Chapter 6 - THE BROTHER AT THE TABLE
Luca’s first plan was terrible.
Which was surprising because he normally seemed irritatingly competent.
“I meet Matteo.”
“No.”
Everyone turned toward me.
Luca’s eyebrows lifted.
“No?”
“Yes.”
“You are not part of the meeting.”
“I’m the person he asked for.”
“Exactly.”
Ben said—
“For once, I agree with Mafia Batman.”
Luca looked offended.
“Never call me that.”
Under different circumstances, I might have laughed.
Instead I said—
“Matteo expects you to protect me.”
“Yes.”
“He expects Vega to protect me.”
“Yes.”
“He expects Ben to fight anyone who comes near me.”
Ben nodded.
“Correct.”
“So stop giving him what he expects.”
Luca stared.
“What are you suggesting?”
I looked toward Maya.
“You said Trent gave me the ledger.”
“Technically.”
“He thinks I know something about it.”
“Probably.”
“Then I talk to him.”
“No.”
Three voices.
Luca.
Ben.
Vega.
I folded my arms, then immediately regretted it because of my ribs.
“You cannot keep saying no to me because you’re scared.”
Ben stepped closer.
“You nearly died five days ago.”
“I know.”
“Trent is free.”
“I know.”
“Matteo is threatening you.”
“I know.”
I looked at all of them.
“That does not mean I become furniture.”
Vega exhaled.
“She has a point.”
Ben stared.
“You are terrible at your job.”
“I’m actually quite good.”
Luca remained silent.
I looked at him.
“You told me people betray cages.”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t build one around me.”
That landed.
He looked away first.
The eventual plan belonged partly to all of us.
That mattered.
Matteo wanted an exchange.
He believed Luca possessed a backup ledger because Luca had spent years collecting information against D’Angelo.
Luca did have one.
Not complete.
Enough to make Matteo believe.
We would arrange a meeting at an old Moretti-owned restaurant closed for renovation.
Neutral ground, supposedly.
Vega’s team would be nearby.
Not inside.
Too many compromised officers.
Only people she personally trusted.
Maya would stay with Ben at a secure location.
I would not be present.
That was the official plan.
The unofficial part was mine.
I called Trent.
My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the phone.
He answered on the third ring.
Silence.
Then—
“Clara.”
His voice changed my body before my mind could react.
Shoulders tight.
Breath shallow.
Stomach twisting.
I hated that.
“Where are you?”
He laughed.
“You miss me?”
“No.”
Silence.
Good.
He wasn’t used to that answer.
“I need to talk.”
“Then talk.”
“Not on the phone.”
“Why?”
“Because Matteo is going to kill you.”
He stopped laughing.
“How do you know Matteo?”
There it was.
He had not known how much I learned.
“I know enough.”
“What do you want?”
“To make a deal.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“What do you have?”
I looked toward Vega.
She nodded.
“The original ledger.”
Silence.
Trent whispered—
“Bullshit.”
“You think you found it.”
“I know I did.”
“You found a copy.”
More silence.
I had no idea whether that was true.
Confidence is sometimes just lying without rushing.
“Where’s the original?”
“Safe.”
“With Moretti?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
“I’ll tell you in person.”
Trent breathed harder.
“What do you want?”
“Money.”
I almost laughed at my own answer.
It sounded like something he would understand.
“How much?”
“Enough to disappear.”
“From me?”
“From everyone.”
He was quiet.
Then—
“You finally learned.”
The words made my skin crawl.
“No.”
I looked at Luca.
“I finally stopped believing you were smarter than me.”
Trent hung up.
Two minutes later, a text came.
11:30. OLD RIVERTON MOTEL. ROOM 8. ALONE.
Vega cursed.
“The motel is terrible.”
“Why?”
“Multiple exits.”
Luca looked at the map.
“He chose it.”
“Obviously.”
“No.”
Luca pointed.
“Matteo wouldn’t choose this.”
“How do you know?”
“He hates uncontrolled spaces.”
“Trent chose it himself.”
Which meant Trent might be planning to betray Matteo.
Perfect.
Criminal alliances apparently contained the same amount of trust as abusive relationships.
Everyone waiting for everyone else to blink.
We adjusted.
Vega placed plainclothes officers nearby.
Luca hated the idea of me entering.
Ben hated it more.
I hated it too.
But fear did not automatically mean wrong.
At 11:27, I stood outside Room 8.
Cheap motel.
Peeling blue paint.
Highway noise.
A hidden microphone sat beneath my shirt.
Vega had tested it three times.
My phone transmitted location.
I had an emergency phrase.
I forgot the wine.
Ben said it sounded stupid.
I told him that was why I would remember it.
I knocked.
Trent opened the door.
For a second, everything inside me disappeared.
He looked almost normal.
Jeans.
Black jacket.
Freshly shaved.
The bruising from Luca’s man had faded.
He smiled.
“Baby.”
My stomach turned.
“Don’t.”
The smile disappeared.
He stepped aside.
I entered.
No Matteo.
No visible gun.
Trent closed the door.
“You look good.”
“You broke three ribs.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
There it was.
The abuser’s prayer.
I didn’t mean to.
You made me angry.
I lost control.
It won’t happen again.
“Where’s Matteo?”
Trent’s eyes sharpened.
“You know too much.”
“I know you stole from him.”
