Page 123 of Devil's Iris

The Leonottis arrive then, and I temporarily forget about my husband and his delicious promise of punishment as I coo over the dark-haired baby boy who’s a splitting image of Maximo. Elira’s genes didn’t even try to compete.

“What can I say?” she laughs when I point this out. “Maximo’s genes are as dominant as he is.”

Romero pulls Maximo aside—most likely to brief him in on the Katie situation—so I fill Elira in on the news while I play with baby Luca. She’s appropriately shocked and glances towards the stairs with worry in her eyes.

“Rafael is with her,” I assure her, and she nods.

Dinner starts out tense, everyone lost in their own thoughts about tonight’s events. But the kids quickly lighten the mood with their antics. The twin girls, who are crawling now, absolutely refuse to sit still in their high chairs—wiggling around and crying to be let down so they can upend the dining room.

Eventually, Rafael throws up his hands and demands they be freed from their chairs, and we all dissolve into laughter as we watch their chaos unfold.

“Just think,” Romero whispers in my ear, “one day our kid will join this mayhem.”

Our kid.I grin up at him, heart as full as my belly. “I can’t wait.”

After dinner, we migrate to the huge balcony overlooking the city as we all nurse mocktails. Even the guys are not allowed alcohol tonight. If we can’t drink, neither can they.

Romero’s phone shatters the peaceful moment, his entire body rigid as he answers. “Repeat that, Adam. I’m putting you on speaker.”

“Of course,” comes the breathless reply. “I found agent Katie Pierce.”

Holy shit.

The atmosphere shifts instantly. Everyone inhales sharply, attention fixed on Romero’s phone.

“I followed her trail from the station and managed to track her down,” he continues. “She’s been hiding in Queens this whole time, right under our noses. Deep in Albanian territory, working as a maid in the Permetti’s compound. No wonder we couldn’t find her—we had no reason to look there.”

Wait, what?

I glance at Elira, whose lips are parted in shock. It must be jarring to learn Katie was in her family’s compound all along.

“I’m sending a photo. It might not be clear since I had to take it from a distance, but I’m positive it’s her.”

Romero thanks the guy I figure is his investigator and ends the call. Almost immediately, his phone pings with a text. “I’m forwarding it,” he tells his brothers.

I lean into his phone to examine the photo. Itisblurry, just like the investigator warned, but there’s no doubt about the identity. Katie Pierce. Emily makes this sound that’s half sob, half laughter as she stares at Rafael’s phone, obviously looking at the same picture.

I’m glad she’s been found—for Emily’s sake. But new questions are crowding my mind.

What the hell has she been doing in the Albanians’ territory?

What could she possibly be looking for there?

No way a former FBI agent ends up working as some sort of maid in the compound of the Albanian crime boss without an ulterior motive.

So, what’s her motive?

BONUS EPILOGUE

KATIE

“I’m in.”

The words are barely a whisper, but they slice through my restless sleep instantly. I blink up at the dark ceiling, disoriented for several heartbeats before the familiar cocktail of antiseptics and medications pierces my nose and I remember where I am. The hospital.

Without moving my head, I shift my eyes towards the voice. An unfamiliar woman in nurse’s scrubs approaches my bed, still talking in hushed tones. “Yes, she’s asleep. I made sure before coming in.”

There’s a pause, and I realize she’s speaking to someone that’s not in the room—probably through an earpiece or something. My heart kicks into overdrive, my stomach clenching as reality hits me. Stacey sent someone to finish me from her prison cell.