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Petrafuso. Thirty-three hits.
Fuck.
I narrowed the search and typed one name. Noemi.
Zero hits.
My eyes narrowed as I was left with one conclusion.
“You fucking son-of-a-bitch,” I ground out, pounding out the keys to his name.
W.I.L.L.I.S.
Thirty hits.
I sat back in my chair, willing myself to calm down before I dove into each entry. The number of entries didn’t necessarily mean anything yet. Maybe Delacroix did some shady work for the government as well. Maybe we had both become part of Willis’ network and didn’t know it. And maybe Willis didn’t know about the connection between me and Delacroix.
And maybe pigs could fly, and yellow brick roads really did lead to emerald cities.
And maybe I had finally found the puppet master who wanted me out of the way and his sister dead?
“No. No way would he do that.”
Taking me out for whatever reason he had come up with was one thing. Maybe he was in hot water and had to clean up his dirty work. Maybe he was just an ass and wanted to betray me. Maybe he was pressured into it by someone else, but I knew one thing for certain: Willis Petrafuso would never hurt his sister.
I sucked in a deep breath, ready to forge ahead with what I anticipated would be the biggest betrayal I’d ever face. If my suspicions were true, he was a dead man. I’d kill him before he could kill me. And I’d make him suffer for even thinking he could kill Noemi and get away with it.
I lingered over the enter button. I shook my head, my instincts screaming. My mind said one thing: to believe what made sense. But my sixth sense told me that I was wrong. I knew him. I knew how much he loved her. There was more to this and the only way I’d find it was to keep looking.
Noemi knocked softly on the door. “Dante? Are you in there?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, torn between what I wanted to do, what I had to do, and the only thing I could do. I hesitated as once again Marco’s note came to mind.
“You’re right,” I said to the air. “It’s too easy. Too fucking easy.”
Delacroix didn’t even make us work for it. He wasn’t that stupid. Not as stupid as I’d been for falling for this bullshit. And Willis? Even if I had reservations about Delacroix, I knew Willis knew how to cover his tracks better than this.
“What?” Noemi called from the other side of the door. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go see Willis soon. It’s almost noon.”
I shut my laptop and walked across the room to open the door for her. She looked like she felt better. Her eyes weren’t as puffy and the makeup helped her pale complexion, but anyone who knew her would clearly see that something was wrong.
“Do you feel better?” I asked, dropping a quick kiss on her mouth.
“I do, thank you.” She hummed, kissing me back. “I just texted Willis. He said he’s at his place in New York. I just told him I was coming up to visit him and he said fine. I didn’t tell him why. I can go myself if you’re busy,” she added hesitantly.
“No, it’s nothing that can’t wait,” I said, closing my office door behind me. “I know you have a lot of questions. I think I’d like to hear what your brother has to say.”
Before she stepped away, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her against me. The urge to disrupt the casual feeling was foreign to me but I couldn’t take even the illusion of distance between us.
But once I had her against me, I didn’t have any idea what to say. Unlike her, my silence didn’t stem from bashfulness but ignorance.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, staring down at her.
A small smile crept across her mouth. “You didn’t have a problem earlier, but that’s okay. I love you, too.