“He stole from everybody.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
He walked toward the small table.
A pistol lay there.
My heartbeat climbed.
I forced myself not to look at it again.
“The ledger.”
“Money first.”
He laughed.
“I always knew there was a harder version of you somewhere.”
“You didn’t know me at all.”
His face changed.
“No?”
He moved closer.
I fought the instinct to retreat.
“I knew exactly how to keep you.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
Because they were partly true.
He knew fear.
Not me.
“Where’s the money?”
“First tell me what you did.”
“What?”
“For Matteo.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You wearing a wire?”
I laughed.
Too fast.
He saw it.
Damn.
Trent grabbed my sweater.
I screamed from the pain.
His hand searched my collar.
Found the microphone.
He tore it loose.
For one second, we stared at each other.
Then he smiled.
“There you are.”
He crushed it beneath his shoe.
Outside, Vega had heard enough to know the plan was compromised.
But she could not enter immediately.
Trent grabbed the gun.
“Who’s outside?”
“No one.”
He slapped me.
My head snapped sideways.
Old reflex.
Shame.
Fear.
Then something else.
Anger.
I looked back at him.
“That all you’ve got?”
He froze.
So did I.
I had never said anything like that.
He stepped toward me.
“You want to find out?”
“I already did.”
I tasted blood.
“And you’re still pathetic.”
He raised his hand.
Then a voice came from the bathroom.
“Enough.”
Matteo Moretti stepped out.
Everything went wrong.
Trent spun.
“What the hell?”
Matteo held a gun.
Younger than Luca.
Same dark hair.
Similar face.
But where Luca seemed controlled, Matteo looked amused.
“Brother’s little rescue project has teeth.”
He looked at me.
“You’re Clara.”
I said nothing.
“Luca has terrible taste in problems.”
Trent lifted his gun.
Matteo aimed at him.
“Don’t.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because I knew you’d betray me.”
Trent laughed nervously.
“I was bringing you the original.”
“There is no original.”
My heart stopped.
Matteo looked at me.
“Nice bluff, by the way.”
Then toward Trent.
“The ledger you found was complete.”
“So why—”
“Because Luca already copied it before you stole it.”
I stared.
Luca knew.
Matteo smiled.
“He has been building a case against me for months.”
Then he looked directly at the place where my microphone had been.
“And Detective Vega just heard all of that.”
Trent’s face changed.
Matteo fired.
The gunshot exploded.
Trent dropped.
I screamed.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Alive.
Matteo grabbed me.
Gun against my side.
The door burst open.
Police.
“DROP IT!”
Matteo dragged me backward through the bathroom.
There was a second door.
Of course.
Luca had warned about exits.
We stumbled into an alley.
A black car waited.
Matteo shoved me inside.
I fought.
Pain screamed through my ribs.
He hit me once.
Not hard.
Enough.
Then a second vehicle came around the corner.
Luca.
His car stopped sideways.
Matteo cursed.
Luca stepped out.
Alone.
Gun lowered at his side.
“Let her go.”
Matteo laughed.
“Always Elena with you.”
Luca’s face changed.
“What?”
“Every broken girl becomes Elena.”
My stomach turned.
Luca took one step forward.
Matteo pointed the gun at me.
“Stop.”
He stopped.
Matteo smiled.
“You’re weak.”
“No.”
“You spent twelve years apologizing for what happened to her.”
“I spent twelve years learning from it.”
“Same thing.”
Sirens approached.
Matteo looked toward the street.
His confidence cracked.
Then he turned the gun toward Luca.
Everything slowed.
I saw his finger tighten.
I did the only thing I could think of.
I bit him.
Hard.
Matteo shouted.
The gun moved.
Luca fired once.
Matteo fell.
Not dead.
Bullet through his thigh.
Police rushed in.
Vega reached me first.
“Clara!”
“I’m okay.”
I wasn’t.
But I was standing.
Ben arrived thirty seconds later and nearly tackled me with a hug before remembering my ribs.
Trent survived.
Matteo survived.
Both were arrested.
As paramedics treated me, Luca stood across the alley.
Blood on his sleeve.
Not his.
I looked at him.
“You knew the ledger was copied.”
“Yes.”
“You let me bluff about something that didn’t exist.”
“Yes.”
“I hate you a little.”
“Reasonable.”
Then federal agents arrived.
Lots of them.
Luca looked toward Vega.
Something passed between them.
Understanding.
I realized.
“This was bigger than Matteo.”
“Yes.”
“You planned this?”
“Parts.”
Ben stepped between us.
“If the next words out of your mouth are that my sister was bait—”
“No.”
Luca’s answer was immediate.
“She was never bait.”
He looked at me.
“She was the variable none of us controlled.”
For once, I liked that description.
Then an FBI agent approached Luca.
“Mr. Moretti.”
Luca turned.
The agent produced handcuffs.
My stomach dropped.
“What is happening?”
Luca did not look surprised.
Vega did.
A little.
Ben whispered—
“Clara.”
I stared as the agent cuffed Luca.
“What are you arresting him for?”
The agent did not answer me.
Luca looked over his shoulder.
“Clara.”
“What?”
“Go home with Ben.”
“What is this?”
He smiled faintly.
“The part where I pay for my own choices.”
Then they put him in the car.
May you like
And for the first time since the wrong-number text—
I was the one watching Luca Moretti disappear.
