He continues. “Because it’s more fun this way.” He flashes a wide grin. “I didn’t want this fucking marriage any more than you, so we made the contract not legal. Truth is, your papa has a side hustle, Ruby La Rosa, and it came to bite him in the ass. Fuck the commission. We were going to take you for us, you know, revenge and all that—” Mik bites on his cigarette. “But then Wicked came through with something better. We take your papa instead! Marvelous.”

I step between Mik and Papa, clutching the phone in my hand and zeroing my eyes on Mik. “You’re not going near him.”

“Thought you might say that, wifey, so please…” He smirks at the phone in my hand. “Push play.”

Victor La Rosa knew what he needed to do. His wife was the only person he knew would always matter to him. That was, of course, until he found out the truth about the one he married. He had pride too wide for his body.

The night was cold tonight. Colder than usual. He brought it down to the fact that the trees were bare from fall.

“Victor.” Antonio gestured his hand into the doors that lead into the old run-down asylum. Antonio was no different than Victor. They both knew what the other wanted from the other, but neither of them wanted to say it out loud.

Victor stepped through the doors, his glossy loafers tapping against the clear tiles. He followed Antonio as he led the way down to the end of the corridor, where a door waited for him. “We do all business talk in here, because if you’re wearing a bug, you get shot.”

Victor let the insult fly over his head. They both knew that the day Victor worked with the cops would be the day he would be thrown down a grave. He wasn’t interested in breaking Omertà.

He took the spot beside Antonio, keeping his eyes focused on the statue ahead of him. Virgin Mary crying blood. “You couldn’t be more weird if you tried—” Victor turned to him. “Brother.”

“Mmhmm. I know.” Antonio crossed his hands in his lap. He knew what his brother had come to say, but he awaited eagerly on the words to leave his mouth. Antonio had waited for this moment since she was born. It was like watching the ice melt in Antarctica.

“She will be ready when she’s seventeen. It will need to be handled delicately, as she will be known among our worlds to be my daughter. People will ask questions. It can’t be done quickly. I need her up until that point.” Victor waved his hand. “You can experiment your drugs on her until you take her. Pearl will ask questions, though, so we will have to handle that.”