Page 123 of Bene

That time, she didn’t even bother to give him the decency of a response. However, if he wanted one, she couldn’t be sure because the ringing of his cell phone coming from his bedroom across the hall had him spinning away from her without hesitation. Vanna might have breathed a sigh in relief, but she knew it would only last so long.

He would be back.

They both lived here.

This was her hell now.

Not sure how long it would take Courtney to get back with the wedding dress, Vanna decided to step out of the bedroom she used to sleep in, and head down to the bathroom where she left her silk robe the night before. Then, at least if Mario came back before the seamstress, she would be slightly more covered from his view.

Coming back down the hallway, Vanna heard quiet murmurs coming from Mario’s bedroom. Not unusual, if he was chatting on the phone. He’d even closed his door, or tried, but it looked as through it caught on the tip of a shoe. The man was a total mess in his private spaces, and she didn’t have the first clue how he could stand to be around it. Like a hurricane constantly went through his room, everything was everywhere.

Shoes kicked off where they fell, clothes tossed anywhere they landed, and more. For someone who looked so put together on the outside, Mario was a mess otherwise. Or maybe it was that he was just a spoiled man who needed someone to follow him constantly and pick up his shit like his mother had done his entire life.

The woman did come over to clean.

Often.

Although, his mother was quick to let Vanna know that once the two of them were married, it would be her responsibility to keep the house, and the man, in appropriate condition.

Right.

She kept it in mind.

Not.

Vanna stopped directly outside of Mario’s bedroom instead of turning right to enter her bedroom. Not because he was talking on the phone, he did that all the time, but because of the voice that spoke back to him.

He thought he closed his door.

And put his phone on speaker.

The idiot.

Constable Keefs—the detective Vanna had been feeding information on the Guzzis—spoke to Mario as if the two of them were familiar, and this wasn’t the first time they had a conversation with one another. She wanted to be surprised as she neared the crack in the door, and listened to them share a few words, but she couldn’t be.

As Vanna had come to learn, Mario knew a lot.

About her.

The shit she did behind his back.

Her life away from him.

The man watched her more than she thought, and it only landed her in hot water. She was more interested in why Mario would do something insane like risk being attached to a cop, even if said cop was a fucking dirty bastard.

His next comment to Keefs on the phone explained exactly why. “No, with the Guzzis distracted elsewhere, they can’t cover all their points of business, which is giving our clan ample time to creep in where they can’t be at the moment. And yes, you’ll certainly be reimbursed for your help here. I never thought she would take the bait like that, but Vanna has a way of surprising me whenever I think I have her figured out.”

Oh.

That was it, huh?

Her meeting with Keefs wasn’t because he thought she would be the perfect informant for his purpose, but because Mario thought she would be the easy ploy to use to further his endgame? Just how long had he known what she was doing with Bene?

The whole time, she bet.

Asshole.

Vanna had a good mind to enter his bedroom, and let him know she heard everything, but the smarter part of her brain had a better idea. Spinning on her heel, she headed for her bedroom as fast as she could go without making noise. A sense of victory spread in her heart at the item the seamstress had left sitting on the table next to the bed.