Page 81 of City Of Thieves

I check my watch.

8:57 p.m.

We’re about to put that theory to the test, dolcezza.

I take the exit for Little Falls, racing the devil himself down Union Boulevard, when a switch trips inside my head. I need to push all thoughts of Tatiana to the back of my mind. Her daughter’s life depends on my control and focus. It depends on me staying one step ahead...

A predator doesn’t charge at his prey with his teeth bared. He stalks the perimeter, trapping it in with no escape before going in for the kill.

My gaze darts from the road to the speedometer, watching it tick higher and higher.

Seventy...

Eighty...

Ninety...

I glance down at my watch again.

9:02 p.m.

But when I look up, all I see is the bright red glare of taillights stretching far into the distance.

Fucking traffic.

The tires screech in protest as I slam my foot on the brake, coming within inches of rear ending the stationary SUV in front of me. The time I’d gained by doubling the speed limit is useless. I’m stuck in a two-lane gridlock.

Leaning back against the headrest, I grind my teeth together. The ritual house is only a ten-minute drive from my parent’s estate. My father will be leaving any minute...

I’m not going to make it.

In a moment of recklessness, I scroll through my phone, my finger hovering over my father’s contact number. Telling him everything would solve my problem, but it’s a dangerous play. My father entrusted Killian with the files he’d found on Nero’s phone because he knew something wasn’t right. Outing Sal over the phone would make him volatile. My father is a calculating man. When he learns whose hands are stained with his son’s blood,there’s going to be harsh recriminations. A father’s vengeance isn’t methodical. It’s chaotic and violent, and I’m done losing family to that shit.

Plus, I need Sal alive, for now.

Konstantin Belov didn’t outlive his brothers by being reckless. My uncle is the only ally he has left in America. As such, I can’t risk taking him out too early. He’ll be involved with this trade off with Tatiana’s daughter, somehow. I can fucking feel it.

Cursing under my breath, I slide my finger to the name beneath my father’s. Another risk, but one who’s proven herself to have an iron will.

It takes two rings for my sister to answer.

“Where the hell have you been?” she cries, in lieu of a greeting.

“London, but that’s not—”

“London? Renzo, we’d barely left the cemetery and you just—”

“Rosalia!” It comes out a little harsher than I intended, but I don’t have the time to play Twenty Questions. “I need you to listen to me... It’s about Nero.”

She quiets immediately. “What’s happened?”

What hasn’t happened…A year’s worth of drama has unfolded in the last week, most of which I’m still processing.

“I’m close to revenge for him, Ro.” Before she demands answers I won’t put her at risk to give, I add, “But I need your help.”

“Renzo, please… Don’t!” There’s a high note of panic in her voice. “I can’t lose you, too. It’s not worth—”

“Piccolina, I love you, but if you don’t shut up and work with me here, the bastard’s going to get away with it. There’s an important meeting starting in about twenty-eight minutes. I need to have a seat at that fucking table, but I’m stuck in traffic with no sign of movement.”