Indebted to the Mafia King
Price

Eleni

Sean leers at us through the whole ferry ride and the taxi to the massive club in the city. If I thought Piacere was loud, that's only because I didn't know how loud things could get. I can almost taste the music in here, and people are packed in so tightly I can't remember the last time I took a breath that wasn't mostly someone else's hair. At least it makes walking in the heels easier. There's nowhere to fall.

Gianna clings onto my hand, my only anchor in the storm. I squeeze her and try to seem ditzy when I'm also just trying to think around the crowd. "So." Sean puts a hand on the small of my back. "Drink first? Bad boyfriend, right? I could treat you better."

I'm about to force myself to laugh when Gianna plucks his hand off.

"She's looking for help, Sean, not a quick fuck."

He grumbles but doesn't seem that mad. I shoot her a grateful look, and she winks at me.

"Are your guys already here?" she asks. "Because if not, she and I are happy to dance for a little while you get that set up.

"Oh, they're here." Sean's mood perks right up. "And thrilled about the delivery, if I do say so myself."

39

The word delivery shivers down my spine as I remember the website Uncle John came to warn Dante about. Gianna wouldn't have set me up like that, right? Of course not. I banish the thought.

"Okay. We're ready whenever you are!" I smile brightly.

Sean shakes his head. "No, baby, I secured passage for one."

Gianna's hand in mine tightens. "Just her?"

Sean nods. "Well, me and her."

My heart hammers. I've come this far. I pull out of Gianna's grasp.

"Go dance," I shout over the music. "Based on everything else about him, this won't take very long."

Gianna cackles, but I can see the real worry in her eyes. She doesn't want to send me off alone. But she doesn't know how dangerous I am.

I let Sean lead me out of the club through a side door into a dingy alley. He puts his hand on my waist again, and I try to remove it like Gianna did, but he doesn't move. I swallow.

"Come on, pretty thing, forget this douche," he croons. "Let me show you a good time."

"You know what?" I say, thinking fast. "You're starting to make a lot of sense. But I don't want you to see me get all crazy. So how about you let me handle this douche by myself, and I'll meet you right after?" He licks his lips, and his gun glints in the streetlights. "I can't wait."

Sean points me up a rickety metal staircase that takes forever to climb in my heels, but eventually, I reach a featureless door. Sean expected me to be ditzy, but these will be real Lombardi men, and I need them to know that I won't be fucked with, as Dante would say. I square my shoulders and knock on the door. A thin piece of wood slides away, and someone's eyes appear behind it.

"I'm Sean's delivery," I say, hating every word.

The wood slides back into place, and the door opens a second later. I march into the small, dark room that sits right above the dance floor, if I had to guess by the thudding base I can feel through my feet. Six men sit within, all relaxed on various pieces of furniture. A haze of cigar smoke hangs in the air, and the room reeks of old alcohol.

Someone slams the door behind me, and I grip my purse. Seven men.

"Delivery, huh?" one of them says. "You're a pretty little present."

The one who shut the door circles around and smacks that guy on the back of the head. "Are you fucking stupid?"

The first guy shakes his head.

"That's what I thought." He crosses his arms and looks me up and down, clearly less inebriated than the rest of the men. "That's Eleni fucking Calimeris."

My heart skips a beat. Stupid. I should've known they'd recognize me. I've walked right into a trap, and I'm going to fail everyone. That same memory of Baba, squaring his shoulders as he faced his death, surfaces in my mind. Maybe I made a mistake. But I have to face it with pride and see if I can't turn it around.

It's what Dante would do.

"You got me." I smile like I expected him to notice all along. "What can I call you?"

"How about a hundred thousand dollars richer?" He grins.

"How about Doll, for short?"

The men snicker. I'm surprised at myself. I didn't expect all those years of listening to Frank Lombardi be awful to my family to ever be useful, but I know the patter of this conversation like it's inscribed in my blood. In Baba's blood.

He purses his lips. "What do you want? Is this just a death wish? Or did you dress up to try to get a little mercy out of Luca?"

"I want Sebastian Bellini and the associates he was taken with." I cross my arms. "Tonight."

The men all laugh again. The leader, Doll, shakes his head.

"You're cute, but you're not that cute," he says. "I think I'll take the cash."

The anger that ruled me from the moment Baba died rises up in me again. I'm not just here because I want to be the hero. I'm here because there are lives on the line, and that's not funny. "I'm glad you still think you can get that," I say.

The laughter cuts off abruptly.

"What do you mean?" Doll asks.

"Oh, nothing." I inspect my nails. "Just that you're the first in a line of dominoes that Dante and I are happy to knock over on the way to your boss. Did you really think I was stupid enough to come here alone?" The playful atmosphere dies. I stay relaxed, reciting the gun rules Dante taught me and remembering the splatter of Frank Lombardi's head. I could kill these men. Any one of them could've killed Christos. Doll grits his teeth. "What if I can take you to Sebastian?"

"Then I might not have to call in back-up." I grin. "When can we leave?"

Doll steps closer, looking me up and down. "I didn't say I'd do it for free."

The rest of the men start laughing again, slowly and building in volume. My stomach drops to my toes. I might've gotten in over my head. No backing down now. "Name your price," I say with a smile.