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“Look, Dom. If you want us to keep playing bodyguard, you’re going to need to be honest with us. You owe us that much.”

“You want honesty? I only came because of Ero. Convenience and curiosity. Plus, now I want to make sure my nephew doesn’t die. Especially after he went to the trouble of saving my life.” The older man stares at Ero’s sleeping form. “You, on the other hand, look like you want me dead worse than any of those other mooks.”

“I haven’t made up my mind on that one yet.” A driving force wars against my will, begging me to blow his devious head out the window.

A few stops get us patched up, water and food. Ero is still unconscious but stable. I get us cleaned up and disguised enough to cross the border, hiding Ero under a blanket in the back.

The first motel we come across is a dive. A perfect hideout for the night.

Ero wakes enough to treat his wounds before he blacks out again. I’m worried about blood loss and a concussion. But I have to remain cautious.

Several hours pass in silence, Dom sitting at the small table across from me.

“You should sleep.”

“Not until we have a little conversation.” He grins, wincing slightly as he adjusts himself in the seat.

“Careful, you’ll tear your stitches.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“You deserve worse. For what you did to my family. What you took.”

“I’ve taken a lot of things from a lot of people. What makes you special?”

“That I am the last of my kind. Turning state’s evidence cost every member of my family their lives, or freedom.”

“You’re Lyra.”

“And you know what happens to Lyra in prison.”

“Tough shit. I got burned, so I burned everybody else in turn. But I didn’t single out your people. I fucked everyone equally. Just doing what I was told.”

“You tricked the Lyra council into siding with you. Set us all up.”

“So here you are. Dead set on revenge?” Dom opens his hands wide.

“I was. Now … it’s complicated.”

“So’s chess. What’s your next move, girl?”

“You tell me. Who were you working for on the outside?”

“The organization who sheltered me all those years ago when I left the Diamantes. Who gave me the resources and strategy to take it back from Alessandro. The ’Ndrangheta.”

“Who was your contact?”

“A woman. Scary bitch. Called herself Daciana Dalca.”

25

ERO

The sound of creaking pipes wakes me.

Ah. Shitty motel.

Guess we lived. I wiggle my fingers. Toes.