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“We can say we kidnapped you at stun-gun point?—”

“Stop it,” Divina cut her off. “I’m sick and tired of being the follower and playing it safe.” She glanced at me and Sloane. “Both of you are rubbing off on me.”

Sloane and I laughed again.

“Not sure the guys will be pleased with that,” I said. “Are one of you being tracked on the phone?”

Sloane tossed her phone to the back of the van. “Turn it off and take out the sim.”

And keep our fingers crossed.

The drive to Manhattan was smooth, but rife with trepidation. I noticed Sloane kept checking the side mirrors. Both of us continued to keep Divina entertained and unworried about the consequences of our actions. It was obvious that she had done nothing this wild in her life. With the few days I’d spent with her, she was the quiet and bookish one in her family. The obedient daughter.

Sloane was the opposite, but maybe that was why they were best friends. They tried to look at what was missing in the life of the other.

Although I didn’t think Sloane was wild by choice. She was opportunistic, and sharp, and maybe it was because she was dealt the bad cards in her life, shouldering the debts of her family. With a brother constantly getting in trouble with gangs,she was constantly bailing him out. Plus, she’d mentioned a relative needing senior care. At least that was what I’d gleaned from the snippets of our conversations and why she was doing this.

When the familiar Manhattan skyline came into view, tears sprung to my eyes, and a pressure sat in my chest, making it hard to breathe. The agony of how much I missed my family came roaring back along with my hatred for the Rossis. For two weeks, they held me prisoner, cut off from the people I loved. I’d never been more impatient with New York traffic, but there was something comforting about being stuck in the hustle and bustle after being trapped in a quiet country house.

I needed the city.

Finally, the van coasted onto Twelfth Avenue and we were ten minutes away. I glanced at Divina. Her head was down, staring at her turned-off phone as if willing it to come to life.

“We’re almost there,” I said.

She glanced up with unmistakable fear in her eyes. “You think Tommy will be okay? They never sent proof of life.”

I tried to find the words to tell her. It could go either way. My family was ruthless, but calculating. Killing Tommy Scavo made little sense. “They have the underboss of the Rossi crime family. They wouldn’t damage him too much without getting the information they needed.”

She dropped her head again, but a suppressed sob escaped her.

“Cut it out, Divina,” Sloane snapped. “You’re being unfair to Bianca. You’re mafia for Chrissakes.”

I really, really liked Sloane, but a crack began to appear in my excitement to see my family. The price that would come with it. Would Sandro think I betrayed him? Would that show him where my loyalty was?

I shoved him out of my mind. I would not let my guilt taint my reunion with family.

Heavy traffic met us again on the turn into Forty-Ninth Street.

“I walked by the café yesterday after it was sprayed with bullets,” Sloane said.

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“Duh, because you would’ve asked endless questions. It was crawling with hot dudes in suits and in cool military gear. Surprisingly, the cops didn’t stay very long.”

When she didn’t add more, I pressed. “And?”

“There was a gal I recognized from theManhattan Tattlerthat was being a nuisance.”

A sour taste coated my tongue. “Romero.”

“Yes, that one.”

“She has a hard-on for the New York Five Families.”

“I hate her,” Divina muttered.

“Same here.” She ambushed Sera and Matteo on their date. She left Nico and Ivy alone, probably because Ivy wasn’t mafia.