Page 46 of Daddies of the Underworld

A guard motioned at us from the end of the hallway, stopping when Dante nodded and headed over. He listened for several seconds, then looked back at me. His expression told me everything I needed to know. We could not talk here.

I held out a hand to Nina. “Come with me.”

She laughed, the sound sharp. “Why should I?”

“Because we might have an answer, and we cannot discuss it here.” I held her gaze, giving her what I could with so many guards watching.

Luca made a quiet sound under his breath that almost sounded like a plea.

Nina stared at my hand for several seconds, then slid her hand into mine, her cold fingers closing around my palm.

I led the way to my office, Dante and Luca trailing behind.

Luca turned at the last minute with a whispered warning that one of the delegates was headed our way and he’d cut him off.

The man’s furious voice reached us seconds later, cut off by Luca’s quick calm.

Dante closed the doors and leaned against them.

Carlo waited on the other side of the room, his tablet tucked against his chest.

He swallowed hard at the sight of me, then averted his gaze.

“Show us what you found.” I helped Nina into the nearest chair, then stood beside her.

Carlo tapped the tablet, and the screen hanging on the wall came to life. “We pulled access logs from the restricted records. Someone entered the archive corridor last night. The badge entry came from a temporary hospitality credential.”

Nina’s fingers tightened around mine. “A staff badge?”

“No.” Dante moved closer to the screen. “Those do not allow access to restricted areas. Neither do the hospitality badges like the one we gave Marco. It would have needed to be modified, which I thought was impossible. Carlo, play the footage.”

Carlo tapped a button, and a video of a man creeping down the corridor played out.

The angle was shit, but it was definitely a man in dark clothes.

He kept his head down, and held a backpack slung over one shoulder.

Nina stopped breathing. “It’s not a very clear image.”

“No.” It was the only thing I could agree with.

Her gaze darted to mine, her fingers spasming in her desperation.

Carlo changed the image. “I have one more angle.” A second video came up. “This is a new camera that was installed yesterday. No one knew about it except for me and Luca.”

The camera not only gave a view of the other end of the hallway, but it was framed so that when the man ducked his head to hide from the other camera using his hood, his reflection caught in a mirror.

Marco.

Nina released my hand and covered her mouth. “No.”

Dante shifted as though to steady her, then stopped himself.

Carlo lowered the tablet by an inch. “The archive terminal was opened for seven minutes. The files that were copied include attendee account information, private escrow routes, security rotations, and credential assignments. This man had enough knowledge to not only hack his badge so it would open this terminal but to know exactly what information to pull.”

I forced stillness into my muscles. “That means he was fed information.”

“But not proof he took the money.” Nina’s hands curled at her sides. “He only accessed the information, which is bad enough. Maybe someone threatened him. Marco’s always been a runner, but he wouldn’t do this.” She waved a hand at the screens like ‘this’ was not caught in full color. “Say there could be another explanation. Please, Matteo.”