Page 115 of Caught in the Crossfire

“I tried calling you over and over. I tried texting you. I thought maybe you had ditched your phone, but I had to contact you.”

“Cas destroyed my phone the night of my birthday party,” I said, remembering how he’d smashed it underfoot before he’d taken us to the Irish for help. “How’d you get my new number? Only my guys had it.”

“When I went back to listen in on my dad and Max, I overheard Max talking about an alliance. He pretty much blackmailed my dad into it, but I don’t know what he had over him. My dad was livid.”

Probably the fact that her father and my father were colluding. Vincenzo Tommaso would have had a lot to lose if that had come to light.

She continued, “They talked about a few things I didn’t understand, but one thing I heard was that he had someone doing technical support for him. It was all snippets, but it felt like something huge was going on.”

Lucia. The Camorra. The trafficking. Maxhadused that leverage to keep Tommaso in line and gain more power. But now we had that information, and proof that Sandrini and Lucchese were involved too.

“Pretty much,” I added.

“Max said he wanted to get engaged to me and become headof the Family.” She scoffed. “It was a total betrayal to your memory. There was no way I was going to say yes. I just knew that if they were going to drag me into it, then I needed to talk with you and tell you the truth.”

My heart warmed, and more tears pricked my eyes. She’d always been such a great friend, and it felt incredible to know she was still on my side.

I couldn’t wait to introduce her to Fallon, Willow, and Zoya. They’d love her just as much as me.

“You got dragged into it anyway.”

“Ugh, yes. But you know me. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I burst into the room and said no. Flat out no. Which, of course, made them both upset. The three of us got into a big fight, and Max left the room to get some air, except he left his phone behind. I snagged it off the table while my dad yelled at me and told me I didn’t have a choice.”

Fucking Vincenzo Tommaso. I’m sure Chiara had been sad at his death, but I was less and less broken up over it.

“You took his phone?”

“I stomped out of the room and went straight back to mine. I only had a few minutes to read through what I could, but I grabbed the number for his tech girl. Lucia. Then I went back and left the phone on the ground by the doors to the study so he’d think he dropped it.”

God, I loved her. She was so smart, even when she had no idea what was going on. Chiara had always been that way. “So you called Lucia? And shehelpedyou?”

She chuckled. “I had nothing else. I called, expecting her to hang up or rat me out, but we ended up talking for a while. I heard a little about her grandpa and how annoyed she was that she had to come to New York. She agreed to get me your burner phone number.”

“That’s insane. Why would she help you? Helpme?”

“I got the impression she didn’t really care too much about our Families.”

So Lucia might not be as loyal to her grandfather, the Head of the Camorra, as we thought. Or she at least didn’t care about us in the States.

“So that’s when you texted me?” I asked.

“Yeah. When you didn’t respond, I thought I had the wrong number, but I kept trying just in case.”

“I got them all,” I whispered. What would I have done if she had given up? “Every one of your messages.”

“Thank God,” she breathed.

“But your dad died. I’m so sorry.” I was only sorry she was hurt by it, not that he was dead.

“Don’t be,” she mumbled. “Max told me some of what he and your dad were doing.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. Afterwards. When I saw Cas in our hallway, I knew you had to be nearby. I saw how vicious Cas and Max were. It was insane. They used to be so close. I had to do something. By some twist of fate, I saw that guy on the roof across the street. I saw the glint of his weapon, and I knew he was going to shoot Max or my dad. I was so fed up, Leona.” Her voice dropped and filled with emotion. “I was just so pissed off at both of them, but especially my dad. He didn’t listen to anything I said when I told him I didn’t want to marry Max. He said some horrible things about me, about you. When they lined up with the window…I just acted. I pushed my dad forward. I don’t even know what I was hoping for, maybe just that he’d get shot in the arm or something, but I saw him crumble and the first thought through my head wasWhat a relief.Can you believe that? I thought everything was going to be over.” A sob trickled through the receiver. “A shitty daughter I am, huh?”

My heart twisted for her. “No, Chiara. Not at all.”

“After that, Max grabbed me and ran. He threatened to killboth my brothers and then kill you if I didn’t follow him, but if I went with him, he wouldn’t hurt you. I just needed to pretend to be his fiancé.”