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“Silver!”She drops the charade and runs up to me, grabbing both my wrists. Her irises tremble. “Don’t do this,”she whispers. “He’ll come around.”
I want to give her a comforting kiss so bad, but it’s not the time. Patrick is right. My selfishness could mean missing our window. I gently remove her hands from my wrist.
“We give Ferraro a tip that Nikolaj—one of the bratva bosses—is waiting for him at the south Jersey casino. Ferraro will be frightened for his own life, and maybe unhinged since hiswife was caught in the crossfire, so we’ll have to be delicate about it.” I start to pace, the pistons in my mind churning. “We send you there, Patrick, to keep eyes on the two most vested in the operation.”
“To what end?” He bares his teeth.
“You’ll leave a tip at the front door of the casino for Niko’s eyes only. It’ll say that Quinn will be dropped at her residence in exchange for a deal. He’ll jump at that. Especially because his boss—Yuri Patrovski—has been fuming about his unquenched revenge for some time now.”
“You’re not using her as bait—”
“Never,” I say. “I’m usingthemas bait. Ferraro will panic and call in every officer the bratva has at their disposal. The crooked ones.”
“They’ll never go for it unless you provide proof of Quinn’s whereabouts,” Patrick says.
“And we will,” I promise. “A video showing we have her and she’s locked up.”
Patrick shakes his head. “Ferraro might call it in to therealcops, not the crooked ones. Too risky.”
“You haven’t seen what we’ve seen, Dad. Uncle F is not the man you remember. I saw it in his eyes.” Quinn folds her arms. “He’ll do anything to get out of his debt. He sacrificed his own wife.”
“Then what? I don’t see how this is going to solve anything for us,” Patrick asks.
“Then, once the crooked cops are on scene searching for Quinn,Igo in, posing as an officer so I blend in with them. I’ll identify and take out every dirty cop they have stationed at your house, effectively clearing your PD force from ever sabotaging you again.”
He scoffs. “Rambo? You’ve lost it.”
“I haven’t. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
“I know you’re human, and you bleed like the rest of us.” He nods toward my face.
“We’ll get IDs on the crooked officers to make sure we have them all. Then… when Nikolaj shows up, I give myself in as a revenge trophy for some old jobs I carried out. Why would he accept? ‘Cause we just took out all his crooked PD support, so he’ll have nothing left there. I’ll explain that Quinn is off the table for Patrovski’s revenge, and I’m the best they’re going to get. Take it or leave it. If he leaves it, I signal Donny and start a war they can’t win.”
“Silver!”Tears leak out of Quinn’s eyes. Her dad notices and furrows his brow.
“I’ll tell them I’ve been acting alone, and that Donny wants my head as much as they do. But today… the bratva gets the prize.”
Chapter 25
Quinn
I cried all last night since Dad agreed to Silver’s plan. It’s as if I have no say. They still need me to shoot the video… but my leverage is waning.
My silver-haired stud intends to give himself up to the bratva, just like that. He probably thinks himself some noble hero before he goes to meet his family in heaven. Well, I’m not done with him yet.
The thought makes me feel like a selfish brat. But… I didn’t ask for any of this, and I can’t help that I don’t want this man to die.
He saved everything I love in this world, and added to it.
I walk down the stairs to the cellar, where my father is eating a chicken salad and reading the newspaper. The sight is so confusing and my mind so befuddled that I have to laugh.
“You look healthier than when you were free.” I cross my arms and lean on the bar.
He grunts like the bear that he is.
“I’ve been trying to get you to go on a dietforever. Then Arosso comes along, and now you’re Mr. Clean Eating?”
“Like he gives me a choice.”