RYDER

I gazed out the window at traffic rushing by on Fifth Avenue. The view from this office looked so different from the greenery at the Levine estate.


I used to love this view. My father's high-rise headquarters always gave me a feeling of power, almost like our family controlled all of New York, or that we might control it someday if we could only weaken the Levines enough.

Now, that view sapped my energy and left me depressed and lackluster. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be back at the estate with Geneva. That would never happen now. I would be lucky ever to see her again and then on opposite sides of a mob war.

How did I start caring about her in just a day or two? Leaving the estate somehow made me care about her even more.


I did this for her. I never thought I could actually walk away from something I cared about so much, but it was the best thing for her. I just didn't realize it would mean this much until after I did it.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Not even running New York seemed worth it in comparison to what I could have had with her.


'Ryder!" my father called from behind me. 'Come over here. We need your input on this."

I sighed and dragged my ass away from the window. He, Enzo, and Ricky stood around the table looking at a map of Manhattan. My father had marked off the Levine targets our men already hit along with the territory those hits gave us control over.

He pointed to another spot marked in green. 'This is the bookie joint downstairs from the Chase Manhattan building. The Levines have reassigned some of their best men to guard it, so it's too well fortified for us to hit that the way we planned."

'What about the Chinese grocery on 42ndStreet?" Enzo indicated another target farther south. 'It isn't as heavily guarded, and they use it for money laundering. It's bound to pay off."

'What do you say, Ryder?" my father asked. 'Did you hear anything while you were at the estate? Did they say anything about which sites they think we might hit next?"

I shook my head, barely looking at the map. 'None of them ever talked business in front of me. I spent all my time with Geneva."

'You're useless," Enzo snarled. 'You were under the same roof with Levi Evangelista and you didn't get one useful piece of information."

'He was too busy sweet-talking the bitch," Ricky chimed in. 'All he cares about is getting some."

'She works with the consigliere to run the whole operation," my father added. 'You could have used your romantic conversation to wring her for information."

'Well, I didn't," I countered. 'I thought I was supposed to get her to marry me. If I tried to wring her for information, she would have smelled a rat right away."

I walked back to the window. I didn't want to be part of any conversation about Geneva, especially not one about using her to get information on her father's operation.

'Losing the chance to marry her was a blow," my father went on, 'but we'll find another way to get her inheritance away from her. We just have to keep our eyes open for an opportunity. Now over here, we have the law offices of Morton, Felix, and Montgomery. They've been fudging the Levine family's tax records under the table for generations. We could hit that and steal the records. That would give us plenty of blackmail material. We could force Geneva to marry Ryder whether she wants to or not."

'I could do that, Pop," Enzo offered. 'We can pull the guys off the bookie joint and reassign them to this."

'Good idea."

I pricked up my ears and turned around. If they were plotting to blackmail Geneva into marrying me against her will, going along with this plot would put me in the best position to help protect her.

'I'll go with you, Enzo." I approached the table trying to look properly enthusiastic. 'We could carry out the hit this weekend when the office is closed."

Enzo perked up now that I was getting involved. 'I have ten men I can bring with us. They can break into the jewelry store downstairs. That will set off the alarm, so when the cops come, they'll go after the guys and leave us free to rifle the tax office."

'We just have to find out where in the office they keep the files," I pointed out. 'They won't keep the Levines' records with all their other clients' stuff."

Enzo started to reply, but my father cut him off. 'No. Enzo and Ricky will hit the tax office."

I spun around to stare at him. 'What? Why not me? I can do it, Pop."

He only smiled at me. 'I have a different job for you—a much more important job."

'I don't want another job."

'You'll want this one. I want you to organize a hit on Levi Evangelista himself."

I gawked at him in silent horror. Levi Evangelista? No fucking way.

He pushed aside the map of Manhattan marked with targets and territory. He brought out another one marked with a single blue line drawn in bright, permanent pen.

I froze when I saw what he was pointing at. 'Next week on Saturday night, Levi, Geneva, and their entourage will travel from the Levine estate to the Metropolitan Opera. They'll attend the gala opening ofRigolettowhere Levi will meet with three top dons from Rome, Naples, and Venice. This is the route from the estate to the Met. You'll hit Levi's limo somewhere along this route, kill Levi and as many of his men as you can, and snatch Geneva."

I blinked at the map trying to comprehend what he just said. Kill Levi? Snatch Geneva?

'Make sure you kill that asshole Nico Greco while you're at it," Ricky growled. 'That son of a bitch is a fucking demon. You get rid of him and you can take anyone else that gets in your way."

I looked up at my father. 'You're serious! You want to hit the Consigliere!"

'With him out of the way, Geneva won't stand a chance. We'll weaken the Levines exactly the way we hoped Don Alonzo's death would weaken them. Once we get her under our roof, we can make the marriage look legitimate. Then we can go on with our original plan."

Ricky clapped his hands and rubbed them in glee. 'This is gonna be so great! Can we take part in the hit, Pop? Can we go along and help out?"

'Fine," my father replied, 'but Ryder is going to organize the whole thing. I'm putting you in charge of everything, Ryder. This whole operation will be your new baby."

'Where are you gonna hit ‘em, Ryder? There are plenty of good spots along that route."

Enzo and Ricky kept talking up a storm about the hit. I had to fight to break eye contact with my father. I looked back down at the map, but I still saw him gazing back at me with that knowing look.

I had to go through with this job. I had to make it look like I really wanted to kill Levi and kidnap Geneva to steal her wealth and ruin her.

If I went along with this, I might be able to help her. I might be able to do something to make this a little less of a disaster for her.

My father's steady gaze left me in absolutely no doubt—just in case I wasn't sure what he really meant by giving me this assignment. If I didn't go through with it, he would only assign it to someone else.

He would probably let Enzo do it, and Enzo would do it right. He would make sure Levi got killed. That left me no choice but to step in and put the best possible face on it while I pulled a few fast strings behind the scenes.