Page 97 of The Pretender

“What is it?”

“A mob hit. For that to work though, it would mean either Vin put a hit out on you or someone in his camp is trying to make a name for themselves. It’s a more complicated setup to make it believable. Do you know if anyone wants you dead?”

He shakes his head even though Lou can’t see him. “No. Vin wants his money. If I’m dead, he doesn’t know where it is, and anybody attempting to take me out wouldn’t know I had plans to reveal it.”

“Right,” Lou says. “So, option one or two? We can get started right away.”

Balt looks around the room for a few seconds before exhaling slowly. “Two. It’s the most direct route and involves the least amount of people.”

“Got it. I’ll be there in less than two hours to get your stuff.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Anything for family. See you soon, Coretta.”

“Bye, Lou,” Nonna says before ending the call. She pats Balt’s leg, smiling. “You’re almost free.”

Balt’s face flushes with emotion as he leans forward and throws his arms around Nonna. She chuckles with surprise but returns his hug, rubbing his back.

“It’s all gonna be fine,” she says.

“Thank you.” He sits back. “Uh, I need to call my sister and tell her what’s going on.”

Nonna scrunches her nose. “Are you sure you want to give her a heads up? If anyone contacts her, it makes it harder for her to deny it.”

“Hmm, true, but I have to tell her something.”

“You’ll figure it out.” Nonna gets to her feet. “We’ll give you two some time alone before Lou gets here. Come on, Brogan.”

The two of them leave, and I sit quietly next to Balt. I have a feeling he’s still processing all of this. He leans against me and I wrap my arms around him, kissing the top of his head.

“I’m conflicted,” he says after several minutes of silence.

“Over losing your identity?”

He shakes his head. “No. I don’t want to traumatize Lorelei. I think I have to tell her. I don’t want her to think I died the same way our parents did.”

“In a house fire? I’m confused.”

Balt bows his head, gazing down at his hands. “Yeah, about that…”

“Was that a lie?”

“Not completely. They were in a fire, but they were probably dead before it started. Killed by a business associate of my father’s. A rival family to Vin’s.”

“Your dad was…”

Balt nods. “He was trying to get out of dealing with them. He wasn’t one of them, not really, but he did some work for them.He tried to end his business with them and they didn’t like that. To the authorities, it looked like an electrical fire, but me and my sister were well aware of the real culprit. They made sure we knew.”

“Oh, Balt.”

“The threats kept coming, so I did the only thing that made sense to me at the time. I contacted Vin for help. I told him I’d do anything if he could keep me and my sister safe. It worked, but I inadvertently ended up in the same place my dad did.” Balt scoffs. “He used to tell me never to get involved with them, that they’d never let me go. He was right.”

“I can’t imagine how that feels.”

“Honestly, it was fine for a long time. They left me alone and I did my job, but I knew who I was working for. I knew where the money came from, and I was complicit in making it look legit. I didn’t just work for criminals, Deo. I became one.”

“Okay, yeah, but you didn’t mean to. What choice did you have? End up dead? Your sister too? Your dad’s choices forced your hand. Nothing against him. I’m sure he was a good man.”