Page 29 of A Madness of Crows

Thirty days of my daughter growing up, on top of the time I have already missed.

Thirty days of mytentazionealone and behind enemy territory.

And for it to beAsante…

Both the knowing, and the lack of it, threatens to drive me mad.

“So,” Vito says finally into the quiet. “They are allies, then.”

He’s staring thoughtfully at the plans when I look at him. “Who?”

Vito gives me an incredulous look. “Gio Fusco? Luciano Morelli? Powerful alliances, Dante.”

He doesn’t mention Domenico.

But the familiar fury lights up my veins at the mention of Luc. “I don’t ally with traitors, Vito. I wouldn’t last long if I did.”

I hate him.Hatehim for what he did.

He took Cat straight to them that night. Showed his true colors as a snake in the grass.

Deliveredher, as if she was a fucking parcel. He allowed her to sacrifice herself to Salvatore Asante, in a foolish, misguided attempt to get Alessia back.

As if they wouldeverhave handed her over, as if Salvatore or Matteo would ever have adhered to the code of honor that no longer applies in the Cosa Nostra.

If Cat had been in her right mind, she would have known that. Asheshould have. Should have protected her. Instead, he failed her, and we’re all paying the fucking price.

Cat most of all.

Luciano delivered her into Salvatore Asante’s lap, bleeding out in the middle of the road beneath Matteo’s blades as a reward.

Good.

May he burn in hell.

Day 36 – Gio

“Gio.”

I bolt upright, reaching for my gun.

The woman standing beside me smacks away my fingers, handing me a coffee instead. “Idiot.”

Half-awake, I blink at the caffeine in my hand. Lorena Morelli shuffles to the front of the room, settling into her chair. She sniffs. “You slept too long.”

And yet it feels as though I haven’t slept at all. Glancing down at the watch around my wrist, I curse, stumbling to my feet.

“You’ll be no good to anyone if you’re dead, boy.” Lorena doesn’t pull her words as she observes me. I offer her a slight nod, more from gratitude that she let me sleep than anything else.

One of the only times that I do get to close my eyes at all is here. I take a sip of the coffee, wincing at the amount of sugar she’s added to it. “Thanks for the coffee.”

A bony hand grabs my wrist as I head past her. Lorena keeps her voice low. “My great-nephew?”

I shake my head, glancing at the man standing just outside the open door. There’s an apology on my lips, but she huffs, waving me away. “At least the Corvo girl hadsomesense. It’s like watching children play sports. Everyone is chasing after the ball instead of using their heads.”

The man glances in, and she snorts at him, unfazed. “Don’t look at me like that,stronzo. I eat small cocks like yours for breakfast. Same time tomorrow, Fusco.”

With a nod and a grimace, I leave her alone. The man follows me, dogging my footsteps as I walk out of the building and across the campus.