Lawless: Mob Boss Book Three by Michelle St. James Read Free Book Online Page A

said. “But I know Raneiro; there has to be something he wants more than making an example out of us. Out of me.”
    “Like what?” Angel asked.
    “I don’t know,” Nico said. “But I’m going to find out.”

11
    “ I can’t leave David here alone,” Angel said. “I just can’t.”
    Nico sat next to her on the bed and took her hand. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”
    She drew in a breath. “He’s just… he’s not well, that’s all. He’s in therapy and he’s on medication and I just… I can’t leave him by himself.”
    Nico rubbed his thumb against her palm, wishing he could take away all her sadness, all her worry. Wishing he could make things easy and beautiful for her. But that was for later — after he’d dealt with Raneiro. After he’d removed every threat to her life. Then he’d do whatever it took to see that she got what she deserved.
    “So that means we take him with us or we find someone to stay with him,” Nico said. If Angel said David wasn’t up to staying alone, then they wouldn’t leave him alone. But based on everything she said — not to mention the things Nico had observed for himself — David was too fragile to accompany them on what would undoubtedly be a dangerous bid for their freedom. Nico was already worried about keeping Angel safe; introducing David into the mix was pushing it, especially in David’s obviously traumatized state. “I’m thinking he’d be better off here.”
    “I agree,” Angel said. “But it’s not like we have a lot of people on our side, and the three people we still trust are in hiding.”
    Nico paced to the balcony doors, looked out over the ocean. Luca would come to Maine if Nico asked, would stay with David as long as was necessary. But they might need Luca in the field, and Marco and Elia, too. Those kinds of resources were hard to come buy — especially now. Nico couldn’t afford to have his best men playing checkers on an island when he and Angel were the subject of a high priority hit by Raneiro Donati. He ran through the very short list of people he would trust with Angel’s beloved brother and came to a stop at one name.
    “I think I might know someone,” he said.
    “Who?”
    “Sara.”
    Sara Falco was a hacker Nico had recruited form the FBI training program. She was the best they’d ever had, and Nico had hand-picked her to help them dig through a mountain of raw data to find David in Los Angeles. Angel had seemed to like her.
    Angel lifted an eyebrow. “Sara Falco? Won’t the Syndicate get suspicious if she takes off right after they banish Luca?”
    “Sara hasn’t been with the family since June,” Nico said.
    Angel couldn’t hide her surprise. “What do you mean? Where has she been?”
    “Went into private consulting,” Nico said.
    “Because of what happened with David?”
    Sara had been in an adjoining building during the rescue in LA, monitoring the operation through a live feed connected to body cams and mics on Nico and the men. Nico hadn’t been able to talk to her afterward, but Luca insinuated that the operation — and the resulting deaths — had been traumatic for her. She’d had the same training as the men in the family, but she’d always been behind the scenes on her computer. LA had been her first experience up close and personal with violence, and Nico suspected she was too gentle for it to sit well.
    “I’m sure that was part of it,” Nico said. “But in my experience, those kinds of decisions are usually a long time coming.”
    Angel chewed her bottom lip. “Do you trust her enough to bring her here?”
    It was a legitimate question. Even Luca didn’t know about the island. But Sara had tactical training. She was tough, but she also had the tender touch David would need in Angel’s absence. And it’s not like they were overflowing with possibilities.
    “Do you?” he asked.
    “I think so,” Angel said.
    The fear on her face tore at his insides. She never showed that kind of