R
iona and I take an Uber over to Callumโs apartment, with a detour by the Gallo house. I donโt like us hopping in and out of hired cars. I want to be able to drive Riona myself, in a vehicle I know
So we borrow one from Dante.
Itโs the same Escalade he and I drove around in last time I was in town. I sink down into the driverโs seat, into the dent made by Danteโs bulk. Riona seems similarly at home in the car, setting her water bottle in the cup holder automatically before she buckles her seatbelt.
โDrive around in this car a lot, do you?โ I ask her. โWhatโs that supposed to mean?โ she says.
โYou seem to know where everything is.โ Riona gives an irritated sniff.
โWhat?โ I say.
โThereโs nothing romantic between Dante and me.โ โI never said there was.โ
She rolls her eyes.
Iโm driving us up Lakeshore Drive, the water spooling away beside us on our right. Riona looks out at the lake, which is flat and gray today, almost the exact same color as the cloudy sky.
โI know he was carrying a torch for Simone all along,โ I say.
โThatโs not why!โ Riona snaps. โI mean, I knew he was in love with her. He said he wasnโt, but it was obvious. All I thought was that I hoped it worked out someday. It made me sad to see him hurting like that. There wasnโt anything romantic between us either way. We were just friends. We still are.โ
โAlright,โ I say. โI believe you.โ
โI donโt care if you believe me or not. Thatโs the truth.โ Riona is quiet a moment. Then she says softly, โHe respected me. So often men act like you have to prove yourself to them. When I showed up at the jail after they arrested himโyou know about that?โ
I nod. When the Griffins and the Gallos were fighting with the Polish Mafia, the Polish boss Mikolaj Wilk framed Dante for murder. Riona got the charges dropped.
โDante trusted me to help him. Even though we barely knew each other. And our families had been enemies not long before.โ Riona links her fingers gently on her lap. She has lovely handsโpale and slim with clear polish over the shell-pink nails. โWeโre alike in a lot of ways. Disciplined. Hard-working. Unemotional. People respect that in a man. But with a woman, they say youโre cold or harsh.โ
โPeople say that about Deuce, too.โ โThey donโt hold it against him, though.โ
I think about that. How attributes are viewed in men versus women. How women are criticized for behaviors that might be seen as virtues in men. You see plenty of that in the militaryโguys getting complimented for their โleadership skills,โ and gals getting called โball-busting bitchesโ when they give the same orders.
โYouโre right,โ I say, after a moment. โAnd youโre right that I shouldnโt have assumed that you and Dante couldnโt just be friends.โ
Riona glances over at me, surprised that I actually agreed with her for once.
โPeople are always telling me what I should want, or what I should feel,โ she says.
โIs Dean one of those people?โ
That was the wrong thing to say. I can almost see her barriers coming up again.
โYou were lying when you said you didnโt like art,โ Riona says. โYou were laying a trap for him, so you could make him look stupid.โ
โFor a smart guy, it was awfully easy to make him look dumb.โ
โYou didnโt like him as soon as he made that comment about the military.โ
โEverybody thinks they know whatโs it like to be in the army โcause they watchedย Saving Private Ryan.โ
Riona nods slowly. โRight. And everyoneโs a lawyer because they watched
Suits.โ
I laugh. โWell . . . that was a pretty good show.โ
Riona smiles just a little. โI watched it for the clothes. Donna knew how to dress. Joan fromย Mad Men, too. They donโt always do the redheads right on TV, but with those two . . . โ
Iโm sorry that weโre already pulling up in front of Callumโs place. Right when Riona was actually starting to relax a little. It takes me a minute to be sure weโve got the right place, because the building looks like an old church, not an apartment complex. But Riona assures me this is the spot.
I never met Callum on my last visitโhe was busy watching the birth of his son. I know all about him, though. Heโs married to Danteโs little sister Aida. Heโs the oldest Griffin child and heir to the empire.
I can tell straight off how much he cares about Riona. He brings us up to his cozy kitchen, which is small but warm, with exposed brick walls and
butcher block counters. Plenty of the original church remains, including the long roof beams, and several stained-glass windows.
Despite how late it is, Callumโs still dressed in slacks and a white button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up. He keeps his voice low as he pours us all a drink, mindful of Aida and the baby asleep in the next room.
