I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Wasn’t it always for the family? We needed to start coming up with a better excuse.
“And Sergio.” Oh shit, wayta throw me under the bus early Luca. “Made it possible to create a whole new identity for Phoenix, he flew him to Italy to infiltrate Campisi and figure out if the family was indeed crumbling as rumors had said to be true.”
“Sergio?” Chase asked.
Now all eyes were on me.
“I did it for family?” I said it more as a question and a joke. Nobody laughed. Well, hell. “It was my job, as a ghost, to protect the information.”
“So Phoenix has been in Sicily?” Tex asked. “Doing what? Vacationing while I get shot at?”
“No, you ungrateful ass,” Phoenix hissed. “I’ve been keeping your sister alive.” He grabbed a shot of whiskey and threw it back, then slammed the glass onto the counter. “You’re welcome.”
Tex paled. “Is she okay?”
Phoenix rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t know since I had to save your sorry ass this afternoon, but I left her in capable hands if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Are we going to go get her?” Tex tried to stand.
“Sit.” Luca snapped his fingers. “All in due time.”
Nixon wiped his face with his hands. “What about Tex?”
“Right here.” Tex raised his hand and waved it back and forth. “You don’t have to speak about me like I’m not in the room.”
“Sorry.” Nixon glared. “What about my bastard of a brother-in-law, Tex?”
Luca opened his mouth to speak then made eye contact with me. It was my turn to hurt him, but words were failing me. Tex’s eyes searched mine and damn if I hated myself for wanting to thrust the knife deeper.
“It was a set up,” Phoenix finally said. “My idea, I’d been hearing rumors about Alfonso wanting to put a number on your head, I figured the best way to keep you safe was to make you like blood, to make you an Abandonato.”
“But…” Tex looked between Luca and Phoenix. “Mo’s pregnant, I mean, she slept with—”
All eyes turned to me.
Oh, this wasn’t going to end well.
Before I could move Tex had launched himself onto my body, his fist coming up to sucker punch me in the face. “You son of a bitch! You got her pregnant! I know you did! I knew it!” Another punch, where a tooth decided to lose itself on behalf of Tex’s fist. “Admit it!”
“Stop!” Luca slammed his hand on the table. “It was a lie!”
Tex stopped punching me, blood caked to his fingers and his face as he reared back and looked at everyone in the room, disbelief marring his features. “What do you mean it was a lie?”
“She’s not pregnant,” I mumbled through a mouthful of blood. “And I didn’t sleep with her.”
“She’s not pregnant.” Tex repeated. “She… lied to me?”
“To protect you,” Phoenix said smoothly. “She figured the only way Nixon would allow you to marry, especially after the whole Campisi episode was to say there was a baby, though it would be impossible to say it was yours considering…”
Right, considering the last time Mo and Tex had slept together had been months ago.
So she had to lie.
And I was the scapegoat. Not that I didn’t make out with her, not that I didn’t try to seduce her later and get horribly rejected.
“But—”
“It’s no longer important.” Frank waved us all off.
Nixon sighed. “Then what is? Where do we go from here?”
“Well.” Frank folded his hands on the table and addressed each and every one of us. “Where one plan fails, another one always succeeds. We still aim to bring down the head and Tex, son, you’re going to be the one to do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Lies, lies, and more lies. And just when you think you’re done, you’re asked to repeat the process.
Mo
“ARE YOU SURE you’re okay?” Trace asked as she helped clean me up from our little escapade into Hell. My face was bleeding a little bit and I had a cut above my left eye, but other than that I looked awesome compared to Tex.
“Yeah.” I licked my dry lips. “I’m fantastic.”
“He’s alive,” Mil muttered for the fiftieth time. “I can’t believe it. Did you guys know?”
I wanted to say no, but found I couldn’t even lie to my friend’s face, so I averted my eyes and shrugged.
“Does that make him the boss now? Do I step down?” Mil paced in front of me. “I mean, what—”
“Mil.” I reached out and grabbed her wrist. “He’s a ghost now, he isn’t supposed to exist and until he does, people can never know he’s alive, do you get what I’m saying?”
“So you knew.” She jerked away from me and crossed her arms.
I looked guiltily between the two of them. “I found out in Vegas. I snuck into Sergio’s room…”
“Phoenix?” I gasped. “But how are you alive?”
“Modern medicine,” he offered, his smile hollow. “Do you want to save him? It’s a simple question.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” Sergio took a step around me and handed Phoenix a slip of documents. “Go back to Chicago, keep her safe, and for the love of God don’t let anyone see you.”
Phoenix took the documents and stuffed them in his jeans. “I can help you, but you’re going to have to trust me.”
I took a step backwards. “You aren’t exactly high on the trust tree, Phoenix.”
He chuckled, giving me a glimpse of the dimples girls used to cry over. “Yeah, well I wouldn’t trust me either, but know this… I can help. I’ll get Luca on board, we can figure it out before it’s too late.”
“Before what’s too late?” I asked desperately.
“Tex is a Campisi,” Phoenix stated blandly. “Eventually he will be forced to choose, he’s too important of a weapon not to use. And it’s time he took his place. Whether that’s beside the enemy or the friend—now I guess that’s up to you? Just how good of an actress are you, Mo?”
“The best.” The lie came swiftly.
“Good.” Phoenix exhaled. “Because I have a really bad feeling this isn’t going to end well for anyone.”