Chapter 1

MINKA

I’m not sure I’ve ever wondered what it would be like to sit at Estefan Cordoza’s dining table before. And even if Ihad, I wouldn’t have imagined it set inside a heavily guarded, seemingly abandoned warehouse way out in the Bronx.

Not when Cordoza himself is worth a couple of billion dollars and keeps a home much closer to Manhattan.

When the boss of all bosses, the freakin’ New York Mafiahead hoo-ha, as Aubree lovingly labels him, invites you and seven of your closest friends to dinner after sorta kidnapping you via a cross-country private jet ride, you might be forgiven for expecting fewer cobwebs and more… I dunno. Gold, maybe. Silver. Crystal.

Maybe I’ve become a snob after nearly two years married to the son of a former New York second-runghoo-hoo,because the Malones have money too, more than they could ever really hope to spend in this lifetime. But a few hundred million dollars is not the same as a few billion.

Jesus. I really am a snob.

Detective Archer Malone, my husband, the son of a now-dead bastard mafia boss, leads me through a shadowed doorway Iswearcreaks with gloominess.It’s not even windy outside! There are no storms on the horizon, and August in New York means calm skies, even as dusk encroaches and stomachs begin to rumble.

Notmystomach. I’m not entirely sure I’ll ever eat again.

But other people’s stomachs.

“You must excuse the theatrics.” Old man Cordoza himself walks ahead of us, much of his weight heavily resting on the cane that’s been his constant companion over the last year or so. He’s flanked by two extremely large, extremelystrappedguards, but neither touches him, and they don’t dare help him walk. “I’m certain you understand my need for an off-site location.” Slowly rotating, he peeks over his shoulder and shows off a curling smile. “There are certain parties in this city interested in the goings-on of my business.”

Yeah. They’re called the FBI.

“Maintaining a safe meeting space has been imperative to the success of my organization.”

Sophia Solomon wanders forward with her husband right beside her. His head is on a swivel, his eyes scouring every section of this old building. Despite Sophia’s tendency to hurry toward danger, Jay wraps his hand around hers and walks shoulder-to-shoulder through the final doorway until we’re met with an elaborately set dining table.

Ellie Solomon strolls in second with Troy Rosa’s arm draped faux-casually across her back, but his attempt at nonchalance comes undone by the sharp vigilance in his eyes and the way his head moves much like Jay’s does.

Felix follows next, but unlike the others in attendance tonight, he made certain to leave his wife at home, safely tucked away with his three-month-old daughter and the dog they called Bastard.

Dining with the don is rarely a safe activity, and the new dad isn’t interested in risk at this juncture in his life.

Rounding out our procession of women Cordoza semi-kidnapped today, Aubree strolls in last and smiles at the guards stationed just inside the door. She moves with a grin, her arm curled through Tim’s, and none of the dread the rest of us lug like heavy buckets of water. She’s my best friend, the closest thing I’ve ever known to a sister, and my second-in-command at the Copeland City Medical Examiner’s office.

She’s also my husband’s brother’s wife.

Much like Troy and Jay, Tim’s eyes narrow and scan our new environment. But where the first two are natural-born soldiers accustomed to a treacherous battlefield, Tim knows a different kind of war. He knows the mafia world, especially considering he’s the third of his name, the one his father expected to take over thefamily businessupon his demise.

Tim refused. Felix stepped up.

Now Cordoza is dying, and I’m not sure Tim’s refusal counts anymore.

“How have you kept this place hidden?” Soph moves a little faster, her arm stretched back to where Jay refuses to let her go. In her other hand, she holds her phone and reads… I don’t even know what. “Who’s in charge of your tech here? It’s buggy.”

Intrigued, Cordoza makes his way to the head of a table already set, empty plates awaiting delicious food, bottles of wine ready to be poured, and, across the room, an aproned, white-hat-wearing woman who turns at his nod.To get dinner, I suppose.Pulling out his own chair and lowering with a too-tired grunt, he gestures for the rest of us to follow suit. But I don’t miss his labored breathing. Nor the paling of his cheeks as he works on catching his breath.

Silverware rattles as each of us selects a seat. Chairs scrape against the floor, and wine glasses tinkle, especially when the seven-foot-tall, ridiculously stressed dad-to-be looks everywhere except the placement of his knee and the way it bashes against the table leg as he lowers himself beside Ellie.

Finally, Cordoza sets his cane aside and reaches forward with a hand I know he wishes didn’t shake. Instead of taking the wine glass settled closer, he wraps his fingers around the water glass.

It’s empty for just a moment, but then a server bustles out of the shadows, cracks a fresh bottle open, and fills the glass in less time than it takes the old man to bring it to his lips.

“I maintain a few different locations to conduct business.” He sips his water and swallows with a thirstyahh. “Each place serves a purpose, and not all of them are secret to everyone. Some are just secret to a few.”

“Andthisplace?” She settles into the chair beside her sister’s, which means Jay takes the last remaining seat on that side, closest to Cordoza. Archer helps me into my chair directly across from Soph, he sits across from Jay, Aubree sits on my right, Tim beside her, and, at the end opposite Cordoza, Felix steeples his fingers.

It doesn’t escape me that Jay and Archer have placed themselves closest to danger. Aubree and Ellie even further back.

“I selected this place purely forus.I wish to discuss our plans for the upcoming year, and required somewhere secure to do so. But first,” he casts thoughtful eyes to Soph. “My tech is buggy? Humor me, won’t you?”