Page 40 of Angelo’s Vengeance (The Commission #3)

Ilias's mouth was a hard line. “There was some kind of incident on the street with Maria and Galena when they were walking home in the evening about six months ago. They were mugged, and Maria was badly injured.” Ilias swallowed before continuing, his throat working.

“They had to be transported to the hospital. The records show they were beaten badly. Both of them were assaulted. Maria died.”

Maxim swore under his breath. “Was there a police report?” He ground out.

I already knew that we’d be killing some people. Not that I ever minded a little murder.

“Yeah. Already pulled it. Then the stepfather got into debt. He lost his job and had a heart attack.” Silence fell like a hammer. Ilias leaned over the desk, fists braced like he wanted to punch a hole through the wood. "She’s alone. She was working two jobs. Barely scraping by."

"And she still doesn't know anything?" Conall asked quietly.

"No," Ilias said. His voice cracked on it. "She’s clueless, but I can’t find her. She must have gotten some kind of hint that people were tailing her because she just vanished.”

I stared at the photo of her hurrying through a rain-slicked street, face half-hidden by a scarf. Something cold coiled low in my gut.

My eyes slid over to Maxim, who had his eyes shut as if in pain. “I fucked up. This is totally on me. I should have pulled her out of there and put her in my own home.” He scrubbed his hand over his face.

“ Fratello . You couldn’t have known any of this. You aren’t a magic eight ball.” I tried to comfort him as best I could. How was he supposed to predict what would have happened?

“Angelo is right. You couldn’t have known what would happen,” Ilias ground out .

There was more he wasn’t saying. There was a lot to our lives.

It was dangerous. The last month or so was a perfect example.

Bringing someone innocent into this mess wasn’t something to take lightly.

I could see why Maxim had left her in her quiet life for as long as possible, but that wasn’t an option anymore.

It forced a choice she was never prepared for.

I had watched Theo, strong and stubborn as hell, struggle with the knowledge that her path had never been hers to choose.

But Theo had grown up in our world, and she’d known that in the end, she’d have no choice because the underworld would come for her family otherwise.

This girl didn’t have that background knowledge.

I wasn’t sure how someone like that would react.

“I’ll put out feelers. See what we can do without scaring the fuck out of her, but let’s do our best to find her.

She isn’t safe out there on her own.” I clapped a hand on Ilias’s shoulder.

It went without saying that Carlotta was potentially looking for Galena, which meant we needed to find her first. He nodded, briefly squeezing his hand over mine, and then Maxim dragged us back to business.

“We should find out if there is any information on the assault. Maybe see if she’s running from the fuckers who were involved? ”

“We’ll find her,” Maxim swore. “There’s no way we won’t. I’ll drag in Veronica to see if she can do some facial recognition shit with traffic cams. Maybe we can get a hit that way.”

That was smart. We divided up the people to talk to before addressing our other matter.

"Carlotta," Maxim said, snapping the folder shut. “Let’s talk about what we found at the raid." Maxim tossed a slim USB drive onto my desk. "Surveillance photos. Financials."

Ilias leaned in, tension radiating off him. "Carlotta used Renzetti like a shield. Everything he did—the attacks, the hits, the disruptions in the city—was on her orders."

"No real loyalty," Maxim added. "The men he used weren't soldiers. They were mercenaries. Hired guns. And now that he's gone?—"

"They’re gone too," Ilias finished grimly.

That was interesting. We didn’t operate that way in the organized crime world.

Our ranks were filled with men we could count on, made men who would die for the famiglia .

We had assumed that Salvatore (or whoever he was) had been trying to make a bid for the Olivetto mafia.

I frowned, picking up the drive and rolling it between my fingers.

"Meaning she’s exposed. This is an opportunity. ”

Ilias nodded. "The clothes in the closet weren't just a stopover. There were records hidden in a safe under the floorboards. Coded transactions. Shell companies."

"She's been moving money for years," Maxim said darkly. "Using Renzetti as a shield. Many of the records we’ve found we haven’t cracked … yet .”

"Without him..." I said slowly, the pieces clicking together, “She’s exposed."

Maxim nodded. "For now. But she’s smart. She’ll vanish if we don’t move fast."

I glanced between them, reading the unspoken weight in their faces. We all had a stake in finding Carlotta now that we’d seen the board that had been up. She had it out for our women, which was odd. I hadn’t been sure what to make of it yet. Had she been planning hits? Or kidnappings for ransom?

"Exactly." Ilias grinned, all teeth and menace. "And we have the trail now. It’s just a matter of following it. "

"She's running scared," Maxim added. "For the first time."

I wasn’t sure that Maxim was correct, but it was good news that we had a lead. I couldn’t shake the feeling that cornering Carlotta would be like trapping a wounded animal. Blood was coming.

I just hoped it wasn’t ours.

By the time we rejoined the others, Theo had somehow convinced everyone to play a Greek trivia game she invented on the spot.

(There were no rules. Only yelling.)

I slipped into a chair at the edge of the group, content to watch for a moment.

Theo perched cross-legged on the couch, barefoot, animatedly explaining why souvlaki was superior to gyro.

Frankie argued passionately. Conall seemed to be questioning every life choice that had led him to this point.

Remo was gleefully stirring the pot. Maxim went straight to his wife to snatch up baby Vasily, who had been passed around more times than I could count but seemed to be content anyway.

I loved seeing Theo snuggling the baby, burying her nose in his neck where that sweet baby smell lingered.

Most of all, I could picture her with our own baby in her arms.

Theo caught my eye and smiled, slow, sweet, and a little shy, like she still couldn’t quite believe we were allowed to have this.

Neither could I.

Later, after the others trickled out, leaving only remnants of food and wine and the lingering hum of laughter, I found Theo in the kitchen, perched on the counter, swinging her legs.

I walked straight to her, fitting myself between her knees.

“This was a good night," she said, voice soft.

I pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, saying, “The best.”

She looped her arms around my neck. "How was your day, by the way? Before all the lamb-induced madness?"

I hesitated. Then, because she deserved the truth, I told her how close we were to ending it.

I explained how Remo and I had worked on some of our back business, including laundering some of the money we managed for the Commission.

Amid all this madness, I had relied heavily on my underboss, Carlo.

He had done a great job, but he still needed guidance.

He was too soft for my liking, especially when Bacco and I were out of the office.

I even mentioned the warehouses hit in Red Hook and the other in Yonkers.

They’d been hit by Scarpato’s men last week.

She smiled a little. “I’ll be happy when we can close the book on that chapter with Carlotta, but I’m glad that we’ve found our peace together.”

I raised a brow. “Does that mean you’ll agree to be my wife?” I gripped the counter beside her hips, desperate for her answer. She was strong, brilliant, and mine — if she’d agree. "I don’t deserve you," I muttered.

Theo grinned wickedly. "Probably not, but you're stuck with me anyway. Yes, I’ll be your wife even if that’s a crappy proposal.”

I laughed, low and hoarse, and kissed her like a drowning man finding air.