Page 250 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

Gian found Chris sitting at the kitchen table as he stormed through the penthouse. The enforcer had set little Marcus up in a bouncy chair, and was apparently reading the newspaper to the baby. Beside him, a row of overturned photographs and a discarded manila envelope sat on the tabletop, seemingly forgotten.

He hesitated at the sight of the overturned images, but only because he knew what he would see on the other side. He, too, had gotten a package delivered while dining with a business associate.

Apparently, so had his mother.

His father.

His brother and sister.

Several of his men.

People he worked with.

People who worked for him.

His aunt in Quebec.

His cousins.

Gian suspected there were more, but the people affiliated with his life were probably too shocked, embarrassed, or unsure to contact him and ask about the dirty pictures of Cara. He had found that with a few, they didn’t need an explanation. Like the ones delivered to his parents—there had been no explanation. Some delivered to his men, or people he worked with, had included a simple note explaining who the woman in the images was, and how it related to Gian.

Others, like the ones delivered to him, or to Elena, had been written on directly. Or so Elena told him. Gian believed her, if only because his package had also held the naked images of Cara with red ink marked across the photos labeling her whore and slut. To name a few.

“Were those sent to you today?” Gian asked Chris.

The enforcer kept his attention on the baby. “Found the package under the wiper of my car after I ran in to get a coffee while Cara was inside the shelter.”

Gian cleared the rising rage clogging up his throat. “I see.”

“The doorman downstairs was nice enough to let me know that the front desk also received the same package of photos.”

Gian’s molars ached as he gritted his teeth in an effort to calm himself down. “Destroy them.”

“I thought you would prefer to, if given the option. I didn’t bother to look beyond the first one when I pulled them out. It was enough for me to know I shouldn’t be looking at them. And then Cara came running out of the shelter like a bat out of hell … so, yeah.”

“Does she know that you saw the pictures, too?”

Chris shook his head. “Didn’t say a word, boss.”

“Keep it that way.”

“I planned to. This is bad, isn’t it?”

Little Marcus seemed perfectly content to bounce in his chair, thanks to Chris helping by tugging on the bottom. The baby certainly didn’t know his mother’s whole world had just been turned upside down, and she would never feel safe or unviolated again. Not even in her own skin. How could she, when every time someone looked at her, she would have to wonder if they had done this to her, or if they had seen?

“It’s bad,” Gian said, “but not in the way some might think. Someone intended to embarrass me, to shame me, and what they did was far worse.”

“They hurt Cara.”

“Yes.”

Chris sighed, and stopped bouncing the baby’s seat as he turned to his boss. “Who would have access to those photos?”

“They’re accessed only on my phone and you know how careful I am with that.”

“But who would, boss?”

Gian had to seriously consider his answer, because he wasn’t sure. Yes, his phone had a pin lock on it, but if someone picked up the device when his back was turned before the screen blacked out, they could easily see inside and explore his very personal and private life. Beyond that, phones were not infallible. Anyone with a decent computer program could plug one in and strip it of files, locked or not, with the owner none the wiser.