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Antonio and Vincenzo’s watchful eyes were on me, but the other men stared as well. It made me nervous knowing Vincenzo knew about James and me. I swallowed hard. I wondered if they all knew now.
“Maddie, right?”
“Huh?” I shifted my focus to the man two chairs down who caught me vibrating in the lobby the last time they were here.
Feigning a smile, I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
James cleared his throat, calling my attention to him. He lifted a brow slightly, shaking his head subtly. I swiveled back to the man.
“Nice to see you again,” he grinned. “I never got the chance to really talk to you.” He stretched his hand across the empty chair between us. “I’m—”
“Damien,” Vincenzo growled.
The man turned to him. He grumbled to him in incoherent Italian for a moment, and the man withdrew his hand hastily. Vincenzo offered me a curt nod. Shit. I felt all the blood drain from my face.
James called our attention away as he began the meeting. I wish I could’ve understood all the legal terms, but it was useless. I took notes anyway, hoping James would translate them later.
I perked up at the topic of Vincenzo’s arrest. It was never a secret why he went away, but I never knew if he did it. I wasn’t even sure if Elizabeth knew. The man they’d called Tommaso brought it up, and I tuned in.
“Maddie, turn the recorder off and put the pen down,” Vincenzo ordered.
Jumping to my feet, I set my pen down and stretched over to stop the recording. I sat back in my chair, exchanging a glance with him and James. Both dipped their heads in approval. I drew my arms into my body securely, unsure how to act or where to direct my attention.
“We got the same judge I had, so you’re getting ten and you’ll only serve five,” Vincenzo spoke to Damien.
Dimitri snorted. “That’s if I bend her over her desk in her chambers and wear out that Your Honor cunt, again.”
The men all laughed, and Antonio leaned forward. “We got the blackmail we need now, so we should be good.”
“If you fucked her as good as you think, D, I wouldn’t have gone to prison at all.” Vincenzo narrowed his gaze on Dimitri and the room erupted into louder laughter.
“We killed a state senator’s son,” Dimitri spat in his own defense. “We’re lucky we’re not all in prison for that, especially Mr. Innocent over there.” He threw his hand out toward James, and I snapped my gaze to his.
“Not my proudest moment,” James rolled his eyes, lifting his chin at Vincenzo then offered me a subtle wink. “But one of them.”
“The Don always goes down with the ship, anyway.” Vincenzo shrugged. “Non confondiamo la merda col cioccolato.”
Wait, so who killed him? Did James actually kill him? Is he the one who pulled the trigger? Oh my God! Was Vinny protecting him and that’s the real reason they lost the case? Planted fake evidence? Holy shit! I might have been way off but the wheels in my head were spinning. There were several low laughs while I remained confused.
“Bullshit,” Antonio scoffed playfully, turning to James. “So, how are we doing it this time, bro?”
James sat silent for a moment. “You’re all going to do what you do best to make my job easier. Hide everything. I don’t want to know shit unless it’s a need-to-know basis. I need to go into this organic. This trial is going to be hell, but I’m ready and plan to make it fast. I’ll ask questions if I need answers. Otherwise, keep it between all of you.”
It was taking everything in me not to physically react. The men finished discussing the secret they were taking to the grave, and I was ordered to record and take notes again, so I did just that. Only that. Soon, the meeting was over, and the men stood, exchanging their goodbyes.
“Maddie,” Dimitri called out before he reached the door.
“Yeah?”
“Can you possibly cover Chey Friday? I know you’re technically not available for now.”
“Cheyenne quit,” Antonio interjected with a wide grin.
I was sure my face gave away my relief.
“Maddie’s actually coming to the annual gala with me Friday,” James said.
Dimitri bowed his head. “I’ll get someone else to do it.”
