Heading to the second level of their penthouse, I rounded a corner and stopped outside a closed door. I knocked twice, assuming this was the office. “Hey, it’s me. Can I come in?”

The door opened a moment later, and Enzo was the first to greet me. I couldn’t help but notice the astonishment lingering in his dark brown eyes as he looked at me.

Constantine set his phone on a desk, keeping his back to me and his voice low as he talked to Hudson and Alessandro on the other side of the office.

“No more secrets,” I blurted out, unable to stop myself. I remained in the doorway, leaning against it for support as I waited for him to face me. “What’s going on?”

Constantine slowly turned, resting his hand next to his hat on the desk. His chest rose and fell as he took his time to summon whatever it was he didn’t want to share.

“What is it?” Nerves propelled me forward and into the room to stand by Enzo.

“I asked Giuseppe Messina to call me. He’s the leader of the Sicilian mafia here in Brooklyn. That was him on the phone earlier. I had no choice but to pull him into this.” He kept his eyes on the desk, and the lack of eye contact was as unsettling as his words.

I looked back and forth between Alessandro and Hudson for answers, but they remained quietly standing there, deferring to Constantine to take the lead.

“Talk,” I whispered, anxiety coiling in that single word, packing enough punch to catch Constantine’s gaze. I rubbed my arms, chills breaking out in full force as I waited for him to answer me.

“Giuseppe promised his organization doesn’t have any type of cyber wallet or crypto hardware device of any kind, and I’m inclined to believe him,” Constantine shared. “He confirmed that a meeting was requested, and Giuseppe sent his right-hand man, Tommaso. The Irish intended to present a proposal they promised would be profitable for both organizations. They never had the opportunity to hear the deal because I arrived. Tommaso declined to continue discussions with them because of my involvement and kicked Jamie and Daniel out after I left.”

“And you believe this Giuseppe and Tommaso guy? They’re mafia. Bad guys.” I plopped down on a leather couch. “I know you said they’re afraid of your family, but money can be a pretty convincing motivator to cause betrayal.”

“In this case, fear of us is a stronger motivator than money,” Enzo said confidently as he sat beside me. He gave me a brotherly pat on the knee, and I could sense he had a good soul.

“Was Jamie possibly misinformed, then, about the Sicilians having that wallet in the first place? Was there never anything for Colin to steal, but he thought there was?” I tore my hands through my hair. “I’m so confused.”