Page 67 of End It All

"I love it, Blake."

My heart squeezed as I turned to stare at him while he muttered a string of Japanese I couldn't even begin to understand. I was used to the nicknames; baby girl, doll, whatever new one he came up with for the day. But Blake? Just him saying my real name made fireworks light up inside of me.

What the hell is my problem?

The clickingof the tumblers was music to my ears. As each cylinder slid into place, I felt myself becoming more giddy.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Giancarlo whispered entirely too loudly.

"Yes," I hissed back. "Now be quiet."

Paolo chuckled. "He's so bossy with you."

Gin grinned. "I'll kill ya both."

No, I was going to kill both of them if they didn't shut their damn mouths. While I loved their bullshit, when I was trying to break into stuff, I was completely focused. I'd never excelled in school. Had never actually excelled in anything. But stealing? I could do that.

"There it is," I whispered as it clicked into place. I stood and stared at the twins. "You two stay here."

"You sure?" Paolo asked.

I nodded. "Benito told me to get the information on these guys. I should do it."

Gin whistled. "Look at you. The newest member of the Vitales, all grown up." He glanced at Paolo. "He is a Vitale, right?"

Paolo shrugged. "Not yet, but Benito's working on it."

I frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means you're gonna get a new last name," Paolo said. "One with all the perks of being one of us."

One of us. That sentence shouldn't sound so good, but it did. The smile that tugged at my lips was quickly wiped away.

What are these assholes doing to me? I'm not supposed to get this close.

I'd tried to maintain my cool, calmness, but it was slowly slipping away. The more I was in New York, the less I recognized myself. Who was I becoming?

"Look at him," Gin teased. "He's about to pee his pants from happiness. I'll remind Benito to finish filing the paperwork."

"For my name change?" I asked.

"Yep." He slapped me on the back. "Now, go rob these sons of bitches. We'll keep lookout."

As I was turned around and shoved into the house that I had just broken into, my chest tightened and squeezed. This was the real deal. Benito had made it clear that this house belonged to one of the men our father had brought over with him. We didn't know what they wanted or what they were up to, but it was my job to find out.

I moved through the house silently, my mind still on the fact that they wanted me to change my last name. My mother had always been the most important person in my life, but herlast name meant nothing. Vitale? It meant everything. I could rescue her from the life we'd lived all these years. There was a chance for us to have something better than we ever had before. The only problem was that I kept imagining she would be disappointed if I took the name Vitale.

God, I really wish I could call her.

I wasn't sure how much longer I could do the whole not talking to my mother thing. There were burners, other points of contact, hell, smoke signals. I couldn't live without her kind words or warm touch much longer or I would lose my mind.

Focus! We have important shit to do!

I made my way to what appeared to be an office. Inside, there were stacks of documents. One look told me all I needed to know; this guy, Lucenzo, was clean on the outside. But how pristine would he be inside?

My hands trailed over the desk, the bookcase, and finally the floor. I stopped when my nails caught on a slot. It was just thin enough to shove something long and skinny inside. When I searched the desk, I found a paperclip and opened it until I had the perfect tool. I jammed the silver into the hole and the door sprang open, revealing a safe with a digital keypad on it.

"Good shit."