Page 110 of The Boss

“To kill a rat?” Luna cuts in, her voice breaking. “I might! I might’ve sanctioned a hit on my mother if she was a traitor!”

“I don’t believe that,” Ellie says, voice calm.

“Well fuckingbully for youEl, but I’m not so sure,” she snaps before she looks at me, finally, and rants on, “I was there! I went to Vix. I was going to turn you in! All of you!”

I rush to her side and grab her hand, “But you didn’t,Lasa.”

She pulls her hand away, “I told them about the bunker.”

“From the muffled audio we could pull through the air conditioning vents in that building, you told them it was under the house.” Luna sighs as I add, “You lied for me.”

“I just didn’t give them the full picture because Volotov senior was the target. That wasn’t for you, that’s just Intel 101.”

“Nowyou’re lying,” I say and I smirk. I can’t help it. She did lie for me.

She rolls her big brown eyes. “Tell me what the hell is so important about the fucking Long Island Sound.”

“Youactually toldhimabout that,” Ellie says, getting animated.

Luna looks at her friend, “What?”

“Your bluff, it made Vadim share about the magazines.”

“Right, magazines, but, what did that mean?” Luna asks, taking another sip of water.

I answer for Ellie, “We have been trying to figure out what the larger syndicates are actually moving. There’s been way too much money coming in and laundering through, much more than the drugs we all move.”

“So, what is it?”

“We still don’t know,” Mark answers out of nowhere.

“Don’t do that, man, make yourself known. Creep,” I say, turning to punch him again.

“Sorry, but do you all want to know what the actual fuck is going on, or not?”

Luna puts a hand on my forearm, “Let him explain.”

“Actually, I’ll explain,” a buttery voice comes through the hall.

Mark’s eyebrows shoot up right as Ellie’s scrunch down.

My mouth falls open.

Luna looks around and then at the doorway, where, unbelievably, in walks a woman I haven’t seen in years. My heart flips over. Her eyes scan me in that assessing way mothers have. She’s not quite old enough to be my mother but she’s played that role anyway.

“Hi, Luna, please excuse my boys. I’m Allie,” she stretches out her perfectly manicured hand to my wife.

“You’re…O’s wife?” Ellie asks.

Allie straightens and then levels a knowing, proud look at Luna and says, “I’m Command.”

CHAPTER 48

Luna

“Wait,you’reO?” I ask.

This cannot be the leader of…whatever they’re called.