Page 209 of Caught in the Crossfire

My mother would agree.

“An unfortunate incident,” I answered, placing a small glass of my father’s finest grappa in front of him. I’d been saving it for some worthless, sentimental reason that didn’t matter anymore. “I’m having it repaired soon.”

He glanced down at it. “Ma no. Vorrei invece un caffè corretto.”

He waved his hand at me, the order behind his words clear. I kept my sigh to myself, but I made him the espresso with the shot of grappa without question. He sat down at the head of the table and sipped it, gesturing for me to take the seat next to him. The rest of his men stood watching from somewhere behind me, and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand.

“Allora,” he said while sitting inmyfucking chair and crossing one leg over the other. He placed the espresso down on its saucer. “Where is Arion Vokshi?”

I took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, Vokshi died while I attempted to capture him.”

Greco’s eyes turned hard. “He is dead.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, sir.”

Greco inhaled and exhaled through his nose. He tilted his head back. “Explain to me how this happened.”

I explained how we caught Vokshi at the Albanian’s club in Philadelphia, and during the mission he ran. I was forced to killhim so that he would not escape. When it came down to it, a dead Vokshi was better than no Vokshi.

“What about the Vero girl? Luciano’s daughter?”

Ice flooded my veins. I kept my face as passive as possible, because Greco was a master at reading even the slightest expression.

“What about her?”

“I am aware she was involved. My granddaughter tells me Leona is smart and cunning, with great potential. She’s been watching her.”

“I’m glad Lucia is safe at home again.”

He snorted. “If it were any other case, I would level New York without thought or question. I lent her toyou, Maximiliano. You allowed Leona Vero to capture her. It is only through Lucia’s own word at her fair treatment—both from you and from Leona Vero’s men—plus the good faith in which she was returned, that I’ve decided to wait for the proper time to respond.”

Fuck. I knew it was foolish to expect that to go unanswered. Greco never forgave and never forgot.

He took another sip of the espresso. “DidSignorinaVero kill Arion Vokshi? I’ve heard rumors she’s trying to be some sort ofDonna, which is positively ridiculous.”

I shook my head, trying to keep my emotions in check. I sank into the dead space, which had become so familiar and comfortable to me it was like a second home. “I killed him, sir. It was unavoidable. I apologize for my error.”

He rubbed his chin. Silence stretched between us while he seemed to look at every part of my face. “Dimmi la verità, Maximiliano.”

“That is the truth.” Partially. Mostly.

Vokshi had disrespected her. Vokshi had taunted her. His deathwasunavoidable.

“You understand, then, that you disobeyed my direct orders. Another failure on your part.”

I held his eyes instead of lowering my head. If I had done, it would have been a sign of weakness, and he would have lost even more respect for me. “I understand.”

He pursed his lips and took another sip. “Do you know, when you first came to me inItalia, and offered me your proposal, every single one of mycaposand myconsiglierethought it was a poor decision to accept you?”

I resisted the urge to glare at the samecaposcurrently somewhere behind me. “I did not, sir.”

“They thought it was foolish to even entertain the idea that you would secure the Five Families for me, here in the States. They thought we should just kill you all and be done with it.”

My jaw clenched. “What did you think, sir?”

He waved a hand while pursing his lips. “I thought there was no risk, so I might as well see how it played out. If you succeeded in our deal, and eliminated Luciano and the other Dons, then I’d win. If you failed, then it would give us an excuse to invade New York anyway because now we knew the extent of their treachery. All we needed was a foot in the door, which you provided.”