Page 50

Chapter 50

Juliette

In the Air

I checked on Colin, ensuring he was still asleep in the bedroom of the Costa family’s private jet. I could hardly believe we were together en route to Ireland.

Colin had never been outside the country, and for it to happen like this was just . . . wild, to put it mildly.

And soon, Easton would be meeting my son’s father for the first time. Our awkward meet and greet over FaceTime had been sidelined with our quick departure.

I still needed to tell my parents about all of this, but to avoid stressing them out, I was waiting for a resolution to everything.

Strong hands braced my arms, startling me.

“Hey.” At Constantine’s husky voice in my ear, I relaxed against him. “He told me he’d have stolen my other jet and forced my pilot to bring him if I didn’t let him come. Something tells me he was dead serious.” He leaned his head over my shoulder, and I turned my cheek.

The soft kiss he set there managed to warm my entire body.

“He is your flesh and blood. Of course he was serious.” I sighed, facing Colin on the bed again.

Despite the chaos swirling around us, I was shocked at how calm I felt. Then again, why was I surprised? I had Constantine grounding me.

I shifted around to face him, pulling the door closed behind me in the process.

“You put your stubborn foot down, too, as I recall.” He set one hand on my waist as my back went flush to the bedroom door. “What’d you tell me would happen if I didn’t let you come along?” He lifted his other hand between our close bodies, drawing my chin up with his index finger. “Withhold sex from me, was that it?”

I most definitely did not say that. “The fact you can make a joke . . . well, thank you. Even if you’re faking being calm for my benefit, I appreciate it.”

“I’ll never fake anything with you.” He captured my mouth with his, fusing our lips in a hot kiss, officially pulling my focus away from what was left of my worries and kindling a fire inside me.

“ Ahem . Sorry to interrupt,” a deep voice came from behind.

My shoulders collapsed as Constantine’s mouth went still against mine, and I had a feeling he was waving him away—a him I was certain was Hudson.

“Busy.” The word vibrated against my lips as he said it. “Go away.”

“Sebastian and the McGregors are with Carmello and Aurora at his hotel in Dublin.”

His words hit like ice water, deluging my desire and banishing it to the ether. They must have done the same for Constantine because he immediately lifted his head, stealing his mouth from mine to face his brother-in-law.

The hall was too narrow for the two of us to stand side by side, so Constantine stood at an angle, making space for me to look at Hudson, ensuring I was part of the conversation as well.

“Is that a good or bad thing?” I took hold of his hand as Izzy strode up behind her husband.

“Both-ish?” Not the most encouraging response from her.

Constantine had eased the burden of my mental stress load, only for his sister to bring it back and double down, electrifying my worries.

“Where’s Lennon? Aurora has to know where the mercenaries have her by now.” Constantine tightened his grip on my hand. “Unless you’re about to tell me the theory we confirmed an hour ago, that she’s behind all of this, is wrong.”

“Carmello told Sebastian what we already knew—Daniel’s his son, and they began talking around Christmastime after his wife died. And it was only over encrypted messages. Aside from telling Aurora she had a half brother, he wasn’t ready for anyone else to know about Daniel,” she clarified. “After some encouragement by Emilia, Aurora finally admitted her father told her about Daniel, and she’d started talking to her brother as well over an encrypted chat app. She befriended Daniel and made him feel like he could trust her. You know, the sibling-he-never-had-and-always-wanted kind of thing.”

“With plans to sabotage the kid like we assumed,” Hudson said bitterly,

Izzy continued with her explanation. “She confessed that Daniel had told her about Lennon dating Colin and his jealousy. Daniel already knew about The League at this point. His father had told him. So, when Daniel mentioned to Aurora that Colin’s uncle worked at The Sapphire Hotel, she devised a plan and a promise to him. She offered to handle Colin for him, but she’d need a favor in return.”

“Set up the meeting with the Sicilians to abduct Colin,” Constantine said in a low voice. “Did Daniel have any clue what he was getting himself into? What about Jamie?”

“She only told Daniel he’d earn his father’s approval by helping her, which was all he wanted. Well, all he wanted aside from Lennon.” She continued, “As we guessed, she threatened to kill Jamie’s dad if he didn’t help out as well.”

“As we suspected, Daniel never gave anyone the heads-up he’d been detained by us before the rave. He was too scared,” Hudson added. “Just crossed his fingers the mafia would handle us for him.”

“So, what I’m hearing is we’re right,” Constantine said under his breath. “Why haven’t you answered my question and told me where Lennon is?”

Izzy lifted her eyes to the ceiling and whispered, “Because Aurora doesn’t know.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t she hire those mercenaries when her first plan to get Colin failed?” Constantine grumbled.

Izzy glanced at her husband before turning back to us. “She didn’t hire them.”

I frowned. “Then who did?”

Izzy exhaled, shaking her head. “Aurora said no one was ever supposed to get hurt. She just wanted to set up her brother, then be the one to help find Colin, preventing Sebastian from even considering the trade.”

