Page 30 of Daddies of the Underworld

I crossed to the desk and pulled the drawer open. Empty. I started to close it, but a tiny corner of white sticking out from the runner stopped me. I reached for it, pulling out a photograph with my thumb and forefinger. “Dante.”

He was on his feet in and at my side in an instant. He cursed under his breath when I showed him the photo.

“What?” Nina pulled away from Luca and peered around me. Her face went even paler. “Someone took a picture of me in the kitchen? Why?”

Why indeed. Nina wore her uniform in the picture, which meant it had been taken days ago and left here. A warning? I flipped the picture over but the backside was blank. “Seal the room.”

“No.” Nina’s head snapped up. “No, Matteo. I’m not being locked out of my room. Not again.”

“We do not know what they want or how far they are willing to go to get it.” I turned so we stood face to face. “You are not furniture, Nina. You are not replaceable. I will not allow you to stay in a place that has been compromised. Not when they were this close to you.” I fanned the photo in her face.

A hint of defiance flashed, but a motion from Dante turned her away without a word.

“Go ahead, Carlo.” Dante tapped a button on his phone, and Carlo’s quick sigh came through.

“We have an intruder at the east service gate. He’s wearing a uniform but the badge is not one issued by us.”

“I want him alive.” I nodded at Dante, who gave me a smile that made weaker men shit their pants.

“With pleasure.” He ended the call and was out of the room before the rest of us could even turn around.

Nina wrapped her arms around her stomach. “What do we do now?”

“We wait.” Luca grinned, and it was all teeth. “Dante will get him.”

As though to prove his point, a shout came from the eastern side of the villa.

Luca, Nina, and I were moving before my phone pinged a text message. I read it on our way down the corridor. “Dante’s taking him to the lemon grove.”

“Perfect.” Luca’s lips peeled back from his teeth. Most people missed this side of Luca. He was so charismatic and charming they missed the feral animal beneath.

Dante stood beneath the lemon trees with a young, brown-haired man who was sweating through his borrowed kitchen shirt.

Dante forced him to his knees, the young man’s hands locked behind his back with Dante’s preferred cuffs.

I stared down at him. “Name.”

He flinched, his gaze flying to Dante. “Pietro.”

“Wrong.” I tsked and shook my head. “You have one more chance to tell me the truth. Lie again and you will learn why Dante is known as the devil.”

His lips trembled, and he looked at each of us like he might gain immunity. Even Nina stared down at him with a coldness I hadn’t expected. I’d never thought her fragile, but this suited her well.

“Emil.” Shoulders rounding, Emil bent forward slightly. “Emil Azarak.”

“Who gave you the badge?” I asked.

Emil’s head bowed. “I don’t know.”

Dante made a small sound, and Emil almost threw his entire body to the ground. His gaze flew to Dante, then to me. “I swear it. I was given instructions and money in an envelope, along with the uniform.”

“You entered a protected wing and searched a woman’s room. Do not insult me with lies. Who shut off the cameras?” I kept my voice low. Softness often gained better results than shouting. My father taught me that. Silence was chilling, and many rushed to fill it. “What were you sent to find?”

His gaze flicked to Nina, and he curled even further inward.

“Nina.” I held out my arm, and she walked over to stand beside me. “This is why we need to increase your protection. We need you within our sight at all times. Whoever is behind this, they have managed to infiltrate our staff.”

A resigned look darkened her eyes. I hated it, but better resigned than dead.