โHowโs Miles?โ Riona whispers.
โGetting more stubborn by the day.โ Callum smiles. He pours us each a glass of red wine.
โTo family,โ he says simply.
This time, I take a sip. The wine seems especially good after the ribeye. Itโs funny eating and drinking like this. The two months before I hardly had a single good meal. Now Iโm in the lap of luxury. Iโll have to be careful not to let it go to my head. Hunger gives you an edge.
โAlright,โ I say, setting down the wine. โWhat do we know about the diver?โ
Callum opens his laptop and plays the security video for me.
Even though I can see that it upsets Riona, she watches the whole thing over again without taking her eyes off the screen.
โHow did you get away from him under the water?โ I ask. She explains about the hairpin.
โThat was lucky,โ I say. โAnd smart.โ
As the diver climbs out of the pool I say, โHe looks about six-two, two hundred pounds. Does that sound right, Riona?โ
She nods. โHe was strong. Young, probablyโless than forty. Dark eyes.โ She pauses for a moment, remembering. โI think he was left-handed,โ she adds.
โWhy do you say that?โ
โWhen I was laying on my back, his arm came over my neck this way . . . โ she mimes it crossing her throat from left to right. โI think that was his dominant arm.โ
โGood.โ I nod.
โNot much of a description,โ Riona says skeptically. โItโs better than nothing,โ I say.
We all watch the diver pick up her phone after he gets out of the pool. โHave you tried tracking the phone?โ I ask Callum.
โYes,โ he says. โIt turned on briefly in Greektown. Then it disappeared again.โ
โWhat kind of info is on that phone?โ
โA lot of things,โ Riona says. โPersonal and banking info. All my work emails . . . itโs password-protected, but you know that doesnโt mean shit to somebody who knows what theyโre doing.โ
โCould the phone have been the target?โ
Riona shrugs. โSeems like there are easier ways to steal it.โ
I turn to Callum again. โDo you know who brokers hits in Chicago? If this guy was hired locally, a broker could tell us who the diver was. And maybe who hired him.โ
โI know someone.โ Callum nods.
I want to go along with Callum for that. So I say to Riona, โCan I take you over to your parentsโ place tomorrow? Just for a couple hours.โ
โSure,โ she says, without much enthusiasm.
โAlright,โ I say. โNow what about enemies. Who has a grudge against you at the moment?โ
โAgainst Riona specificallyโnobody,โ Callum says. โAgainst the Griffins
โa whole fuck of a lot of people. Top of the list are the Russians. My father
killed their last boss, Kolya Kristoff. The new one is an old-school gangster out of Moscow. His name is Alexei Yenin. He worked as an interrogator for the KGB, so as you can imagine, heโs as vicious as they come.โ
โDrowning isnโt the Russianโs usual style, but I could see a former KGB officer being a little more subtle than most,โ I say.
โRight.โ Callum nods. โStill, itโs weird if they targeted Riona.โ โWho else?โ
โMaybe the Hartford family,โ Riona pipes up. โWhoโs that?โ Callum asks.
โA couple of months ago Enzo Gallo asked me for help. Or, more accurately, one of the other Italian families needed help,โ Riona says, with an expression of distaste. โBosco Bianchi was driving drunk and high with a couple of sixteen-year-old girls in his car. One of them went through the windshield. She was put in a medically-induced coma. Boscoโs toxicity test went missing, and I got his confession thrown out. The DA settled for eight months in medium-security. The girl never recovered.โ
I can tell Riona feels bad about the girl. And sheโs embarrassed that she facilitated Boscoโs deal, but she doesnโt shrink away from admitting it.
โVirginia Hartford was taken off life support last week,โ Riona says. โSheโs got a father and an older brother. If I was them, I might want revenge.โ
I write that down, same as I did the information about the Russians. โOkay,โ I say. โWeโll check that out too. Anyone else?โ
A longer pause, and then Riona says, โMaybe Luke Barker.โ โWhoโs that?โ
โHe was a senior attorney at my firm. He got handsy with me at the company Christmas party and Uncle Oran fired him.โ
โWhere is he now?โ
โI have no idea,โ Riona says coldly.
