Page 74 of The Boss

“Can you let me in on what Drew and Ryan are doing? I know you told me to review things they found, but they haven’t sent me anything. I can help look at things if they need it.”

“Bella—” he starts.

“Gino, I’m not going to stop helping because I’m helping Vanessa,” I cut him off with a firm, sharp gaze of warning. “You’ve already agreed that I know what to look for.”

He sighs. “Fine, I’ll tell them to send you everything.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m going to walk over there,” he says.

“I’ll have dinner ready when you get back.”

He kisses my cheek and leaves the room.

THIRTY-TWO

GINO

The walk to my sister’s house is quiet, and the wind whips around me. The winter is starting to dissipate, but it’s still freezing out.

Juliet’s right; I’ve been dancing around the conversation with Vanessa for months. I’ve given her surface-level details so as to not invoke overthinking. But it sounds like she’s overthinking.

I open the side door into her kitchen, and Alonso sees me first.

I give him a curt nod.

“Hey, man,” he says.

“Hey, where’s Vanessa?” I ask him.

“She’s in the living room,” he replies.

“Thanks, do you mind giving us some privacy?”

“Not at all. I’ll be in the dining room if you need me,” he replies.

He walks away, and I walk to the living room, seeing Vanessa sitting on the couch. She has her red hair in a high ponytail. And she’s watching TV at a low volume.

“Hey,” I say. I walk around the couch and sit next to her.

“Hey.” She gives me a soft smile.

“I heard you’ve been pushing Alonso and Juliet for information.”

She gives me a sideways glance.

We haven’t known of each other’s existence for long, but we act like we’ve known each other our whole lives. We banter, argue, and annoy each other as siblings do.

“I’ve been asking questions because I know you’ve been keeping secrets from me about how bad it probably is for Mateo,” she replies. “And as I told you before, and I will keep telling you, I don’t need you to baby me. Dad did that enough when I was a kid; I don’t need my brother doing it too.”

I sigh. “I know. To be completely honest, I’m terrified, Ness. I’m actually fucking terrified; I have been since the moment we knew Mateo was kidnapped.”

She turns to me and has a look of shock and understanding on her face. “I have been too.”

“I’m doing everything I can to find him,” I reassure her. “I’ve called in favors and tried negotiating, but nothing’s working.”

“I know, but why do you feel like you need to keep it from me?”