LUCA

“He works for Mario.”

Veda’s softly spoken words swirled round and round in my head, fighting for adherence. I wasn’t surprised that my brother had turned one of my men. That was the way of things sometimes in my world. What I couldn’t believe was Veda—my vita—would do this to me. “Why didn’t you tell me all of this immediately?”

“He said he would kill my parents. He said he would kill you.” She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth in an attempt to halt the sob that tore from her chest as new tears ran down her face.

“So you thought it was better to...