Chapter 51

His swamp-green eyes snap to me. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Your new best friend."

He tries to get up, but Hadassah pushes him back down. With a flash of silver, she holds the blade to his throat threateningly; he cocks his head to the side with an undaunted grin.

"Amore mio?"

"We're not looking for trouble, papi," she reassures smokily.

He looks at me incredulously. "Where'd you get her?" He rotates his head to steal a glance. "An exotic creature like her is definitely not a hire. Girlfriend?"

I slide my hands into the trouser pockets coolly. "She's my muscle."

Hadassah flashes me a sly smile. She appears beside him and lifts her leg to plant the front of her red-bottoms on his thigh, sheathing the dagger whilst Tommaso runs his filthy hand up her calve, completely under her thrall.

"Bodyguard?" He chuckles, amused.

She drops her leg down and struts to the upholstered booth seating on the side. His eyes track her, hynotised, staring after her with helpless lust.

"I'm sure you make her do more than just guard your body."

"She's a weapon. Not a toy. But I didn't come here to talk about her."

He considers, then gives a curious nod. "For amore mio." He slouches against the seat, spreading his legs comfortably. "You have two minutes."

"My name is Torin Moon, I'm—"

"Moon." His spine snaps straight. "You're a Moon...fuck me. You're Orian's brother." He blasts to his feet. "Get the fuck out."

He tries to move out, but I block his path.

Hadassah crosses her legs casually. "Papi, don't tell me you're scared of him?"

He glares at her, injured pride flaring up hot. "Not scared. But not stupid either. And you must be the brave bitch that stole from Gaza." He looks back at me again. "I know all about the beef between the Blood and Bone cartel, you, the Yakuza—I'm not getting caught in that shit storm."

"Too late. You and I both know that they will force you to choose sides. Even the Syndikus will be forced to intervene."

He wipes his mouth, his salt-and-pepper beard full and gritty. "The Syndikus hasn't convened in decades."

"It will. Soon enough. It will."

He frees an explosive breath. "Even if. Why the fuck would I ally with a deserter? I don't trust a man who would betray his own brother. Yeah, I have eyes and ears everywhere and I know all about that shit."

Word travels fast.

"You haven't met his brother," Hadassah adds, eyes simmering with bottled-resentment, voice as cold as a catacomb. "It wasn't a matter of integrity. But morality."

He echoes out a guffaw. "If you're bringing fucking morals into this, you talkin to the wrong one. Cause I just don't give a shit."

"We'll make this bargain," I take over. "Your allegiance, for something invaluable. Have you heard about magnus quinque?"

Shook smacks a bewildered look on his face. "That's your fucking pitch? A fucking fairytale?"

"So I thought." I gesture to Hadassah dramatically. The star of the show. "Until she found one of the books. Gaza was the first bearer. Why do you think he wanted her so desperately? The books are encrypted with state secrets that could topple governments, irrefutable evidence against crimes committed by other syndicates. The first book has a roster of dirty cops and politicians on the Blood and Bone bankroll. And that's only a fraction of what we were able to decode. Imagine if I had all of them."

"But you don't."

"But I can find them."

He deliberates, then shakes his head like's going to regret what he's going to say next. "Okay. I'll bite—if you can get another book and give me information that will actually benefit my organization. Call it product testing."

Hadassah huffs. "We don't have that time—"

"We'll make the time," I interpose firmly. "And once I get you what you want, you will guarantee me steadfast resources and reinforcements when the time comes."

He snorts humorously. "With Orian Moon after you, and Gaza's motherfuckin brother on your ass. Your time is coming a lot sooner. So I'd leave and get to work if I were you."

Hadassah lifts herself up.

Tommaso flicks a finger at me. "You go." He nods at her. "She stays."

I hold his gaze, my eyes steeling with silent ire. "We'll be in touch."

Outstretching my arm to her, and like a magnetic, she draws to me. I place my hand on the small of her back, guiding her out.

***

We're at the terrace again. Still in our outfits from last night. Morning stars peep down. The sky is an ombre of midnight blue and amethyst. Exhaustion claws at my eyes. I'm finished. But Hadassah has been out here since we arrived. And something gnaws at me to not leave her alone.

I vacuum in another weary yawn. "You really should go try to sleep."

"You can go," she says to me with her eyes on the slumbering city.

"Not without you. You need to rest."

She lapses into another interval of pained silence.

The sight of her thins my irritation. She has been through a lot and never dealt with that shit. Not really. Life keeps assailing her with new traumas and she takes the hits. Again. And again. And she rises every time, looming higher than when anguish found her. An unshakeable strength.

"What are you even thinking about?"

"Your brother," she utters icily.

The honesty wakes me up a bit. "What about him?"

She looks down. "After he burnt that man alive at the back of his club. When I was wasted out of my mind like an idiot. He never touched me. There were a million times where could've taken advantage and pushed boundaries to the point of no return. But he didn't. Until he did."

I turn to face her with my forearm on the railing, freeing a heavy sigh.

"There's a saying that I like. There is no such thing as a gentleman; only a patient wolf. And Orian has never been good at waiting. He takes what he wants when he wants it. But... with you it's different," I say with regrettable, raw earnestness. "I know how he was with other women, even with Daku's daughters. In comparison to you... he doesn't give a shit about any of them. Not the way he's enamoured with you. He loses all control and sense around you. It's not an excuse, it's just what it is."

She looks back at me with an expression that, for the first time, I can't decipher.

"In his fucked-up kind of way. He cares about you. A lot. Too much. That's not to be questioned, but like us all. We are all bound to our natures."

"And Orian's nature is no different from a bloodthirsty wolf. And it's time that dog gets put down."

I resist a smile. "Forgive me for saying this, but... I don't believe you. Not because you're incapable. But because you're unable."

The same ghoulish look lights up her eyes, and she cracks into a small, scathing smile.

"When his time comes," I add, "I don't think you could turn threat into action."

She nods with mock consideration. "In some, even more, messed up way. I may have cared for an illusion of Orian or Kenjie, whatever the hell his name is." A dangerous look veils over her face like a death mask. "But whatever feelings I had for him. He raped that, too. That shit is fucking dead and so will he be. And I'm going to be the one to do it."