Page 96 of The Mafia's Bride

I stare, keeping my face neutral. Because fuck, Ace is absolutely terrifying. It’s no wonder why Ferguson left the clan in her hands.

“You have a suspicion. But you won’t tell me who.” That smirk grows. “Is it because you think I’ll kill them?”

“I know you will.” She stops short.

Tilting her head, there’s a flash of something I wasn’t expecting.Respect.

“Fine. Killian is working with you to find the leak. You have names you won’t give me.” Her green eyes are fighting the black, and therefore her rage. “I’ll continue to stall my shipments. I can’t have more of my things taken because you can’t handle your business.”

I don’t let the bite in her words get under my skin. Because she’s fucking right.

I can’t handle my organization and now, the rivals are starting to notice it too. That means weakness.

I will not be weak.

“And what do you want in exchange for such a mercy?” It’s sarcastic but not untrue.

It’s a blessing. Ace is under no restraints to kill me. It’s within the contract to do so. But I won’t make it easy on her.

“Why do you think you’re losing your shipments?”

Sighing, I lean against the door, hands sliding into my pants. I might look relaxed, but my eyes don’t leave her knife because I don’t trust her. “They’re after me. After what I have. Business, family. Take your pick.”

She nods, glancing to the left. “Did you find who mugged Sloane?”

My blood boils at the reminder. At my inability to keep her safe. I’ve yet to find any liable leads there either.

I feel incompetent. I feel like a failure—as a Capo and as a husband.

“No. But she seems to have dealt with it.”

“Of course, she has.” Ace glares at me. “Sloane is stronger than you think. She doesn’t let anything stop her.”

My eyebrows rise in surprise. After the last interaction and how Sloane responds to her sister’s name, I assumed the hate went both ways. Clearly, that’s not the case.

“They didn’t take her ring. They left it. Took everything else.”

Ace gives me a small, pleased smile. I’ve figured something out, stumbled upon something that she already noticed.

“And what does that tell you?” There’s a pricking on my skull as her words echo within my skull.

Everything.It tells me everything. “I need to go.”

I open the door, Killian leaning by the frame. He gives me a once-over, glancing back to Ace sitting in her chair. “Good talk?”

Ace shakes her head, turning back to her computer. “I expect results before the auction.”

“You’ll be going?” The auction is only in four days.

“Nico wanted both sides to be present. To show a strong front against the rivals in the city.” To show that our alliance is strong. That we, as a unit, are strong. It’s a statement to the city but to the mole too.

Nodding, I slip around Killian. “I’ll have answers by then.”

38

SLOANE

Twinkling lights overhead shine like dozens of stars against a black ceiling, covered in gauze and silk. With white curtains framing the edges, garlands of blush pink roses and white calla lilies, and the gleaming wooden floors underneath, the air reeks of elegance and class.