Page 76 of The Viper's Wife

The moment I’m out of the apartment and onto the sunny open street, I take my phone and call Salvatore.

He waits until the third ring to pick up.

“Nico.”

“Why didn’t you tell me Valeria’s dad was missing?” I pick a direction at random and walk. I don’t have a destination in mind, only that my body needs to be in motion.

Salvatore murmurs something away from the receiver, then to me, “I wasn’t aware you were concerned for his well-being.”

“Where is he?”

“Currently being detained at the Canadian border.”

And he left his daughter and son behind. Fucking coward. “Why didn’t anyone tell Valeria?”

“Because it’s her husband’s job to keep her informed.”

I’m walking so fast down the sidewalk, I might as well be jogging. A man unlocking his car dives inside when he sees me approach.

“That’s fucking stupid,” I snap.

“Is this all you called to tell me?”

“Did you know Giovanni broke into her house?”

“I did.”

Of course he knew. I’m sure his network of spy cameras and hidden microphones gives my dear brother all the information he could ever ask for.

I laugh. It’s a harsh sound. “And you let that happen? I thought you were the boss.”

“When you chose Valeria, her dad fell under your command. And Giovanni is your friend. I assumed he was acting on your orders.”

“I’m not in charge of anyone. And Giovanni’s not my friend. Why did he destroy her house?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Satisfaction laces through his voice.

Fucking with Salvatore and every single task he’s given me since I’ve stepped foot in Chicago has finally come to bite me in the ass.

All he had to do was wait.

I didn’t expect I’d need him. I wasn’t expecting to have someone like Valeria fall into my lap.

But I need information, and I don’t trust Giovanni or my father.

I stop dead in the middle of the sidewalk and clench my broken phone to my ear. “What do you want?”

“Compliance.”

I drag in an inhale. Exhale.

Before I was born, Salvatore had already fled New York with his mom and brother, and Father had filled the loss with poison. I grew up understanding two things—Father’s word was law, and Salvatore, his brother, and his bitch mom were traitors. Eventually, his mom died, then his brother, and Father’s rhetoric took on a sharper edge. If we ever gavehim the chance, Salvatore would burn everything our family stood for to the ground.

I figured Salvatore and I saw eye to eye.

But last year, a shift happened. Salvatore became a don. He was the prodigal son Father welcomed with open arms. And seeing how Salvatore operates up close has shown me that he and I are nothing alike. As much as he’d hate to hear it, he is our father’s son.

Is this Father’s game?