My lungs strained against my chest. It hurt to breathe, but I bit my lip and listened.
“Franco didn’t order the hit on AJ. Everyone thinks he did and he took the credit, but it was Cristino who ordered it.”
I closed my eyes as a shudder went through me, remembering my brother’s pleas. “Please, Tomino, please.”
Carter’s voice grew rough. “It was Tomino, his little brother, who did the hit.” I felt his scrutiny as he added, “But you know that. You were there.”
The image of Tomino raising the bat came back. It seared me.
“So was I.”
Reeling, I tried to slide off his lap. His hold on my thighs kept me anchored to him. He pulled me closer and kept going, now in a whisper against my ears, “I was upstairs. AJ was coming to me and I saw it, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even get my
