"He'll get over it," Giovanni replied.

Cat didn't think so.

"Kim didn't mind watching Michel?" Cat asked, needing to get her mind off Dante for a moment.

"Of course, not. She loves kids, you know."

Gio didn't take his eyes off the laptop he was working on. She didn't have the first clue what he was doing, but she knew it had something to do with security cameras, wireless transmitting, and hacking. Beyond that, Cat didn't understand his earlier babbling when he explained what he was going to try to do.

"Shit, shit, shit," Giovanni muttered.

Cat's heart found her throat. "What?"

"Nothing, just hit the wrong security set up, that's all. Next one, I hope."

Cat checked her watch, noting it was almost eleven in the morning. Twisting in the passenger seat, Cat surveyed the warehouse buildings in the thick of the shipping district. Each held a different security system keeping it safe and most were run off wireless wavelengths, so it wasn't a surprise others would jam up Giovanni's program until he hit the correct one.

"Do you think he's okay?" Cat asked.

"Dante is-"

"No, Johnathan."

"Oh." Giovanni's typing stopped for a brief second before it resumed. "He better be."

Cat cringed. "Lucian would kill me if not."

Giovanni hummed noncommittally. "He's in panic mode. John is fine. These people aren't stupid enough to hurt him, and if they are, I sincerely hope one of our bullets takes them out before Lucian gets a hold of them.

"If John's fine, which I believe he is, then I still hope the fucking idiots die before Lucian catches them. Because that man is serial killer material when he wants to be. He seems calm on the outside, and he's sweet with his wife and his mother, but privately inside his head, he can be a little scary."

A shiver wracked her shoulders. "Thank you for making my worry worse."

"Lucian might be angry with you right now, but he would never hurt you, no matter what the outcome of this shitty day is."

"Funny, I don't believe you."

Giovanni gazed up from the laptop, leveling Cat with a single look. "You should. Dante loves you and he considers you the mother to a child he wants the rest of the world to see as his son. You're family-a Marcello. Nothing is more important to us than family. Lucian would never hurt you. Stop fretting. Pretty soon this will all be over."

Cat chewed on the inside of her cheek, unaccustomed to feeling as nervous as she did. "Grazie."

"You're welcome."

A few more minutes passed in silence before Cat asked, "What exactly is the plan after I approach the front of the warehouse?"

"Someone needs to run this and keep an eye on everything while maintaining communication with Lucian and Dante. Not to mention, if there are cameras outside, there are cameras inside. I might be able to locate John in the warehouse. While I hate to be the sorry fucker left out of all the fun, I'm the only one of us three brothers who knows anything about this kind of shit, so that's my job."

"What about Lucian and Dante?"

"A guy scouted the building before we got here from the roof of another for entrances and exits. There's a main one in the front, two loading docks in the back, and an exit door on the side. You're going to the front, Dante is going to the side, and Lucian is going in through the back."

"That doesn't tell me a lot about the plan, Gio."

"Because we don't have one."

"Perfetto," Cat hissed. "Sounds brilliant and completely infallible."

"It's like this," Giovanni replied, never taking his eyes off the laptop, "... we don't know what's inside, how many, or if John is even in there. When I have more info, we work from there. If we can get it done just the four of us, even better. Sorry if it doesn't work for you, but that's how this is going to go."

Then, his features brightened. "I think I got it ... shit, yeah, I got it."

Cat leaned over the seat as the screen popped up with several different camera sights and angles. Giovanni clicked on one in particular, zooming in as close as he could get before the screen began to blur with pixilation. A white car looked like it was inside the building, too, but Cat didn't understand how it would have gotten there.

"Black hair, six foot tall, tattoo that shows on the back of his neck above the neckline, and built like a brick house?"

"Bruno."

"Yeah, well, he just put a black duffle bag into the back of that car, so he's getting ready to leave or do something."

Giovanni turned his cellphone on and hit a button. In the next car, Cat watched as Lucian put a small earpiece into his ear, nodding when Giovanni said, "Show time; connect Dante to the call, too."

Reaching over, Giovanni opened the glove compartment, pulled out a pair of large framed women's sunglasses and handed them to Cat. Her confused expression must have caught his attention.

"They're my wife's but with an added addition."

Cat twisted the black glasses around in her hands, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "Like what?"

"Here." Giovanni twisted the glasses around and pointed to the inner piece that would rest just behind Cat's ear. There, he pointed to a small black circle that looked built into the glasses. "GPS. Kim was nice enough to let me steal her favorite sunglasses for the day, so thank her."

Cat was aghast. "You track your wife?"

"Not like you think, but if someone took her, she always keeps these on her, and she's aware there's a chip in them. Just wear them."

Cat put the glasses on, pushing them high on the crown of her head. "Why would I need these, anyway?"

Giovanni shrugged. "Just a precaution. Ready to draw him out?"

"S."

"I'll see you in a few, then."

Cat got out of the car and was met by her husband. The scowl Dante sported spoke entirely of his anxiety and pain. "You know the rules, Amore."

