Page 111 of Tristano

“I’ll be fine. Just be safe.”

“Always.” I kiss her one more time before rushing out of the door.

* * *

Walking into Bastiano’s home,everyone is on edge. I’m ushered into the conference room immediately. Stepping into the room, I see Sofia holding baby Alessa in her arms, looking frightened. Matteo, Giovanni, and Lorenzo all look angry.

Bastiano is hunched over the table, and his head raises when I step inside. “Thank you for joining us.”

I nod. “Of course.”

“This morning, we received a package.” He pushes off the table and points at what he was staring at. “Look at it.”

Walking over, I grab a pair of gloves from the box that’s resting on the table. Once they are on, I turn the piece of paper toward me.

Alessa is so pretty. Especially when she’s sleeping. I wonder, will she look as peaceful when she turns blue? A life for a life. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Her lifeline will be cut short. The question is when. Just know, I’ll be watching and waiting.

“What the fuck is this?” I say under my breath.

“Her first death threat.” Lo nods.

“Women and children are off limits,” I say, shaking my head, trying to wrap my head around this.

When I got the message this morning, this wasn’t what I was expecting.

“Did you call Greer?”

“I want this kept in-house,” Bash says coolly.

I want to remind him that you can’t get much more in-house than his sister, but I bite my tongue. It’s clear he doesn’t want Killian and the Irish finding out about this. Could he really suspect them? They have been intertwined with us for so long now that it feels as if we are one entity.

“Yes, sir,” I murmur.

“Can you check it for prints or anything?” Matteo asks.

I look over at him and see him standing close to Sofia with his arms crossed. Even when at home, he stays close to her in case she needs him. Forever in bodyguard mode, just like Enzo around Greer.

Looking back down at the table, I pull the envelope closer to me and look it over. “Yeah, I can try, but I don’t know.” I shake my head. “They actually mailed it and didn’t deliver it themselves. So print-wise, if he or she left any, they will get lost with all the postal workers and whoever touched it as well. Our best bet is to try the letter itself.”

“Do whatever you need to do.” Bash nods.

“I know it’s a stupid question, but have you pissed anyone off lately?”

Bash grunts as he starts pacing the room. Getting death threats is nothing new to him, but this is the first time that one has been aimed at his family.

“No, not that I can think of.” He looks over at Giovanni.

Giovanni shakes his head. “I can’t think of anything either. Honestly, outside of the trafficking, shit’s been quiet.”

“The other families have remembered their place,” Lo says.

“I want them dead,” Sofia says, making us look her way. She stands there patting baby Alessa’s back as she sways. “I want them dead. Tonight.”

I suck in a breath. I understand her desire to have this person’s head, but honestly, I don’t know if I can deliver in that sort of time frame, and I don’t know how to tell her.

“Tesoro,” Bash says as he walks toward his wife. “It will be done as soon as possible.”

“I don’t like this Bash.” She shakes her head. “I knew that this would happen eventually, but I didn’t expect for her to still be a baby.”

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