Page 23 of The Bonventi Hitman

ANNA - 9

My heart pounds in my chest as I stride down the bustling Miracle Mile. I can't shake the feeling of being watched. I glance over my shoulder, scanning the crowd for any sign of Luca or his men.

I take in the smells of exhaust fumes, fresh coffee, and damp asphalt. It feels good to breathe the air outside the Starlight Suite's suffocating walls.

A flash of movement catches my eye, and I quicken my pace, weaving through the crowds of people. I can't let Luca find me, not when I'm so close to making contact.

I've got to keep moving forward.

I slip into a women's boutique—an FBI front. I'd almost forgotten about this place, as I've only been here once, during my first few days in Chicago after arriving from Quantico with Bill.

I make my way to the dressing room, and my fingers tremble as I enter the code to access the hidden area.

It's smaller than I remember and full of boxes, a laptop, radios, and shelves of files.

Two men sit at a small table. They stare at me with a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Agent Bennett," one stands up, offering his hand. "I'm Agent Harris; this is Agent Russell. We've been expecting you."

He gestures for me to sit, and I take a seat across from them. I recognize their names from Bill, but I'd never met them until now. That's how things work undercover—you only meet in person if absolutely necessary.

“We know about Bill. We know you're with the Bonventis now,” Agent Harris says.

Anger flares in my chest. "You've been watching me this whole time?"

Agent Harris nods. "We've been trying to find a way to communicate with you, but it's been complicated."

"Complicated?" I say in a firm tone. "I feel like I've been fucking left on my own."

Agent Harris and Russell exchange glances, weighing their next words carefully. Agent Russell speaks up, his voice firm.

"We understand this has been incredibly difficult for you, Agent Bennett. Being so fresh in the field and, well, losing Bill. It's a devastating blow to all of us. But it's important to remember that he would want you to stay focused on the mission."

"Stay strong? Focused? He's dead, and I'm stuck here with what feels like no support, with the fucking mafia!”

Their expressions harden, and Agent Harris leans forward, his eyes locked on mine. "We've been working behind the scenes. We know it's not easy, but you have to keep going. You have a job to do, and Bill would want you to finish it."

"I just... Shit, I don't know. I feel in over my head. Like I can't do this alone. I need help."

God, I wish Bill was alive.

Russell leans forward. “We need everything you've learned. The Bonventis, Russians, the Irish—what's going on?"

I spill it all—how I’m Luca's mistress, the alliance that went south between the Irish and Russians, the impending war, anything I can think of. Well, almost anything.

The agents exchange worried glances.

"Wait... wait, so the hit at the party. You know it was the Russians?" Agent Harris asks.

"Yeah. I was in the fucking room when it happened. Gabriel saved me and took me away."

Agent Russell leans back in his chair. "Shit, this is going to be a huge fucking mess. We'll have bodies littering the streets of Chicago soon."

Russell leans forward and scribbles something down on a yellow pad of paper in front of him. I try to read it, but I'm sure even he will have issues reading it later.

Without looking up from his yellow pad, he asks me, “So Gabriel. He was there?"

I sit up straight at the mention of his name.