Massimo turned to his capo who was standing a few feet away. "Get on a flight to New York...Keep an eye on Luca and make sure he does nothing that will hurt the famiglia. Clear and silence every loose end."

*****

"Detective Voss!" The voice carried across the street just as Voss stepped out of Scalese Pizza.

He paused at the doorway. Across the road, David stood outside his coffee shop, one hand raised in greeting. Voss gave him a small wave.

David crossed the road, hands tucked into his coat pockets. "Hi!" David said, stopping in front of him. "Been a while."

"Yes. How is the opening going?"

David glanced back at the coffee shop, then at Scalese Pizza, his mouth curving with dry amusement. "I’m not so sure I chose the right location for my business. Being opposite this much crime isn’t going to do me much good."

"My apologies," Voss said, glancing back at the taped-off entrance of Scalese Pizza. "This neighbourhood was relatively safe until the devil moved in."

David chuckled. "I guess you could say that."

A few curious pedestrians slowed down, looked, then hurried along once they saw Voss’s badge.

"So," David added, hands still in his coat pockets, "another death, huh?"

"Not this time. Were you open two days ago?" Voss asked.

"No." David tilted his head. "Why?"

"I thought maybe you could have seen something." Voss nodded toward the coffee shop. "Someone called 911, which means someone was around. You have quite the view from your shop. Your new window looks directly here."

David turned and looked back at his coffee shop as though noticing the obvious for the first time.

The front windows were beautiful, Voss had to admit. Tall, expensive glass. Perfect sightline to Scalese Pizza. Perfect enough to see who entered, who left.

"I wasn’t open," David said. "I came in the next day and heard what had happened."

"From who?"

"A few people on the street. News travels quickly."

"True." Voss pointed at the coffee shop. "You got cameras?"

David smiled faintly. "Not yet. Opening has been delayed, remember?"

"Hmmm..." Voss hummed. "I wonder what more surprises this place will give us."

"I hope there will not be any more," David said. "I have pushed my opening enough already as it is."

"I apologise," Voss said. "I assure you, these streets will be safe again soon."

David smiled. "Thank you, Detective...Well, I wish you well in your investigation. Good luck..."

"Thanks." Voss nodded.

David turned and headed back across the street toward the coffee shop. By the time David stepped back into his coffee shop, Voss was still as clueless as before he walked into Scalese Pizza.

Tony was afraid of someone. That much Voss knew. Afraid enough to confess to murders he probably didn’t commit. Afraid enough to offer himself up. Afraid enough to claim Marco made him do it, even though the story had too many holes.

But afraid of whom? Someone he thought could do more damage than Luca himself. And that was what bothered Voss.

People feared Luciano Genovese for practical reasons. The man was violence, influence, and audacity. If Luca wanted you found, you were found. If Luca wanted you buried, well, Voss assumed there were families somewhere still waiting for very disappointing phone calls.

So who the hell scared Tony more than that?

Who?

Who?

How?

Why?

Voss rubbed a hand over his jaw, his eyes narrowing at the shop. Who was this person’s target? Marco? Luca? Veronica? The pattern was all over the place. Cassidy, Ricardo, Rosa, Marco. It was not a straight line. It was a web.

Someone was enjoying the pull of every strand. He sighed. He still couldn’t shake Luca’s request. Though he had not gone through with informing Luca of Tony’s whereabouts, he was curious about who else was determined to take Luca down and why they were beating about the bush about it.

Why not just take the man down?

*****

Luca didn’t go back to New York. He headed to Vegas. When his life was falling apart, the only reasonable response was to get married.

It was now or never. There was never going to be a good time, a great time, or a perfect time. Perfection had long packed its bags and fled the moment Veronica Scalese walked into his life with fire in her eyes and the sort of mouth that made sense desert a man.

His divorce was final now. The three-month cooling-off period was over. Someone was moving against his family with too much confidence. It was time for him to begin sending a message. He was not a man to be trifled with.

The situation at present may not be perfect for a wedding. But he had to do this. Now was the time.

Veronica had once said she wanted to elope. A quiet wedding. Just the two of them. Just Luca and Vee. She was going to get it.

He inhaled slowly as he sat in his hotel room, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together. Vegas glittered beyond the wide glass windows. He counted the hours until she would arrive. His thoughts drifted to the first moment he met her.

If he had known then that she was the woman who would eventually own him, maybe he would have behaved better.

Maybe.

Probably not.

He had never been good at behaving around Veronica. From the beginning, she had dragged the worst and best out of him at the same time. She made him possessive, reckless, furious, tender. She made him want impossible things. A future not built entirely on blood.

They were a storm together. He was a menace when it came to her, and she had evolved. She had changed from that stubborn pizza girl who fought him with every breath into his sensational Donna. His equal. His chaos. His weakness and his strength wrapped in one dangerous woman.

She still fought him, that part would never change.

(Brought To You By Mrs B)