I didn’t know these people, had only heard stories, few of them flattering. Mother had left New York because her brother had been cruel, and now his son Luca would decide our fate. Was he better than his father, better than Falcone, or had we exchanged one evil for another?

After a short discussion, Luca and the second man began walking toward us. The third stayed back, but there were probably more in the cars. I was surprised that Luca was risking that much. Falcone would have stayed behind and let his men do the dirty work. I wasn’t sure if it was a good sign that Luca had decided to meet us personally.

They stopped a good distance away.

“Your driver needs to get out,” Luca said. He and the other man were holding guns.

I faced Mino and motioned for him to get out. His eyes darted to Luca but he remained firmly seated.

“If he doesn’t get out soon, I’ll get him out myself and he won’t like that,” the other guy said. He had dark brown hair, slightly longer than Luca’s, and I realized they shared the same features. So that had to be his brother Matteo, if I remembered correctly.

Mino must have heard him because he finally climbed out of the car, holding his hands up over his head. Another man I hadn’t noticed before ran around the car and grabbed him, twisting his arms behind his back. Mino cried out in pain, but fell silent when he was hit with the hilt of a gun. He toppled over, unconscious.

Talia began crying silently beside me. I took her hand. Mother was already holding the other. Luca scrutinized my sister, then me and Mother. I was too tired and too empty to be scared of them. The fear would come later. If there was a later.

For all I knew they’d see us as the enemy, and kill us. At least I’d be reunited with Growl then, but something in me rebelled against that idea. I missed Growl, missed him more than I’d thought possible. But there were too many reasons why I needed to live, why I wanted to live. My sister and mother were just two of them.

I summoned my courage and said, “I’m Cara. I’m your cousin.”

“We know exactly who you are,” Matteo said sharply.

That didn’t sound as if they were happy to see us.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Cara

They didn’t let us talk but they took us with them to what seemed to be some kind of dance club, which was deserted as we arrived. Nobody said anything to us as we were led into a room in the back.

“Close the door, Romero,” Luca said to the third man. He did so without hesitation, then stood in front of it, his attentive eyes keeping watch over us.

“Where’s our driver?” I asked. They’d put him in another car and I hadn’t seen him again.

“We need to have a more intense conversation with him to figure out what his motives are,” Matteo said with a smirk.

A shiver ran down my back. “Will you torture us as well?” I muttered.

Matteo laughed. “Oh, a cheeky one.”

Luca sighed. “You have a cheeky wife already. Don’t grate on my nerves by bickering with our cousin too.”

Surprise widened my eyes.

Matteo shrugged and sat on the edge of the desk.

“What about the dogs—where did you take them? Please don’t hurt them.”

“Someone will take care of them,” Luca said. What did he mean by that? His face didn’t give anything away. It was hard, emotionless.

“We need your help, Luca,” Mother said pleadingly. “We are family.”

“You left your family to go to Las Vegas. You married a member of the Camorra.”

“That’s betrayal if you ask me,” Matteo said with a twisted smile. “And from what we hear, your family likes betrayal. Your husband already paid with his life for it.”

Mother faltered.

“We never betrayed anyone,” I said firmly. “And Mother only left New York because she loved my father and because her brother was a monster.”

“Well, we hear that you know how to handle monsters, right?” Matteo said, his dark eyes challenging. “And you’re talking about our father, don’t forget that.”

I swallowed. Insulting Salvatore Vitiello in front of his sons was probably not my best idea, but I’d spoken the truth. Everyone in our circles knew what kind of man Salvatore Vitiello had been.

“I knew your father, my brother, well enough to know that you can’t miss him very much,” Mother said firmly.

Luca shrugged. “He wasn’t a good man. But neither am I.”

Mother shook her head. “I don’t believe you are like him. I saw your beautiful wife in the newspaper.”

Luca’s expression changed. Mentioning his wife had been a mistake. Protectiveness washed away the blankness. “We won’t discuss her.” His voice allowed no argument.

The door to the room was pushed open. Romero peered behind it, then turned around with an apologetic expression.

A beautiful blonde woman stepped in. “It’s enough,” she said. Her voice was quiet and calm, but it held obvious power over Luca.

She was light. That was all I could think of when I stared at her. Her pale skin, golden hair, blue eyes. Light. Pure light, and so beautiful, it almost hurt looking at her.

Her welcoming smile hit me, and the knot in my stomach loosened. Perhaps there was hope after all. She strode toward me. It was hard to miss the disapproval on her husband’s face or the way his body tightened in anticipation. As if he worried I’d attack her. That was the last thing on my mind when she could mean our door to safety.

“I’m Aria,” she said, holding out her hand to me. I took it with a grateful smile.

“I’m Cara, and this is my sister Talia.” I nodded toward Talia, who looked completely frozen up with fear.

Aria patted my sister’s shoulder with a compassionate smile. “You don’t have to be afraid. Nobody will hurt you in any way, I promise.”

“Aria,” Luca said in a strained voice.

She greeted my mother before finally she faced her husband. “They are family. And they went through a lot, don’t you see? We must help them.”

“We don’t even know why they are here,” Matteo said snidely.

Aria walked up to her husband and looked up at him as she put a hand on his arm. “They are innocent women. They need our protection. Do you really believe they’re here to do us harm?”

“No,” Luca said with a sigh. “I don’t.” He looked at us and I had to force myself to hold his gaze. “You can stay. I hope you don’t make me regret it.”

***

They took us to a house in the Hamptons after some convincing arguments from Aria. I liked her already, even though I didn’t know her. I wondered how she could hold on to her compassion being married to the Capo of the Famiglia. Men who held that kind of position were usually eager to break everyone around them, only because they could.

We were put into the guest wing of the large building, probably for safety measures but I didn’t care. We were one step closer to a better future. When Aria showed us to our rooms, I said, “Thank you for everything.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“I have one more request. Can you please make sure they don’t hurt my dogs?”