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“Quiet? You’ve seen me every day at school? That’s when you’re not sneaking off to the library,” she whispers.

My cup pauses midair, and I turn to look at her. “I’m studying. A lot. You know, final year.”

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Studying?” She laughs. “Just so you know,I know. And I’m not telling you what to do, but be careful with that one.”

“I am,” I say. “I know what I’m doing.”

“No basket tonight, Nonno?” Enzo asks. My grandfather has made it a habit of having everyone empty their weapons into abasket before family meals. It’s not like we’re out to kill each other. Stab? Maybe, but definitely not kill.

“No,” Nonno replies while looking at me.

“Okay, tell me how school’s going?” my grandmother asks, changing the subject. “Dante?”

“It’s school. It’s almost done,” my cousin says. “But don’t worry, Nonna. I’ll be sure to graduate top of the class.”

“I don’t know. That new kid is pretty smart,” Josie tells him.

“What new kid?” Zio Romeo asks.

“Connor fucking O’Malley,” Dante groans. “He’s an ass, but what can you expect from those Irish fucks?”

“Language,” Zia Livvy scolds.

“O’Malley… Stay away from him.” This comes from Antonio, my cousin Tilly’s fiancé. He’s also the Don of one of the five families.

“I can tell my own damn family who they can and can’t mix with, Antonio,” Zio Theo says. “Dante, stay away from O’Malley. They’re up to something. And whatever it is, it isn’t good.”

“Well, really, are any of our families up to any good in this city?” I ask.

“Compared to them? Yes,” Zio Theo replies.

Right. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don’t know what Connor’s family has up their sleeves, but it can’t be that bad. And I’m certain they are no threat to us. I mean, they couldtryto be, but it won’t end well for them.

I asked Connor to meet me before school. I’ve been here for half an hour. Ever since dinner last night, I’ve been wondering whathis family is doing in New York. And what impact whatever the hell they’re doing will have on mine…

I’m literally in bed with the enemy. Okay, it’s usually a desk, or a wall, or the floor. You get the point. But I’m not stupid. If Connor is hoping to get me to let my guard down, give him some deep-rooted family secrets… well, that’s not going to happen. Ever.

I’ve never been in the school library this early. The staff isn’t even here. It’s eerie. The whole place is quiet. Besides the footsteps coming from just outside the room.

The handle twists open and Connor saunters in with a smile on his face. I lift my arm and aim my gun center mass. “Close the door,” I tell him.

He tilts his head to the side, never dropping that stupid smile, the dimple in his cheek twitching. “Is this your new version of foreplay,mo mhuirnín? I didn’t think you were bored yet,” he says, closing the door and securing the lock.

I don’t move, my hand steady. “Why are you here?”

“You called me, asked me to meet you here?” he says as he tosses his bag onto the ground.

“No, here in New York. Why did your family come here? What are they planning?”

Something flickers. His eyes darken and his face hardens. “What makes you ask that?”

“Call me curious.”

Connor steps towards me. And before I know it, he snaps the gun out of my hand and points it at my head. “Aurora, you really trying to kill me right now? Like I said, if this is just foreplay, I can be down for that.”

“I want to know why your family is here, Connor. What they are planning and how it’s going to impact mine. I should warn you, though: If your father is going up against the Italians, it’s a fight you don’t want to be involved in.”

“Why? What makes you think the Valentinos are all that, Aurora? You have no idea what the Irish are capable of,” he says. There’s a proudness in his tone I’ve never heard before. He’s barely spoken about his family and when he has, it’s never like this.