and the Red Hooks… maybe she was."
"You don't believe that," I say.
It's not a question.
"I just think maybe, maybe if I was a better friend, if I'd spent less time studying and more time with her, she would have toldme about her boyfriend and all the shit she was getting into and I could have helped her get out, warned her, kept her safe, and maybe she never would have…"
Her phone rings, the sound cutting through the room like a gunshot. She jumps, her hand automatically reaching for it like a reflex. I catch the caller ID before she can grab it: Lucas.
She stares at it, something conflicted passing across her face. She turns the ringer off and slips it back into her pocket.
The silence rings louder than the call did.
"Not going to answer?" I ask carefully.
She shakes her head. "Not now. It's late."
Something in her tone makes me push a little harder. "Everything okay with him?"
Sloane's brow furrows. "Yeah, it's just... Lucas has been calling a lot. Like, all the time. At first, I thought it was just him being worried about me getting involved in all this, but..."
"But?" I prompt, watching her face closely.
"I don't know. He's been acting weird lately." She stares into the fire, the flames casting shadows across her face. "Ever since I told him I was looking into the Callahans, he's been... different. Jumpy. Almost scared."
I feel a twinge of concern, more for her sake than anything else.
"Scared how?" I ask, keeping my voice casual.
"It's hard to explain. He keeps asking me who I'm talking to, what I know." She glances at me. "At first, I thought he was just being protective, you know? After losing Maddy. But sometimes it feels like... like he's checking up on me."
"Grief does strange things to people," I offer. "He probably just doesn't want to lose you too."
"Maybe." She shrugs, but I can see the uncertainty in her eyes. "Probably just being paranoid. Lucas loved Maddy more than anyone. If anyone wants justice for her, it's him."
We sit in silence for a while, watching the fire dancing, listening to the crackle of the timber.
"It seems like the Rosettis and Callahans have quite a history," Maddy says.
"You could say that. My grandfather came over in '47," I say, watching the flames dance. "Started with numbers rackets in Little Italy, then protection in the meat-packing district. The Callahans were already established in Hell's Kitchen. Irish mob with connections to the old country."
Sloane listens intently as I continue.
"The war started in '78. The Callahans executed my father's older brother over a disputed gambling territory. Three weeks of bloodshed followed. Twenty-seven dead across both families. Finally, a truce was negotiated by the Commission—the old Italian families who still controlled most of the city back then."
I flex my bare fingers in the firelight. "My father became head of the family in '95. He modernized everything. Legitimate businesses, political connections, international trade. Made it harder for the feds to touch us. The Callahans adapted too, but there's always been bad blood. This fighting ring partnership was the first real collaboration in decades."
Her phone buzzes again – a text this time. She pulls it out, reads it, then frowns.
"Everything okay?" I ask.
"It's Lucas again," she says, confusion evident in her voice. "He wants to know exactly what Ethan told me. Says it's urgent."
