arching, he clarifies, “So you’re a Fed too?”
“Are you willing to help me or not?” I huff.
“Why exactly would I help you?”
“Because if you don’t, you’re gonna die. Kingston will kill you.”
He scoffs. “Yeah, but if I testify, I’ll be dead anyway.”
“Guess that’s a risk you’ll have to take,” I reply, feigning indifference. If he doesn’t agree, then I really am screwed and I’ll live the rest of my life on the run. And I’m not sure I can handle that no matter how accommodating Kingston has been.
The bastard shakes his head back and forth and sees right through me. “No. No deal. I have a sister. She’s the only family I’ve got. If I get labeled a rat, they’ll kill her too.”
“Kingston won’t—”
“I’m not talking about the Romanos,” he spits. “I’m talking about every other fucking family in the business. When you’re labeled a rat, they don’t just eradicate the vermin. They exterminate the whole family. If I’m dead anyway, I’d rather Kingston do it and leave my sister untouched than die and leave her to fend for herself with the label of a rat for a brother.”
“Who knew you were a family man,” I note, my voice thick with sarcasm. Wracking my brain, I offer, “What if I put her into the witness protection program? I’ll keep her safe.”
“No. It’s bullshit and won’t work.” He rolls his eyes, daring me to suggest it twice.
“That’s not true—”
“I’ve been in the business long enough to know how easy it is to find someone.” He hesitates and scratches the scraggly beard along his lower jaw. As if a lightbulb starts glowing, a wide grin of triumph stretches across his face. “I’ll do it on one condition.”
My stomach twists with suspicion, but I have no choice but to take the bait. “And what’s that?”
“You marry her.”
“What?” I choke out, convinced I’ve heard him wrong. He can’t be serious. Why the hell would he want his sister to marry a Fed, let alone one who’s future career is in the fucking toilet?
“Yeah.” That same wide grin is stretched across his face. Like the idea is sounding better and better by the minute. “If you marry Bianca, then I’ll promise to testify against Reed and clear your name. Like you said, I’m a dead man anyway. But at least my sister will be safe if she’s stripped from this life and marries you.”
“I’m not interested in some messed up arranged marriage—”
“Then I’m not interested in sticking my neck out for you.”
“How is marrying a Fed any better than disappearing into the witness protection program?” I demand. This guy has lost his damn mind.
“Because if a Fed’s wife goes missing, it’ll make national news and whoever dared to touch her will have a target painted on their back. If a random nobody is murdered, then it’s just another sob story that goes unsolved and they’ll get away scot-free, especially if she’s connected to the mafia.”
Nostrils flaring, I search for a solution that doesn’t end with me marrying a freaking stranger. But I can’t find one.
“Take it or leave it,” he adds with the same fake indifference I’d been spewing only moments before. He knows I’ve lost.
And so do I.
1
Jack
A few weeks later...
“We’re going to need you to turn yourself in,” Kingston’s voice rings loud in my ears.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“If you want to honestly go through with Dominic’s idea, then you’re going to need to turn yourself in,” Kingston repeats.
My gaze bounces around his office where Diece, Stephan, Dex, Kingston, and I are all seated. But none of them come to my defense and call out the head of the Romano family for his insanity. Because turning myself in for a crime I didn’t commit is exactly that. It’s insane.
Gritting my teeth, I turn back to Kingston. “You can’t be serious.”
“If you want Reed to come out of hiding and meet with Dominic so we can get the evidence we need to clear your name, then you need to remove yourself as a threat to the bastard and have a solid alibi,” he explains. “What better alibi is there than to be behind bars?”
“But I didn’t do it––”
“We know,” Diece consoles before pushing himself away from the far wall he’d been leaning against. “But you still ran when they tried to bring you in for questioning.”
Tugging at the collar on my shirt, I exhale and search for a semblance of patience. “They were arresting my ass, D.”
“Same difference.” He plops his giant ass down onto the