“Are you listening to me, Rafael?—”
I stand suddenly, and the action has Benito taking a jarring step backward as I tower over him. My hand snakes out to grip his shirt collar and yank him forward as his Gurkha and tumbler fall to the floor.
“You’re playing both sides, you cock-sucking son of a bitch.” His face drains of all color, as I jerk him higher, toes barely touching the floor now. “You’ve been in league with Conti all this time?—”
“No, no, Rafael.” His sheer desperation almost makes me laugh. “That’s not?—”
I cut him off when I shove him away, and he stumbles backward, landing on his ass.
“You have ten seconds.” I slip my 9mm out from the inside pocket of my suit jacket, flip off the safety, and aim it at Benito’s face. “Ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t put a bullet between your eyes.”
He swallows harshly, and I arch an eyebrow. “Ten…nine…”
“You were my first choice for Gabriela?—”
“Eight…seven…”
“I neverseriouslyconsidered Conti’s proposal?—”
My feet close the distance between us.
“Six…five…”
He holds up his hands in a pleading motion. “I can tell you everything he said. All the plans he?—”
“Four…three…”
“He has spies. Here. In your household?—”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Then I press the barrel of the gun against his perspiration-soaked forehead as he squeezes his eyes shut. “Two…”
“I know where he is!”
Bingo!
A smile lifts my lips as I flip on the safety and pocket the gun once more, taking a step back from the trembling man at my feet. “Now,that’sactually useful, Benito.”
I sink back down into my armchair and pick up my whisky. “Take a seat. And tell meeverything.”
“He’s in Tuscany. I can give you the calls.” As he looks at me in earnest, his words all but gallop out of his mouth. “I have records of every single interaction. It’sallat your disposal?—”
He cuts off when the door to the library opens to admit Stefano and Gabriela. Shooting me a demure smile, she moves to her father’s side. “You requested my presence, Papa.”
Salvatore takes her hand in his without meeting her eyes. “There will be no announcement tonight,Tesoro.”
Gabriela’s brow creases as she looks up to find my eyes. “I-I don’t understand…” She shakes her head, blinking in obvious bewilderment before tugging her hand from her father’s grasp. The action makes him look up, and she meets his gaze with accusation morphing her face.
“Youpromisedme, Papa. You promised I would be the wife of Don Caruso?—”
“That was not his promise to make, Gabriela.” I stand as she swings furious eyes to mine, having had enough of the entire Salvatore family to last a damn lifetime.
I walk past the three of them, shooting over my shoulder, “Don’t forget to send that material to my security detail, Benito,si?”
He murmurs an agreement as I leave, closing the door firmly behind me as I hear Gabriela’s high-pitched shriek of rage as she rounds on her father.
As I return to the party, I immediately notice that Elodie is no longer sitting where I left her with Chiara. A deep frown crosses my brow when my eyes dart around the space, noting that she’s nowhere to be found.
I fish out my cell, and flip on the security feed, flicking through it in search of her blonde head, freezing when I see her leave the main party. I juggle between cameras, tracking her steps as she uses the restroom.
