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I followed her around the car with my eyes and watched as she opened the front door and closed it behind her without looking back again. Mentally, I counted to ten because it took about that long for her to climb the stairs and stand in front of her apartment. I waited twenty more seconds before starting the engine and maneuvering it out of the driveway.
By now there was no question that I had to make sure that we met again soon.
* * *
"I thoughtNatale was clear with you being out for now." Emilio's greeting almost made me turn around instantly, stride out the front door, get in the car and drive away.
It took some self-control for me not to do it and instead remain calm and level-headed. A quality I didn't include in my portfolio because I considered it superfluous.
"And that also means I'm not welcome here?" I asked, one eyebrow raised.
Emilio had opened both windows behind him, so the heavy scent of roses drifted throughout his office. It made me want to vomit, if you asked me. It was nice to look at, but the smell not only made my nose itch, it was way too noticeable.
My brother already looked annoyed. Clearly, the therapeutic rose scent thus failed its services. He took a deep breath and looked at me more calmer.
"Of course not. But you don't have to spend your stay in my office, do you?"
It just bothered him I was lying on his couch with my feet dangling over the backrest and not sitting down in the interrogation chair in front of his desk like a normal person.
"I guess you're not wrong. But for now, I feel quite comfortable here."
"Wonderful, Dario. I'd like to focus on business, though, and not watch you flop on my couch like you don't have a home of your own."
"Ouch," I said, but sat up, resting my arms on my legs. "Moretti must have been trying to get information on me, the club, and us for some time. He turned one of my people. We caught it in time, the guy's dead now, and I paid a quick visit to Aurelio's wife to get her to call her husband off. But if that doesn't interest you, I'm happy to leave."
Emilio screwed up his face before looking at me. "I don't think he's targeting us. It will have been about the club for him."
"If you say so," I replied, studying my fingernails. Did he think Moretti would settle for theTychewhen therewas so much more up for grabs? "You might just want to keep it in the back of your mind."
I would do it in his place, because it didn't hurt to have the ever-growing list of enemies on the screen.
Emilio remained silent, and I thought of Vincenzo, who didn't need to be told this information twice. Maybe I should let him know in the future so that he could talk to Emilio? At least he seemed to have more influence on our brother than I did. Even Carlotta had him under better control.
"What about the French? Is there any news there?"
"You're out for now, remember?" he grumbled and looked at me.
"And that doesn't stop me from getting the important information. If we're in danger, I'd like to know about it. I feel little desire to find a bomb under my car that goes off when you press the ignition." I looked at him. Did he think I was leading a carefree, normal life when he relieved me of my duties? Even if it was only temporary, I was still in possession of the club, and it brought its own challenges, as was now apparent.
"Just don't park your car where there's a risk of that very thing happening."
"Are you fucking serious?" I looked at Emilio in disbelief. I wasn't supposed to park my car anywhere where there was a risk of someone putting a bomb on it?
Emilio looked at me with urgence.
"Sure, why don't I just use public transportation and take the bus? Just tell me what I need to know so I can be prepared."
"You don't have to worry, Dario. We'll take care of everything so you can recover a little from the bomb incident."And from the way you treated the guy in the torture cellar. But that was left unsaid, so I had no proper basis to react to either.
I didn't like the idea of relying on Emilio, of all people, who had already proven with his choice of business partner that he wasn't without fault.
"How nice. If someone shows up at my place should I just relay that information to them and wait for you to show up?" I couldn't keep the mocking undertone out of my voice.
I didn't like the current strained relationship between Emilio and me, because it also meant that he was making my life unnecessarily difficult.
Instead of responding to my comment, he looked at the door of his office. An unspoken request that I should leave because the conversation was over for him.
For a moment I thought about bringing Gia up and telling him that this was also about her safety, but in the end I didn't do it. He didn't need to know that I was concerned about her well-being– or that I had had her with me this morning at Mariella's, and that she had given me an insight that Emilio would have been very interested in... if he had been interested at all in inspecting Aurelio Moretti.
