Chapter 8: An Unusual Choice
I answered Vincent's call on the first ring.
"Boss, we've got her." His voice was tense. "But you need to get here. Now."
"What happened?" I was already grabbing my keys, heading for the door.
"She saw me with Marco Rossi. At Diamond Heart. She knows."
My blood went cold. "Is she hurt?"
"No. Scared out of her mind, but not hurt. I convinced her we needed to talk somewhere private. Brought her to the Fifth Street safe house."
Smart move. The safe house was secure, off the grid. Nobody would look for her there.
"I'm ten minutes away. Don't let her leave. And Vincent?"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Don't touch her."
I hung up and drove faster than I should have through the city streets. My mind was racing, trying to figure out how to handle this.
Lucia had seen Vincent with Marco Rossi. Had seen them exchange something. She thought she'd discovered the traitor.
But she was wrong.
Vincent wasn't betraying me. He was working undercover, pretending to feed information to the Rossis while actually feeding them lies. It was a dangerous game, one I'd set up months ago.
And I hadn't told Lucia about it because I didn't trust her enough yet.
Now she'd stumbled into the middle of my operation and could ruin everything.
I pulled up to the safe house—a plain apartment building that looked like any other. Took the stairs two at a time to the third floor.
Vincent opened the door before I could knock.
"She's in the living room. Won't talk to me. Keeps asking for you."
I walked past him into the small apartment. Lucia sat on the couch, her phone clutched in her hands, her face pale.
When she saw me, relief and fear crossed her face in equal measure.
"Mr. Cross—"
"What did you see?" I asked, keeping my voice calm.
"Vincent. Talking to Marco Rossi. At the bar. They were whispering, and then Vincent gave him an envelope. I tried to text you, but before I could, Vincent called me and said we needed to talk. He brought me here and—"
"And you thought you'd discovered the traitor." I sat down across from her. "You thought Vincent was betraying me."
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry. I know he's your right-hand man, but I saw what I saw. They looked guilty. Like they were hiding something."
"They were hiding something. But not what you think."
Lucia blinked. "What?"
I glanced at Vincent, who stood by the door with his arms crossed. "Vincent isn't working for the Rossis. He's pretending to work for them. Feeding them false information while finding out their plans."
"What?" Lucia looked between us. "But... but I saw him give Marco an envelope."
"Full of fake shipping schedules and business deals that don't exist." Vincent walked over and sat on the arm of the couch. "We've been running this operation for three months. The Rossis think they have a man inside Dante's organization. They trust me. Which means they tell me things."
Lucia's mouth opened and closed. "So... you're not a traitor?"
"No, kid. I'm not a traitor."
She looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me this?"
"Because you've been working for me for exactly one day," I said. "And this operation is so secret that only three people in my entire organization know about it. Me, Vincent, and Romano."
"Now four," Vincent added. "Since you just became a liability."
Lucia flinched. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to do what you asked. You said to watch for anyone talking to the Rossis—"
"And you did exactly right," I interrupted. "You saw something suspicious. You reported it. That's your job."
"So... I'm not in trouble?"
Vincent laughed. "Boss, she actually thought you were going to kill her or something."
"Were you?" Lucia asked me directly. "Thinking about killing me?"
I met her eyes. Those scared, brave eyes that seemed to see right through me.
"No," I said honestly. "But we do have a problem now."
"What problem?"
"You know about Vincent's operation. Which means if the Rossis ever suspect you know something, if they ever capture you and make you talk, Vincent's cover is blown. And he'll probably be killed."
The color drained from Lucia's face. "Oh God. I didn't mean to—I'm so sorry—"
"Stop apologizing," Vincent said, not unkindly. "You didn't know. But now you do. Which means from here on out, you're part of this operation whether you like it or not."
Lucia looked at me. "What does that mean?"
Good question. What did it mean?
I'd planned to use Lucia as a low-level observer. Someone to watch and listen and report back. Keep her safe, keep her distant from the real danger.
But now she'd stumbled into the middle of my most dangerous operation.
And I had to decide what to do with her.
"It means your assignment is changing," I said. "Starting tomorrow, you're not working at Diamond Heart anymore."
"I'm not?"
"No. You're working directly for me. As my personal assistant."
Vincent's head snapped toward me. "Boss, are you serious?"
"Very serious."
"You're going to have her working in your office? Around all your business?"
"Yes."
"That's insane. She doesn't know anything about—"
"She'll learn." I stood up. "Lucia needs to understand how my organization works if she's going to be useful. And I need someone close to me that I can control. Someone who has everything to lose if she betrays me."
Lucia was staring at me. "Personal assistant? But I don't know how to—I've never—"
"You'll figure it out. You're smart." I pulled out my phone and started typing. "I'm sending you an address. Be there tomorrow morning at 9 AM. That's my main office for my legitimate businesses—real estate, shipping, investments. You'll help me with paperwork, meetings, phone calls. Normal business stuff."
"But what about finding the traitor?" she asked. "Isn't that why you wanted me at Diamond Heart? To watch for suspicious activity?"
