“So what has to be done?” Letty asked again. This was one question that Miles was not going to dodge.
Giving Letty a charged glance, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his list. Unfolding it, he passed it to Letty. There were fifteen names written down. Three were already crossed out. As Letty’s eyes went down the list, she scrutinized it, immediately recognizing what it was. Knox Capadonno was on the top of the list, followed by Michael, Ruin, Fish, Dante, Big Bang, Six, Vic, Tony and some names that Letty didn’t recognize.
“Is this what I think it is?” Letty asked, knowing damn well it was a hit list.
“I have some clean-up to do, first.”
“No! Miles, no! We’re leaving. Tomorrow before the sun comes up. You’re not risking your freedom for them!”
“They’re gonna get what’s comin’ to them… and I’m gonna walk away without a target on my head. You wait. When all the eyes are off of us, and the targets are on somebody else’s heads, we’ll slip away… Me, you and G.”
“What about my father?”
“What about him? He can come if he wants, as long as he’s quiet.”
“My father? Quiet?” Letty asked as she broke out in boisterous laughter.
Miles smiled faintly before looking down at his hands.
“Promise me something, Miles.”
“Anything, babe.”
“Don’t you go doing anything that’s gonna get you taken away from me.”
Miles winked at Letty. “You’re gonna have to trust me.”
“I do, Miles, but—”
“No buts…” Miles said. “It’s gon’ be all right.”
Letty’s face fell against Miles’s shoulder. Inching closer to his neck, her lips gently kissed his neck, his beard brushing against her face.
In a whisper, Letty replied, “I hope you’re right, Miles. I hope you’re right.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
DANTE SABOTINO HID in the shadows of Juan Alves’s two-story Cape Cod as he glared at the black vintage Dodge Charger that stood parked in the driveway. Peering at the New Jersey plates, Dante immediately identified who the owner of the car was. The license plate read “BOSS” in big blue letters, and anyone that knew Miles well, knew that he was more than a little obsessed with Bruce Springsteen. But in light of other decisions that were made in the war room tonight, and decrees that were passed down to the soldiers of Carrion, the most ironic thing was that Miles Capadonno was indeed the Boss. Even if he didn’t know it yet.
A slippery smile creased Dante’s badly scarred face.
“I got you, now. Boss or not. Just wait.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
THE LETTERS HAD A profound and heavy-hitting impact on Letty. While she tried to wrap her head around the words and the emotions that were included in Miles’s correspondence, Miles decided to give her a little bit of space. Lifting himself off of the mattress, Miles brushed a hand through Letty’s long dark hair that she had taken out of her bun. It flowed past her shoulders in wavy tendrils. Though she was not the stereotypical image of beauty—thin, blonde and tall—Letty was perfect in Miles’s eyes. She was strong. Letty exuded strength both physically and mentally, having withstood time and threats and heartbreak. Her curvaceous body was soft, but in each of those limbs were muscles used to build a life, carry a child, and love a man beyond measure. Miles never wanted anything or anyone to hurt Letty again. He vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to prevent it from happening again.
Breaking Letty from her thoughts, Miles asked in a gravelly voice, “Mind if I get a shower?”
She looked surprised that he was even asking. “I’m not your warden, babe. Towels are in the hall linen closet.”