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“Mads, what does your gut say?” Franco asks.
I know the least about the eldest Vettore sibling who will one day take his father’s throne. My research on him gave me the basics. He’s thirty-seven years old, about two months older than me. He received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from Columbia and an MBA from New York University. He doesn’t date much, and he barely does anything except work, work out, and spend time with his family. He seems to be an enigma. The only other thing I know about him is that, beside Max, he’s Maddalena’s favorite brother. I can tell by the way she looks at him—the trust she has in him is evident.
“I’ve thought about and explored every avenue I can. It’s the only plausible explanation.” The little furrow in her brow harshens as she frowns.
Franco and Don Vettore whisper to each other for several seconds, then Franco nods. He focuses on Maddalena again. “Your gut doesn’t lie, Mads—it’s never steered you wrong. So what we need to do is figure out who in our camp knew where you were going to be. Then we work backward.”
“Garrix told Papà and I, then I told Gabriele.” Luca scratches his head. “Gabriele, who did you tell?”
“I told Andrea to pick his three best men who weren’t on assignment protecting Don Vettore or Franco. I tend to let my men pick their own teams.”
I know I’m a jealous, possessive freak—I’m not so delusional that I don’t recognize it—but something tells me that Gabriele is full of shit. He can’t even look Maddalena in the eye.
“Hm, you know what’s interesting, Gabriele?” I ask him.
He fiddles with his cufflinks and meets my eye. “What?”
“Maddalena’s apartment was broken into on your watch. And you were the only person there. What did the video footage show from the building cameras? I’m interested in knowing what the camera in front of her door caught.”
“How do you even know there’s a camera there?” he asks, avoiding the question.
“Because I’m her boyfriend. It’s my business to know every single detail about Maddalena Vettore’s life.” He winces. “Don’t avoid the fucking question, Gabe. What did the footage show?”
“Nothing, because there wasn’t any. All the footage from every camera in the building was wiped,” Max chimes in. “Apparently, the Russians upped their tech game in recent months.”
“I can say with confidence they haven’t. Whit keeps a close eye on them. I find it interesting that Gabriele was in her apartment alone, with no footage to back up his claim.”
“Gabriele wouldn’t do that. His family has been loyal to Nuova Notte for generations. What I see is some opportunistic outsider who picked the weakest link in the famiglia to infiltrate. You figured if you terrorized Maddie, you could rush in and be her knight in shining armor and get closer to us in the process.” Silence follows John Carlo’s accusations.
Everyone in the room volleys their glances between him and Maddalena, waiting for her to make the next move. The dead look in her eyes and the sharp smile on her face don’t bode well for him.
“You’re lucky Papà keeps your around, JC, because you have the intelligence of a brick. Your theory has multiple flaws. The Brigade has twice the influence and reach than Nuova Notte. They’re an international organization of operatives and mercenaries that make billions of dollars a year doing specialized jobs. French and Papà worked out the arms deal between us a solid week before Garrix and I met, when we both targeted Venza. Max can confirm Garrix’s whereabouts and Russian involvement during each attack.”
“That I can. As soon as they started dating, I thought the same thing, so I did some backtracking. When her apartment was broken into, Garrix was miles away. He was on a foreign assignment when the arms deal was hammered out as well.” Max looks John Carlo in the face, his anger palpable.
“What I think we should address is why you’re such an asshole to my woman.” My anger is simmering away, soon to reach a boiling point. “You disrespected her at Vixen when you blamed her for the mess she handled while you were gone, and devalued her in front of her entire family by suggesting she’s easily swayed. She’s anything but weak.”
“You told me you were present for the altercation at Vixen.” Don Vettore eyes his middle child with disappointment.”
“The issue at hand isn’t how much of a disappointment John Carlo is,” Maddalena redirects us. “It’s that someone in Nuova Notte is giving the Russians my location. My safety is at risk as long as the mole is still breathing.”
“Gabriele wouldn’t betray the famiglia. Franco and Luca, I want everyone in security questioned, starting immediately. Max, I need you to help me relocate Maddie and Garrix. Do not tell anyone except Fox and I where they’re staying.” He fixes his hard gaze on me. “You keep my bambina safe.”
“With my life,” I promise him.
The meeting goes on for a few more minutes as Fox and Don Vettore hash out some details. I hold Maddie’s hand under the table, brushing my thumb over her knuckles. The same hand that ends lives and causes chaos is so soft under my touch.
“Gabriele and I are going to run a security sweep before we leave,” Luca tosses over his shoulder as he and Gabe leave together. I’m still suspicious, despite Don Vettore’s faith in him.
As the meeting closes, the Consigliere asks to speak with me alone.
“Maddie is like the daughter I always wanted,” he tells me with a stiff expression on his face. “I take my goddaughter’s safety very seriously.”
“Good to know,” I reply.
He glances around quickly before moving closer to me and tipping his head slightly to obscure his lips. “Between us, I wouldn’t trust anyone except her papà and siblings. Not even your own. People do strange things when it comes to money and power, Garrix.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” My replies are short, because I don’t know what his angle is. Who’s to say he isn’t the one fucking around with her?
