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She laughed as he kissed her between each word she spoke.
“Now that you’re in a good mood, and I’ve helped you solve whatever your problem is, I want to go and see my dad.”
“Belle?”
“No, please, Diego. I know you think I’m going to run off.” She grabbed his hand, placing it across her stomach. “I’m not going to cause anything that means if I am pregnant I’m raising this baby alone. I also don’t want to hear that you got arrested either. I’m not going to say anything. I’ll be good. Wow, that sounds rather strange. I won’t say anything. I want to … do this. I nearly lost my father. He’s awake, and I want to talk to him.”
He took her hands. “I’ll go and see if I can arrange it.”
“You will?”
“Yes. Belle, if you break your promise, I will have no choice but to kill you.”
He saw the sadness on her face. “I’m not going to do anything to make you hurt me. I just want to see my dad. That’s all.”
“Fine.” He kissed her lips. “I’ll be back. Stay here.”
He left her on the bed as he made his way into his father’s office. Paperwork was on every single surface, and several images were pinned up.
“You really worked through all of this mess?” Diego asked.
“It wasn’t hard to do. Everyone has an order, and well, Angelo’s is based on each hit he’s taken.” Richard stood. “These are the first hits that were organized. Not the shootings. Angelo or one of his men were responsible for the drug overdosing coming from your club.”
“I took out that barman,” Diego said. “You saw him on the security footage dealing out his drugs.”
“Yes, and we’re figuring he was replaced by someone within the club. It’s not exactly hard to do. Drug dealers come in all shapes, sizes, and sexes. Moving on, we’re not here to figure out who sold the drugs. These are the hits that were taken in the five different locations, which ended with your shooting.”
“How the fuck did he know where I was going to be?” Diego asked.
“He didn’t. It’s why he’s got a picture of you.”
“You were tailed,” his father said. “That’s how he was able to do this. He watched your movements. Either that, or your girl is in on it.”
“Belle’s not in on it.”
“She’s not,” Richard said. “As part of my arrangement with Diego, I was asked to keep an eye on her. The only person who was connected to Angelo and Belle was Melanie. She was getting the drugs from him and helping to distribute them.” Richard pointed at another wall. “I may have mixed mine and Angelo’s information to help us pin him down.”
“Whatever it takes.”
“Belle is an innocent in this. She’s just a woman who is trying to make a life for herself.”
“As I knew she was,” Diego said. Belle couldn’t hurt anyone. She had hit him when she found out the truth, but he also knew that was because of the pain he’d caused her.
“So, then we move back to Angelo’s next hit. The Boss. He’s not wanting to take your job, Diego. He’s wanting absolute power, and he’s using the Russians to get it. Now, this is the problem. Moving onto the next hit which would be the consigliere and the underboss. They are who he’s going after next. However, this was all based on The Boss being taken out.”
Looking over the evidence, Diego frowned. “So we don’t know who he is taking out next?”
“No. He messed up his last hit. Where would he go from there?”
Diego looked at the work, and glanced through everything he saw.
“It’s Angelo. He’ll continue on,” Diego said.
“But that’s not what he has planned.”
“I know this guy. I know what he’s capable of. Failing to kill The Boss is not a mission fail for him. He’ll come back. He’ll see it as a postponement. He’s going to go after the consigliere and the underboss. Take them out, he’ll weaken us.”
“Not if you give him a better target. One he wants.”
“What?” Diego asked.
“You. Angelo had three attacks of the five happen in your domain. One of them was designed to get you. I’d say you’d be a pretty big fucking lure for him. You don’t always have your guards with you.”
“That was before the attack, Richard. There’s no way he’d fall for it. He’s stupid, but he’d see a trap like that.”
“Not if you’re going to Belle’s apartment and he thinks you’re going alone. She’s the one place that isn’t targeted. The one place you have the illusion of being safe and the one place where he could attack you, thinking you’re alone.”
Diego stared at Richard. The plan … could work. “That’s the best plan you got?”
“I don’t see you coming up with anything else. He takes out the consigliere and the underboss, it’ll be the capos next. The hits that took place were designed to weaken and separate. With that, he could pick you off one by one until there is nothing and no one left.”