"The traitor isn't at Diamond Heart. They're somewhere higher up in my organization." I put my phone away. "Which is why I need you close to me. You'll sit in on meetings with my top people. You'll hear conversations. You'll see who acts nervous or guilty. And you'll report everything to me."
Understanding dawned on her face. "You're using me as bait."
"No. I'm using you as my eyes and ears. There's a difference."
"Is there?" She stood up, anger flashing in her eyes. "You're putting me in a room with your top people—one of whom is a traitor—and hoping they slip up around me. That sounds like bait to me."
She was right. It was dangerous.
But it was also necessary.
"You want to pay off your debt?" I asked. "You want your mother to keep getting treatment? Then this is how you do it. By working for me. By doing what I tell you. Without question."
Lucia's hands clenched into fists. I could see her fighting with herself, wanting to refuse, wanting to tell me to go to hell.
But she couldn't.
Because I owned her.
"Fine," she finally said. "I'll be your personal assistant. I'll sit in your meetings and spy on your people. But if I die because of this, I'm haunting you forever."
Vincent laughed. "I like her, boss. She's got guts."
"Vincent, take her home," I said. "Make sure she gets inside safely. Then come back here. We need to discuss our next move with the Rossis."
"Got it." Vincent stood and gestured to Lucia. "Come on, kid. Let's get you home."
Lucia walked to the door, then stopped and turned back to me.
"Mr. Cross?"
"What?"
"Thank you. For not killing me when I accused Vincent."
"The night's not over yet," I said.
Her eyes went wide.
"I'm kidding." I almost smiled. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
She left with Vincent, and I was alone in the safe house.
I pulled out my phone and looked at the list of my top lieutenants. Twenty names. Any one of them could be the traitor.
But now I had a new tool to help me find them.
Lucia Santos.
My personal assistant.
My spy.
My risk.
Romano was going to lose his mind when I told him about this decision. Would probably spend an hour explaining all the ways it could go wrong.
And he'd be right.
This was dangerous. Reckless. Could blow up in my face.
But something about Lucia made me want to take that risk.
Maybe it was the way she'd stood up to me. The way she'd apologized to Vincent. The way she'd agreed to my insane plan even though she was terrified.
Or maybe it was something else. Something I didn't want to examine too closely.
My phone rang. Romano.
"Tell me you didn't just make that girl your personal assistant," he said without preamble.
"How did you already know?"
"Vincent texted me. He thinks you've lost your mind."
"Maybe I have."
"Dante, this is a mistake. A big one. She's a liability—"
"She's an asset. And starting tomorrow, she's going to help us find the traitor."
Romano sighed. "And when the traitor figures out what she's doing and decides to eliminate the threat?"
"Then I'll handle it."
"How?"
"The same way I handle everything. With violence and efficiency."
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not meant to be." I headed for the door. "Set up a meeting with all the top lieutenants for tomorrow afternoon. Tell them I'm introducing my new assistant. Let's see who gets nervous."
"You're using her as bait."
"I'm using her as bait," I agreed.
"God help us all."
He hung up.
I drove back to my apartment, exhaustion finally catching up with me. It had been a long day. Assassination attempt. Discovering Lucia saw Vincent with Marco. Changing her entire assignment.
And tomorrow would be even longer.
Tomorrow, I'd bring Lucia into the heart of my organization.
Tomorrow, I'd watch my people's reactions.
Tomorrow, I'd start figuring out who wanted me dead.
My phone buzzed as I walked into my apartment.
A text from Lucia: *I'm home. Vincent made sure my door was locked and checked all the windows. He's actually kind of nice when he's not being terrifying.*
I smiled despite myself.
*Get some sleep. Wear something professional tomorrow. You're representing me now.*
*I don't own anything professional. I own three t-shirts and two pairs of jeans.
Then buy something. I'm advancing you five hundred dollars. Check your account.
A pause. Then: Thank you. I'll pay you back.
You're paying me back already. With your service.
Another pause. Longer this time.
Mr. Cross? Are you going to get me killed?
I stared at the question.
The honest answer was maybe. This world was dangerous. And I was putting her directly in harm's way.
But I couldn't tell her that.
*I'm going to keep you alive. I promise.
*Why should I believe you?
*Because keeping you alive is in my best interest. You're valuable to me. And I protect what's valuable.
*Like your car?
*My car got shot up today. So clearly I'm not perfect at protection.
*Great. That makes me feel so much better.
I actually laughed.
This girl. This brave, sarcastic, terrified girl who was somehow making me laugh at midnight after one of the worst days I'd had in months.
*Good night, Lucia.
*Good night, Mr. Cross.
I put my phone down and went to bed.
But sleep didn't come easily.
Because I kept thinking about what Romano had said.
What happens when the traitor figures out what Lucia's doing?
And I kept seeing her face. Those scared, determined eyes.
I'd promised to keep her alive.
But could I really keep that promise?
Or was I about to get an innocent girl killed for my own purposes?
The answer terrified me more than I wanted to admit.