I hand him the bottle of water that’s on his desk. “Drink.”
Opening the door, I walk into the bathroom and grab a few paper towels. I run water over them. Returning to the office, I clean his cut.
“Do you have any Band-Aids?” I ask.
“In the top drawer,” he replies, wincing under my touch.
“This cut looks shallow,” I open the top drawer and take out a Band-Aid. Placing it over the cut, I press down gently.
“Thank you,” Dominic replies. He looks around at his office, shock registering on his face at the mess. His hands move across the surface of the desk as if looking for something. “What the fuck!” He slams his fist into his desk. “Dammit! It’s not here!”
“Take it easy, Dom,” I place my hand on his shoulder. “You might have a concussion.”
“That’s the least of my worries. It’s not here, Cipi.”
“What isn’t here? Where’s your secretary?”
“I don’t know. Isn’t she at her desk?” Dominic slowly gets to his feet. He shuffles through another pile of papers on his desk. “Fuck!”
“What?”
He slams his fist again. “I was in here earlier reading through a file. I was so engrossed in it I didn’t hear anyone come in. Then I felt a presence next to me and when I looked up I was met with a blow to the side of the head.”
“Did you see who it was?”
He shakes his head. “No.” He swears again. “I should have been more aware of my surroundings. But I thought Alberta was at her desk.”
“No, she isn’t. The place was empty when I came in.” I gather a few of the scattered papers, fitting them neatly into a pile. “Whoever hit you on the head tore this room apart looking for something.”
“And they got it,” Dominic finishes. “The file I was so engrossed in was the police account of the Marconi Massacre. One of my friends on the force owed me a favor and gave me the file.” He groans in frustration. “They had a detailed description of everything that happened at the wedding of Aldo Marconi’s daughter. There was even a list of all the people who had attended. Now it’s gone. I thought if we were able to see all the people at the wedding, maybe we could find a connection to who is behind all this.”
“How could someone have known you had that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I called your phone multiple times yesterday and you didn’t answer.”
Dominic rubs his head. “I’m sorry. I drove out to meet my friend to get the file. He lives just over the state lines and he was at his cabin in the woods on vacation. The service was terrible.”
“Why didn’t you let me know where you were going?”
He sighs. “I didn’t know if it would amount to anything and I wanted to surprise you. But now the file is gone. It was the only paper copy.” He looks at me. “What happened while I was off the grid?”
Taking a deep breath, I tell him about Gigi getting kidnapped and drugged then Nonna being poisoned. Dominic stands and takes me into his arms, pulling me close. “I’m so sorry, Cipi.”
“You need to go to the doctor and get your head checked. You could have a concussion.”
He waves off my comment. “Nah. It’s just sore. I’ll be alright. I’ve had worse. Like you said, the cut is shallow. I’m fine.”
I breathe in his scent and immediately feel better. “Don’t ever make me worry like that again. When I didn’t hear from you, I thought you might be the next victim.”
“I wonder what chess piece I would be,” Dominic muses.
“Dominic,” I slap his chest. “That’s not funny. I came rushing over here as soon as I knew my family was okay. Then when I saw you slumped over your desk I thought you were dead.”
He kisses me.“I’m sorry that was stupid of me. With everything going on and everyone in your family getting attacked I should have communicated better.”
“You really should get checked out,” I protest. “You could have a concussion.”
