the fuck did she give birth to me?
How do we share even a shred of DNA?
Even though the body has been carried away, I can’t control the nausea churning in my stomach. Taking a shuddery breath, I swipe at my mouth with the back of my hand, the taste of acid coating my tongue. I’m never going to eat fucking chicken parmesan ever again. Even the thought of sitting back down at the dinner table after this makes me want to vomit all over.
As soon as they realized what was on the stoop, all four men sprang into action. Lucas and Zaid moved like lightning, grabbing a bag and loading the hacked-up body into it before carrying it away. It was almost scary how calm they all acted in the face of such carnage. While they dealt with the body, Ciro disappeared briefly and came back with a bucket of chemicals.
Now he throws them down over the front steps, washing away the crimson stain that mars the stoop.
Hale has been on the phone since the twins disappeared with the body, calling various members of his organization and arranging for a forensics team to come examine the corpse for clues. He paces across the foyer, running a hand through his dark hair as he speaks into the sleek phone that’s pressed to his ear.
“I want you to bring Leland’s family in,” he says. “Yes, all of them. Pick them up and put them under protection. There’s a hit out on them.”
Shit. I hadn’t even thought about Leland’s family. His wife. Kids. They lost their dad in the worst way—not just because he was murdered, but because they’re also likely about to find out that he was a traitor. They’ll have to live with that for the rest of their lives.
And still, even though Hale hated Leland more than any other man in the world… he’s willing to put aside his hatred and protect innocent lives, regardless of the family connection they share with the traitor. He’ll protect Leland’s wife and kids, despite the sins of their husband and father.
My heart squeezes in my chest.
My mom would kill the whole family in cold blood if she had the chance, and Hale’s going to make sure she never gets that chance.
It’s messy fucking business, mafia politics. There is no black and white, just a muddled gray mess of morals and conflicted feelings. Hale may be the leader of one of the most ruthless organized crime syndicates in Chicago, but he isn’t going to let a family be murdered simply because they are no longer his problem.
And I love him for it.
Zaid and Lucas look grim as they walk back into the foyer. Zaid hands a small white piece of paper to Hale. As Hale’s blue eyes glance over it, the color drains from his face. His gaze shoots to me.
My stomach twists into a tight knot, my lungs aching with the effort of dragging in air.
Whatever it is, I know I don’t want to see it.
But I have to.
He hands it to me without a word. The paper is expensive, thick and smooth beneath the tips of my fingers. I turn it over in my hand, trying to ignore the way it’s spattered with blood, the vibrant red smeared by Zaid’s fingerprints.
I read over the note several times, and each time I do, my gaze sticks on three little words.
Grace.
Meeting.
Camilla.
My mother wants to meet with me.
She obviously knows I’m aware of her existence, since she figured out that Leland was gathering information for us—I’m sure she tortured him into admitting everything he told us. And now she wants to speak to me, face-to-face.
I shove the note back at Hale as if it’s burned my fingers. “Thank you,” I say, swallowing. “Thank you for showing it to me.”
He nods slowly, watching my reaction like he’s trying to figure out what’s going on inside my head. Inside my heart.
But the truth is, I’m so numb I don’t know how to react. How I should react. All I can hear is the rush of my heart, blood thundering in my ears.
“Maybe we should take a second,” Zaid suggests, his gaze flicking from me to Hale. “We’ll finish dealing with the mess, then we can sit down and figure out what to do.”
Hale nods, although he doesn’t look away from me. “I’ll have a team come pick up the body. Ciro, will you stay with Grace?”
“Yes.”
I’m a little surprised at Ciro’s immediate answer. I’ve gotten the feeling