“The Scava’s are a powerful family. James’ grandfather was killed much the same way as he was. He had a sister who died in a car crash. I know Mrs. Scava had miscarried twice. James was the only direct survivor. Bad luck.”

“Not bad luck. They’re a leading crime family. They have enemies. The more powerful you are the more hated you are.”

“You seem to know a lot about this.”

He glanced my way. “I’ve been around. What about your family?”

“The men have been foot soldiers for as long as I can remember. I don’t think many make it past fifty. So fucking stupid. Such a waste.”

“How did you meet James Scava?”

“At a party being used as cover for a meeting. My father had gone as Mr. Benedetti’s bodyguard. I’d been invited to come along. Mateo hadn’t been there. He’d been at school. He was getting out of the life, making a new start.”

“Go on.” he said.

I realized I’d stopped talking. I didn’t know when I’d stopped missing James. He’d been so good, so caring, so protective of me.

“I’d just turned twenty. His birthday was one day after mine. He was thirty, older than I usually dated, but we hit it off.”

“And you knew who he was, what he did, and still fell for him?”

“He shielded me from that side of things. So had my father. I never saw it. And it’s easy to pretend it’s not happening when it’s someone you love whose hands are bloodied.”

Dominic took a bite of his sandwich. “They never found his killer.”

“How do you know so much?”

“It was in the news.”

“Mr. Scava believed it was a rival family, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Victor had his dirty hands in it.”

“That’s quite the accusation.”

“It’s not an accusation if it’s truth.”

“Be careful, Gia.”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

“Tell me how Mateo got involved with Victor.”

“When my dad was killed, Mateo came back for mom and me. He wanted to be sure we were cared for, protected. He didn’t listen to me when I told him to go back to school, that we’d be fine. And then he started to work for Victor. I wasn’t sure at first. If I’d known what Victor was up to, I would have gone to Mr. Scava, but I didn’t know until it was too late.”

“Are you sure Angus Scava isn’t already involved?”

“I’m telling you, he wouldn’t have done this to me. He would never have let Victor…” I broke off, remembering those nights when Victor tormented me, scared the fuck out of me.

“Your mom, where is she now?”