CASSIAN
Julian paused. He seemed to be weighing his words, deciding how much of the truth I could handle.
"He works for a family. The Lorenzo family. They run the whole city we're heading to. They run most of the towns around it, too."
I processed that. I wasn't a fool. I knew what those kinds of families did. "He's in the mafia."
"He's a lieutenant," Julian corrected. "He's been sending me money when he can. Small amounts. And letters. He says there's work for me if I want it. Real work."
"And you want it."
Julian turned away from the window and looked at me. His face wasn't uncertain, but it wasn't fully settled either.
He looked like a man who had weighed a heavy burden, found he could carry it, and was now just waiting for the weight to hit his shoulders.
"I want to build something, Cassian," he said. It was the simplest thing he had ever told me.
