control of their empire in exchange for Lucien.
“Will Angelo and Devil go to the meet-up?”
Sabrina laughed. “If they do, it will be with a plan to kill Damian and all his allies.”
“But if they don’t—”
Sabrina frowned. “Damian will never let Lucien go. Our allies would never accept his authority if Lucien was still alive. The only way he’s going to survive is if we rescue him.”
My stomach flip-flopped. “D-do we know he’s alive now?”
Sabrina crossed herself as she shook her head. “All we can do is pray. Angelo has demanded proof, but so far he’s been ignored.”
I hugged her, and we clung to each other for several moments before she went in search of a drink.
The sun was beginning to go down as I paced on Lucien’s balcony. My phone rang, startling me. I didn’t recognize the number, but I couldn’t ignore it. If there was any chance it had to do with Lucien… “Hello?”
“Pete. It’s Jimmy.” His voice sounded strained and weak.
“What are you doing calling me?”
“I know I made a mistake.”
“A mistake? You’re working for people who want to kill me and—” I’d almost said “the man I love.”
“I know, but please, you’ve got to listen to me.” He coughed. The wheezing emanating from him didn’t sound good at all, but I couldn’t let myself feel sorry for him.
“I have no reason to listen to you. All you’ve done is lie to me.”
A few seconds of silence passed, then he said, “I got away.”
“What do you mean? Got away from who? Mario?”
“Yeah and… Stefan. They…” He paused and seemed to be trying to catch his breath. “They were never going to cut me in. Then I wouldn’t… They’re selling little girls, Pete. That’s what they wanted me to do. Can’t do that. They tried to kill me.”
At least he had some lines he wouldn’t cross. When would he learn to stop listening to fucking bullshit promises? “I’m glad you got away, but I’m done talking to you—”
“Don’t hang up. I know where Lucien is, and he’ll die if someone doesn’t find him.”
I couldn’t trust him, but I also couldn’t bring myself to hang up. “Where is he?”
“I have the key. Meet me, and I’ll give it to you.”
“No fucking way. You bring it here.”
He had another coughing fit. “Marchesi’s guards will kill me.”
“I’m not falling for more of your shit, Jimmy.”
“It’s not…” He paused to draw in a raspy breath. I could tell he was in pain, but that didn’t mean he was telling the truth about any of this. “I swear. I can help you.”
I sighed. If there was any chance he was serious, I had to follow through because there was one thing I was sure he wasn’t lying about. Damian was going to kill Lucien if we didn’t find him soon. “Where do you want to meet?”
“You know the warehouse where they took Damian’s men?”
“You mean where I was nearly captured?”
“Yeah. There’s a pawn shop down the street. Meet me there at ten tonight.” Was there any chance this wasn’t a trap?
“You know I can’t come alone, right?”
“You have to. None of Lucien’s men will let me live long enough to listen to me. I’m probably going to die anyway, but I want to save you and Lucien first.”
I’d never heard Jimmy sound so defeated, but I also knew he was really good at acting. All of it, even the weak voice, could be a ploy to make me feel sympathetic so he could lure me in. After what happened to Lucien, there was no way I was going to be able to walk out of there and go somewhere on my own. I was going to have to tell someone—probably Angelo—about Jimmy’s call, then convince them to go meet him with me. But what if they wouldn’t go?
My heart pounded. Was I brave enough to sneak out and go on my own? Brave enough or stupid enough? I was sure Lucien would say it was the latter.
But I had to take any chance I could to save him. That’s what he would do for me, and if he hadn’t needed to come looking for me, he wouldn’t be Damian’s prisoner right now. This was my chance to prove I wasn’t a fucking coward.
“I’ll be there.”
“I swear to you,” Jimmy said, “I’m telling the truth this time. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me. Lucien gave me a chance, and I blew it. He could’ve roughed me up or killed me. He