โAlright,โ I say, marking his name down, too. โThatโs a good start. Weโll run down those possibilities starting tomorrow.โ
Itโs getting close to midnight. I can see Callum trying not to yawn. He gives his sister a hug, telling her, โWeโll figure it out, Ree. Donโt worry.โ
โIโm not worried,โ she says. โI just want to know, one way or another.โ โSay hi to Aida for me,โ I tell Callum.
โIโm sure Iโll get the chance in an hour or two when Miles wakes us up,โ Cal says.
Riona and I get back into the Escalade and head back over to her apartment building.
โWe can park in the underground parking,โ she says. โI have an assigned spot, even though I donโt have a car.โ
I can see why Riona picked this condoโitโs a lot like her corner office. High and lonely with a stunning view. I can tell she likes things that are aesthetically stark, and completely within her control.
Itโs only once weโre alone in the apartment that Riona seems to realize Iโll be sleeping here, within the bubble of her personal space.
โIโm fine on the sofa,โ I tell her.
โRight,โ Riona says, with an expression of discomfort. โIโll get you some clean sheets.โ
I unbutton my shirt and shuck it off, planning to wash up and brush my teeth at the sink like I usually do.
Riona comes back surprisingly fast, carrying a stack of fresh bedding. Her eyes flit across my bare torso and Iโm surprised to see her blush. I didnโt take her for the modest type.
โHere,โ she says, shoving the bedding at me and not meeting my eye. โWhatโs wrong?โ I say, not able to resist teasing her a little. โNothingโs wrong,โ she says brusquely.
Iโm pretty sure I got the honest Riona to tell a fib. โDo you need toothpaste or anything?โ she mutters. โNah. I brought my Dopp kit.โ
โAlright. Goodnight, then.โ โGoodnight, Riona.โ
She retreats into her bedroom, and I hear the muffled sounds of water running, and light feet padding around as she readies herself for bed.
Because Iโm a nosy fucker, I poke around her living room a bit.
Itโs alarmingly clean. Unlike Dean, Riona would do just fine in the military. Her books are lined up with soldier-like precision. I couldnโt find a speck of dust with a hundred white gloves. Even her remote is set at a perfect ninety- degree angle on the television stand.
All that order makes me wonder. In my experience, when somebody clings that tightly to a sense of control, itโs because something happened to them at some point in their lives that made them feel powerless.
I think of Riona describing Luke Barker and how he got โhandsyโ with her at the Christmas party. Her voice was as calm as ever. But I donโt feel calm, thinking about it. I feel a stab of something very like anger. I want to put Luke at the top of my list of people I plan to talk to.
I lay out a crisp, clean sheet on top of the sofa to protect the cushions. Then I lay down and slip into a light slumber. A soldierโs sleepโthe kind you wake from easily.
RIONAโS SCREAMย jolts me right off the couch.
Before my eyes are even open, Iโve jumped up and Iโm running to her room.
I rip open her door and flip on the light.
Sheโs tangled up in her sheets, ripping and clawing at them where theyโre wrapped around her throat.
I pull her out of the bedding, wrapping her up in my arms instead. Sheโs only wearing a light silk camisole and shorts, and sheโs shivering, from cold or from fear.
โShh,โย I tell her. โItโs alright. Iโm here.โ
Embarrassed, she tries to pull away from me. But I keep my arms around her, pulling her against my chest. I can feel her heart hammering away against my bare skin, and her slim frame shaking.
โI thought I was drowning,โ she gasps out.
Again I feel that flood of anger that a man put his hands on this woman. Riona is desperate to seem strong and independent. But the truth is sheโs fragile in the way that all women are fragileโsmaller than men, and vulnerable to violence.
I have a sister. Iโd fucking kill anyone who tried to touch her.
And I feel that same drive to protect Riona. To keep her safe. Not just because Dante asked me to. Because she needs it. She needs my help.
โIโm here,โ I tell her again. โNo oneโs going to hurt you.โ
I can feel her heart beating wildly against my forearm. It feels like a bird caught in a cage, struggling to get out. Rionaโs whole body is shaking.
But after a minute, she stops fighting and she sinks down against my chest, allowing me to hold her. Allowing me to warm her with my arms, so her shivering stops.
I donโt think sheโd ever allow this, if she werenโt exhausted and terrified. In fact, sheโll probably be embarrassed in the morning.
But right now, she accepts my comfort.
I hold her like that for almost an hour, until her body goes heavy and warm with sleep.