Page 25 of The Chaos She Brings

There’s a pause, then: “Carina has another friend?” He sounds incredulous.

Carina met Enzo during her time in Italy when she was desperate to disappear. From what I’ve gathered, he took her under his wing, and they’ve been close ever since.

I first crossed paths with him after Nate killed his own father—then again when Carina was kidnapped by hers. (Let’s just say it was amemorableperiod in all our lives.) Over time, we developed a bond in the chaos, and now, surprisingly enough, I’d even call him a friend.

“Yes, asshole. Her name is Tess. She’s staying with me because her flat was compromised.”

He chuckles, low with a hint of mocking. “You like this girl?”

“What? No. She killed her boyfriend, I cleaned it up, and then someone trashed her place. I wasn’t going to leave her there alone.”

“So, you invited her into your sanctuary? The place no one goes?”

When he puts it like that, it sounds... intimate. But it’s not. I’m just not a complete dick.

“Can you help me or not?” I snap,grinding my teeth.

“Give me a name.”

“Mikhail Petrov.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line.

“Enzo?”

“Ucciderò il bastardo2,” he growls, his voice laced with venom.

More gunfire erupts in the background, but I stay focused. While I wait for him to speak again, I open Tess’s file. Her picture stares back at me, all wide eyes and innocence. But I know better. She’s a killer. She murdered a man.

I’d do well to remember that.

“Petrov is one of our enemies,” Enzo finally says, his voice colder now. “If he’s going after Carina’s friends, then this is personal.”

“The boyfriend,” I say. “I’m wondering what his motive was for getting involved with her in the first place.”

“Why? You jealous?”

“Shut up. No.” (Yes.) “But he tried to kill her before she took him out. Now the Russians are after her? I want to know why.”

“Leave it with me. What’s her full name?”

“Tessa Sinclair. I’ll send you what I’ve got so far. Maybe you can dig up something on her biological parents, too.”

“I’ll look into it.”

“Appreciate it. What—”

A gunshot rings out, followed by Enzo’s shout, “Ow!Oh cazzo3!”

“Enzo?” My pulse quickens as the silence stretches too long.

“You fucking shot me!”

“Enzo!” I snap, my voice rising in concern.

“I gotta go. Some idiot just tried to kill me.”

“I wasn’t aiming for you,idioto4,” a woman’s voice sneers in the background.