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“Is he in trouble?” My mind immediately sharpened on the worst.
He looked at me lazily. The man knew something. “Information comes at a price,” he finally said.
“I’ll pay it. Whatever the cost.” I realized it was a mistake to lay my desperation out, but my mouth opened with the truth before I could stop it.
“It’s unfortunate Daniel doesn’t appreciate your loyalty.” He tossed the rest of his drink back, and slammed the glass on the table. “Tell me what you know of his father’s death.”
I straightened and clamped my lips shut while I controlled my surprise that this subject had come up and considered how to handle it. Daniel would hate that I was here discussing this with his friend. But if this was the key to what was happening, I had to do it. For him. For us.
I cleared my throat. “He committed suicide.”
“Is that what Daniel told you?” I didn’t like the insinuation in his voice. Like Daniel had lied to me. “Because the cause of death most definitely wasn’t a suicide.”
I downed a large gulp of my whiskey, my senses heightened. This essentially confirmed what I’d seen in the autopsy, but that report had been hidden by Daniel for years. “How do you know that?”
He looked as if he expected better of me but indulged me anyway. “I watched it happen.”
My brow pinched, and I gripped my glass with both hands. “Who?”
Donato again looked disappointed, like I should have been smart enough to answer that question.
“You’re an intelligent girl, with that accounting degree. I know you can put two and two together.” I stared, willing him to say more, something that would immediately halt the path my mind had gone down. “Don’t look at me like I’m to blame. Truthfully, the world is a much better place without that cocksucker.” He cleared his throat and gave me an apologetic smile. “Pardon my language.” It was as disingenuous an apology as I’d ever heard.
This man was a master at talking yet not really saying anything. He’d steered me to the conclusion that Daniel was involved in his father’s murder. I couldn’t help but follow the path, despite my instincts screaming at me not to.
My stomach churned with the possibility that Daniel had carried this burden for all these years. He was rightly sensitive about anything related to his father, and I hated the thought of him shouldering this alone when he could have confided in me.
I looked at him incredulously. “So heisin trouble?”
“Ever heard less is more, as in the less you know the better?” He was too calm, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb on me.
I leveled him with my gaze. “Not when it comes to Daniel.”
He grinned and inclined his head toward me. “You’ve got fire. I like that.” His phone interrupted with a text. “I have to go.” He slid out of the booth and stood, gazing down at me. “Remember that information comes at a price. If I need you, I’ll be in touch.”
I satin stunned silence for a moment after he left. He hadn’t come out and said Daniel murdered his father, but he’d sure as hell implied it. And the autopsy I’d found clearly indicated that someone did.
I didn’t know why, but maybe after all these years Daniel had had a crisis of conscience. That had to be the catalyst for his unusual behavior. But what did that have to do with me?
I shoved up from the booth, fumbling in my haste to grab my purse. My steps were wobbly as I rushed toward the exit. I pushed the door open and squinted when the sunlight hit my eyes, temporarily disoriented.
When my vision cleared, I saw that Donato stood down the block with his back to me, hand waving beside him as he spoke on the phone.
“…Not protected anymore.” I overheard as I approached. He was silent as the person on the other end of the line spoke, then he continued. “Oh, he gives a fuck. Trust me, we can use this. He’ll have no choice but to cooperate.”
He spun, and I froze, trying to keep a guilty look off of my face. His was absolutely sinister. “I seem to be the one solving all the problems,” he continued into the phone without taking his gaze off me. “If you want this partnership to continue, do something useful.”
He ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Less is more, Vivian. Less is more.”
Donato clucked his tongue and strolled away. If he believed I’d leave this alone and let Daniel fend for himself…I stared after him.
More is more, motherfucker. More is more.
Chapter Twenty-One
Vivian
