Page 65 of First Touch

“Yes. Nikki. Older guy.”

“Gino?”

He nodded.

Reeve’s cousins. He’d never said from which side, though. “Their last name wasn’t Sallis?”

“Nope.”

Joe had already stated that he thought Reeve’s mother’s maiden name was a fake, but I tried it anyway. “Was it Kaya?”

“Definitely not. And what’s with all the questions?” He eyed me curiously. “Have you been hanging around with Reeve or something?”

“I… um…” I’d been prepared to say I was simply curious, but once I started naming names, it got trickier. I’d have to give something – or appear to give something. “I have a friend who’s gotten mixed up with some people who might know Reeve. Really, I’m just grasping at straws.”

“Geesh. Scary. But it doesn’t sound like those are the same guys, fortunately.”

“Yes. Fortunately.” But if that was a dead end, there was still one more person to inquire about. The one I knew for sure had been in pictures with Reeve. “There’s one more guy named Michelis. Was he at either the party that night or the resorts? Michelis Vilanakis?”

Chris slammed his palm on the table. “Vilanakis! That’s it!”

“He was there?” I’d asked in case, but I was still shocked to find I’d made a hit.

“Yeah, maybe.” Chris wrinkled his forehead trying to remember. “I don’t remember him for sure, but Vilanakis. That was the last name of all Reeve’s friends. Pet and those guys.”

My heart pounded in my ears, certain I’d heard him wrong. “Pet’s last name was Vilanakis?”

“Yes. Definitely. I remember Missy used to tease him about having ‘villain’ in his last name.”

The room seemed to tilt and the light was suddenly too bright. I thought I might even throw up. I stood and took my beer to the kitchen sink where I poured the rest out. Then I flicked some cold water to my face. It didn’t help. The world was off. Disrupted. In upheaval.

Reeve wasn’t just connected to Vilanakis. He was related. His mother – it had to be the reason her real name was covered up. Because she’d been a Vilanakis. And if Reeve had stayed with his maternal grandparents after his parents died, he may have become close to them. May have become privy to their dealings. May have become involved, as well.

This changed everything, I was certain. Though I couldn’t quite articulate how. Not yet.

“Emily, are you okay? You’re worried about your friend now, aren’t you?”

“Hmm?” I suddenly realized Chris had been talking to me. “I’m fine. The beer just got to me.”

“There’s cold water, if you want it.”

In the fridge, I found a small bottle. I’d just taken a long gulp when Chris asked, “What do you know about the Vilanakis family, anyway?”

I hesitated, not wanting to say but knowing he’d Google as soon as I left. “I don’t know anything, really. Except that they’re part of the Greek mob.”

“Are you saying that Reeve Sallis is connected to the mob?”

I crossed back toward him. “No,” I said definitively, desperately. “I’m saying nothing. You’re saying you saw him with some people named Vilanakis, and I’m saying there’s a Vilanakis who’s a mob boss. There’s no reason to think they’re the same people. Especially since you said you don’t remember the one who’s the mob boss actually being there.”

But I knew they were the same people. Knew it in my marrow. And now I was scared. Not for myself, but for Chris. It was one thing to risk myself. Putting him in the mix was not fair.

The guilt was already forming a tight knot in my gut.

“Those guys were totally mob. It makes so much sense. They and Reeve acted like frat brothers.” Chris was barely listening to me, his expression lighting as he began to put this revelation together with his past. “They were really sketchy dudes, Em. I wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley. You need to get your friend away from them.”

“I’m trying, believe me. But that’s total conjecture. If you didn’t see —”

“And, Em!” He cut me off, practically bouncing in his seat. “Missy mentioned Interpol. In her rambling, she’d said something about getting Interpol involved.”