Mateo Caputo (Unseen Underground 2)

Christian’s jaw clenched. “Should have taken them out, Dante."

Lorenzo raised a brow at Christian’s statement, but stayed silent. He was acting underboss, filling the spot until Dante would come home and take his rightful place by his brother’s side. But none of us knew how long that would take, or if it would ever happen.

Lorenzo’s gaze focused on me. Was he waiting to see what I would say? “Does he know that you know?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

“No,” Dante clipped out.

“Who gives a fuck if he knows? He needs to go,” Antonio raged. As Lorenzo’s other uncle, he had sway in the organization. His fiery temper was good when it came to torture, but in situations like these, he was quick to go to death and pain instead of strategy. And from the way Lorenzo side-eyed him, he was aware of that fact.

“Does he?” Lorenzo asked, but we all knew it wasn’t a real question. He stood, his presence filling the entire room. He didn’t need to do much to show people he was the boss. His authority vibrated around us.

“If he doesn’t know that we know…” I trailed off, staring at a spot on the wall. “We could get information out of him.”

“Or we’d get a heads-up.” Lorenzo grinned like the cat who had gotten the cream. “Imagine turning someone from the FBI to our way of thinking.” He clicked his fingers. “

Game changer.”

“It’s too risky,” Alonzo said, his voice low, but we all heard it loud and clear.

“I’ll tell you what’s too risky, Uncle.” Lorenzo flattened his hands on the desk in the middle of the room and leaned forward. “Not knowing who is in your ranks. Not being able to trust the people who say they have your back.” He paused, not looking away from Alonzo for even a second. “You know what happens when you can’t trust the men below you?” He didn’t give him the chance to answer. “People get hurt.”

“Lorenzo—”

“Keep him close,” Lorenzo interrupted, talking to Dante. “Follow him. Do your recon.”

“On it,” Dante replied. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

The line went dead, leaving the room in silence. Lorenzo still hadn’t looked away from his uncles. They were old school, trying to keep up with the new ways, but there was no doubt that they were struggling. Lorenzo was raging a war inside his own head, a war he had no intention of losing.

We talked strategy for a while, the time ticking by. Any other time, I wouldn’t have been conscious of the time, but when the flashing numbers on the clock next to the computer screens flashed 1:57 a.m., I wondered how much longer we’d be here.

“Meeting’s over,” Lorenzo finally said, standing upright and I breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced down to his watch. “It’s two a.m. Go home, get some sleep. We have a meeting at ten. Don’t be late.” He spun around, not waiting for anyone to say anything else, and let himself out of the room.

We had the FBI in our ranks. Things could go really fuckin’ wrong, or it could be the best thing that had happened. Only time would tell.

CHAPTER 6

LUNA

The apartment was quiet. Almost too quiet. It wasn’t until Mateo left that I realized how used to the noise I had gotten. It was something I’d blocked out when I was in high school, but I’d found it harder here. The quiet made way for everything else to come to the front of my mind. Things I didn’t want to acknowledge. Things that had no right to push their way through.

I’d always been good at keeping a lid on things, but after telling Mateo how coming here was meant to be a fresh start, I’d cracked it open the tiniest bit, and now everything was fighting to make its way out. I somehow had to slam it back down and glue the lid on tight, but it felt like an impossible task.

I needed a distraction to take my mind off…everything.

I was too afraid to turn the TV on, probably because the last one we’d ever had was about five years ago. We’d had it a total of six days before my mom and dad had sold it for a baggie of the white stuff. The expensive things were always the first to go to feed their habits.

Shaking my head, I sat down on the edge of the sofa, staring at the walls. Photos of Cardo and Chiara were scattered about, some of them hanging haphazardly as if they’d been knocked over but were hanging on by a thread. It didn’t matter though because their smiling faces made up for it. I wondered if I’d ever smiled like that when I was their age. Maybe I had, but I couldn’t remember it.

There was never a photo of me on the walls anywhere we’d lived. It had always been bare, only the essentials needed, and even those weren’t always around.

I rubbed at my temples, trying not to think of that damn apartment. It was packed in there tonight, the music blasting, not letting me relax for even a second. When would it end? When would they finally stay clean? Would they ever stay clean? No. They wouldn’t. It was a truth I hated to admit, but without it, I’d be stuck here forever.

Wasn’t I stuck anyway though? I had nowhere to go. I knew no one here. I’d never made any real friendships because of my parents. I’d never let anyone get a glimpse into my life. It was too unpredictable if I let someone see. They’d judge me more than they already did, and then I’d never get away.

I closed my eyes, hoping the banging inside my head would subside the longer I was out of my apartment. It was serene here in the haven of Mateo’s home, but from what he’d said, it may not stay that way. For now, the silence was a welcome reprieve.

“Mateo?” a small voice called, followed by a squeaking door. “I had a bad dream.”