Indebted to the Mafia King
Sleeping with the Devil

Dante

I slide into the booth in the tiny, barely-Brooklyn diner across from Henry Alcott and a man I don't know, and I think about killing them here and now.

We agreed to be subtle about this. I picked a place outside of any territory worth talking about. I changed in the car, into one of the patterned button-downs I only keep for the barbecue and a pair of shorts. And here these two assholes sit with their high-and-tights, cop shoes squeaking on the stained linoleum, badges and guns bulging their crap impersonation of what normal people wear to lunch. They need to know who the fuck they're dealing with, and that I'm not fucking around anymore.

"Who the fuck are you?" I ask the stranger with no preamble.

He prickles. "All right, dickhead, you "

Henry holds his hand out between us. "This is Jace Covett. He's...a friend."

"Covett." I roll the name around in my mouth. The shape of it is familiar to me. "There was a Covett in the remains of Thano Coppola's books."

"Don't fucking say that name," he hisses.

I snort and lean back, pleased with the confirmation of his guilt. Fucking dirty cops. "Easy enough. By the way, Henry, I heard you just got transferred here from Chicago."

"I did," he says slowly. "Why?"

"No reason." I shake my head with a smile. "Just funny, 'cause I also heard the key witness in the Luciano case died before he could take the stand."

Henry pales a few shades. "Did he?"

I nod slowly. "The whole case is falling apart. And they really thought they had Luciano this time too."

The waitress wanders over, takes our orders between snapping her gum and texting, and wanders away.

"Now that we're all on the same page"-I cross my arms, just barely revealing the strap of a shoulder holster in the neck of my shirt-"what do you have?"

"Something solid." Henry taps on the edge of the table. "Couple months back, Jace placed an asset in a pack of Russian dealers upstate."

My heart hammers. The waitress drags over three cups of black coffee, all lukewarm. I suck mine down without tasting it.

"The asset is...let's say a go-getter," Henry continues. "Soared up the chain. Not close enough to the boss for a name, but close enough to touch the New York syndicate already."

"And I'd rather not risk his cover on this bullshit," Jace mutters.

"We won't,” Henry says with the finality of an argument they've already had a dozen times.

I can barely focus on all this goddamn backstory. I don't care about assets or dealers upstate. I want to know where El is, and I want to know now. I'm vibrating in a way that has nothing to do with the coffee. "Cut to the fucking chase, or the director will find a very interesting letter on his desk come morning," I say.

Jace starts forward like he's going to hit me, but Henry stops him. I offer my shit-eating-est grin.

"Long story short, he found her," Henry says. "Eleni. And she's alive."

All the breath whooshes out of my body in a single gust. My ears feel like they're ringing. Alive. I'll get to touch her again, taste her lips, apologize for leaving her.

I nod like I'm not coming apart at the seams. "So when are we going?"

"We?" Jace sneers. "I wouldn't go anywhere with you."

I don't give a fuck about his attitude anymore. It rolls off my shoulders under the soporific whirlpool of the knowledge Eleni's alive.

"The asset can get her out of danger during the FBI's raid," Henry says.

"I can get her the fuck out of danger," I reply. "Give me the goddamn address. I'll end it tonight. She's upstate, right?"

Jace and Henry exchange looks. I think about knocking their heads together. Our food arrives, and absolutely none of it is what we ordered.

"If you're involved in the raid, you will be arrested," Henry says with all the finality of a cell door slamming shut. "Our credentials protect Jace and I. You're just another wanted criminal." "You fucking pigs," I snarl. "Tell me where she is, or I'll-"

Jace grabs for his gun, Henry for his badge.

"Or you'll what?" Henry says. "I could write just as lovely a letter as you. That house of yours is looking nice, by the way."

Goddammit. My temper strains to bursting at the edges of my control. I need

"Fine," I spit. "Then I don't give a fuck about getting arrested. Lock me up and throw away the key. I need to fucking see her."

Henry and Jace exchange another glance. I claw onto the edge of the table instead of shooting them both.

"You can't fucking tell him," Jace says in a near whisper. "This is what he's like now. It's like unhooking a rabid dog's chain." "I'm right fucking here," I reply.

Henry shakes his head. "No, it's not. I grew up with him. I grew up in this life. I know what the news is going to mean." "What the fuck are you talking about?" I seethe, looking from man to man.

"Watch your fucking language, you Italian prick-"

"You don't need your dick to raid some warehouse," I press. "I have a fucking knife, and I'm happy to show you how good I am." "Enough," Henry says sternly.

Jace's jaw works. "I think you're an idiot." He eyes Henry before lowering his gaze to his fists.

"And yet, I've got six months of seniority on you." Henry turns back to me with a perfectly placid smile that makes me want to knock his teeth in. "Where they're keeping her, someone has seen fit to knock Eleni out a few times and submit her to doctor's visits."

"What?"

"They're monitoring her condition," Henry says patiently, "because she's a little over a month pregnant."

The diner falls away. My blood roars in my ears. Pregnant. My Eleni, lost somewhere in the world, carrying our first child. She's going to be beautiful with pregnancy. My spinning mind constructs a vision of her; glowing, belly bulging, swatting me and telling me it's my job as the husband to get her whatever she wants. A taut, fragile smile pulls on my cheeks. Son or daughter, I'll love them. Oh, I'll spoil them senseless.

Reality crashes back down on me with aching certainty. I can't spoil anyone from jail. I can't risk my life or my freedom on this raid. I need to make sure I'm here for Eleni and our child. I exhale, long and slow, then open eyes I don't remember closing. Henry is watching me closely, his eyebrows pinched. Jace is shaking his head.

"Okay," I say. "I'll stay out of the raid itself, somewhere nearby, and I won't pull heroics at the last second. What's the plan?"

Henry grins.