"Don't go inside the building. If I get the chance, take him out, but only if it's going to be clean."

"And don't make any stupid moves or let him lead you away," Dante added, arching a brow.

"Yeah, I got it, bello."

"We're a couple of buildings over, so it's a little walk." Dante shot a glance down at Cat's boots. "Cristo, woman. Heels, really?"

"Anything else isn't my style," Cat said, grinning.

Dante's severe expression melted away. "I love you, huh?"

"I know. I love you, too."

"Don't be stupid, Cat."

"I didn't get this far in my life by acting like a fool, Dante."

"That's the only thing helping me to breathe right now."

"Do you want to wish me luck?" Cat asked.

"No." Dante stepped forward and grabbed Cat's face in both of his hands, kissing her so fiercely it almost hurt. He pulled away, reluctance filling his gaze. "No luck, you don't need it."

Bulletproof, Cat thought. He would always see her like that, even if she wasn't.

"Don't be stupid," her husband said one last time before letting her hand go.

Cat couldn't look back at Dante as she walked away. She had to fix what she broke-her family.

It was a good ten minute walk through the empty streets to get to the warehouse in question. On a weekend, little work was done around here, apparently.

Cat recognized the sign on the front of a drab, gray warehouse that she had been told to look for. Besides the front access with a window darkened by paint, there was also a small, metal garage door. There was a security camera nearly hidden in the eave of the entrance. She didn't have to wait long. The groaning shudder of metal lifting signaled the garage door opening.

A white car drove out as soon as the door was high enough for it to slip under. With windows tinted a dark black, Cat couldn't make out who sat behind the wheel, but she knew.

When the car came to a stop only a foot from her form, Cat stared head-on into the windshield. The driver's side window rolled down three inches.

"Money buys a lot of things, Catrina," she heard a familiar voice say.

Bruno.

"It does," Cat said.

"Mmhmm, like bulletproof glass and a hideout. Best way I've spent my money in a long time. Take the coat off."

Cat hesitated. There was a small revolver in the inside pocket of her jacket, meant to be a backup. Still, she had to wonder if little Johnathan was in the car, too. It was a possibility.

"Take it off," Bruno repeated.

The coat fell to the ground in a second.

"Beautiful, Catrina. As always, you dress to impress your prey. At your thigh, toss the knife."

Cat's jaw tensed, her only show of irritation. Of course, he would know about her knife. It was, usually, the only weapon she kept on her and had been for years. She always had two or three as a replacement. Cat reached up the skirt of her dress and pulled the knife from the sheath at her inner thigh. It clanked on the pavement as it dropped.

"And the boots, they can go, too."

"There's nothing in my boots," Cat said.

"Yes, well, I don't trust you. Whores like you have a way of lying about everything. Off with them if you want your principe back."

"What about your principe?"

"Off with the goddamn boots, Catrina."

She kicked her ankle-high, suede heels to the ground, losing a good four inches in height in the process. Now, Bruno would be able to look down on her if he stood in front of her. It unsettled her to think he might be above her in any way.

"In the car, now."

Again, Cat wavered. She hadn't heard a single cry come from inside the vehicle. Nothing to suggest her nephew was inside. Beyond that, she hadn't caught a glimpse of her husband or Lucian since she left their cars behind. She certainly couldn't see around the fucking building given her position.

Don't let him lead you away.

Don't be stupid.

In the back of her mind, Johnathan came to the forefront like the bang of a gun. He could be in the car. Perhaps sleeping, which would be the best choice.

"Here's the thing," Bruno muttered, bringing Cat from her thoughts. "You've got five seconds to get your pretty ass inside this car, Catrina Danzi."

"Marcello. My name is Catrina Marcello."

"Get in the car."

"No," Cat said, refusing to let him win.

"Do it, or I'll blow that building straight to hell."

Cat's heart stopped. "What?"

"You know me, Catrina. I don't let things go to the wayside. I've got a backup, like always. There isn't a single doubt in my mind that someone is attempting to get into that building. You're just the fucking bait. And if you don't get inside this car and take me to my son, I'll blow your nephew and whoever else is trying to reach that kid into nothing but ash and bits. Get in."

Cat did.

Cruel, cold eyes surveyed her when she closed the door. Warmth blew from the heater, warming her frozen feet, but Cat didn't care. She was far too focused on Bruno and the wickedly evil sneer he sported.

"Let's go for a little drive, cagna."

Cat didn't speak as the car pulled away from the warehouse. She kept one eye on Bruno, noticing the gun and cellphone he held in one hand while he steered with the other. For a good two minutes, he drove in silence. Cat wasn't sure where they were going as he weaved in and out of backstreets she didn't recognize.

When Bruno did finally speak, a nauseated sensation flooded Cat. "Play good, or I'll hit the call button. If I do that, the building behind us is going to go bang in a big way."

"What about your men inside?"

Bruno shrugged. "They matter little to me and they have no idea of my true plans. I've waited a long time to speak with you, Catrina."