She took a second to catch her breath, so I took that time to catch mine.

Izzy continued, “Like we guessed, she wanted to ensure her place as League leader in Italy when her father retired. Since Emilia kept giving up power, only to take it back, Aurora figured it’d really be up to Emilia, not Carmello. So, when she saw the chance to show off and get rid of her half brother in the process, she took it.”

Hudson took her hand in silent reassurance.

After that, she pressed forward. “After the original plan failed at the rave, she instructed Daniel and Jamie to stay put at a hotel while she figured out another way to get Colin from you. But when the Sicilians refused to get involved, fearing retaliation from our family, Aurora realized she’d taken things too far. She tried to backpedal, to get out of it.”

Constantine ran a hand down his face, following along, adding, “But she promised something to those mafiosi in Naples to get them to call in that favor to Giuseppe in the first place. Even though the meeting fell through, they still wanted her to uphold whatever deal she made with them.”

“When Aurora tried to back out, they forced her to tell them about her original plan. By this time, she’d found out through Daniel that Colin was your son.” She met his eyes and swallowed hard.

I felt every muscle in Constantine’s body tense in preparation for what was coming next.

He pulled his hand from mine, his jaw clenching as he brought his palms to his hips, one elbow whacking the wall in the process. “Don’t say it.”

“I’m sorry.” A tear abandoned the pool of liquid gathering in Izzy’s eyes and slipped down her cheek. “I called Dad before we came here to tell you. He said, ‘Unfinished business always has a way of coming back.’ He blames himself for not finishing them off when he had the chance.”

My pulse stuttered. “What are you two talking about?”

Izzy and Constantine seemed to be reeling, so Hudson answered me. “There are multiple mafia families in Italy, just like in New York. And there are two rival syndicates operating out of Naples. Giuseppe lied to Constantine, making him think he owed that favor to one family when, in reality, it was the Rizzos he was indebted to.”

The Rizzos? Was I supposed to know that name?

“Giuseppe was probably too scared to tell Constantine the truth, knowing the Costas’ history with them,” Hudson said in a grim tone.

Izzy swiped away another tear. “Aurora admitted to Emilia that her original deal with the Rizzos was to give them protection from The League in exchange for their help.”

Constantine’s brows knitted as he lifted his dark, hooded eyes to mine. “The Rizzos are the ones who kidnapped my mother, and my father rescued her from them.”

I thought back to everything Constantine had shared with me in his office, and now it all clicked.

“The Rizzos figured out what Aurora was up to with the cyber wallet and The League.” Izzy sniffled. “They decided they’d rather get their hands on the device themselves.”

That closet full of baggage and skeletons had burst open, trying to bury us all. Everything pointed back to old grudges. To Constantine’s father saving the woman he loved. And now here we were with Salvatore’s son poised to save the love of his own son’s life.

Izzy’s voice hardened as she pushed through her explanation. “The Rizzos, not Aurora, hired the mercenaries to go after Colin. They tried to set Constantine up against Giuseppe as a diversion. Kill as many birds with one stone as they could. And those twisted assholes would do it with smiles on their faces.” She grimaced. “Their backup plan if they couldn’t get Colin was to use Carmello’s son to force a trade for the cyber wallet. They didn’t care about protection from The League anymore. They didn’t care about making sworn enemies of our family. All they wanted was access to billions in cryptocurrency.”

The door behind me abruptly swung open. I stumbled, nearly falling against Colin.

He must have been eavesdropping.

The jet was quieter than a commercial airliner, but I’d assumed the ambient noise would’ve provided enough cover for us to talk freely.

Colin’s face was pale. “Does that mean they don’t need Lennon now since they have Daniel?” His voice cracked. “Is my girlfriend already dead?”

Constantine’s chest lifted with a deep breath before he exhaled, issuing a command. “Tell the pilot to change course for Rome. We’ll drive to Naples from there. Less of a chance the Rizzos will realize we’re onto them that way.”

Colin sidestepped me to get to his father, grabbing his arm. “What if she’s still alive, and she’s in Ireland, and they reach out to make that deal, and we’re?—”

Constantine cut him off. “Lennon’s not in Ireland. Now that I know who we’re dealing with, the Rizzos will want this trade to take place in their own backyard.” He turned to Hudson, adding more orders. “Tell Sebastian and the others to meet us in Naples. Have him or Carter set up a safe house somewhere outside the city. Let Carmello and Aurora believe we’re still en route to Dublin in case she made a backdoor deal with those bastards and didn’t tell Sebastian or her father about it.”

Izzy nodded. “This explains why The League and all their resources couldn’t track a flight with Lennon on it to Ireland. They were looking in the wrong place.”

Without another word, she and Hudson disappeared to set everything in motion.

“Dad?”

Constantine’s jaw flexed. “I know.” Then his big arms swallowed our son into a strong embrace. “I’m going to get your girlfriend back or die trying.”