AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I had a daughter?”
He stops pacing to meet my gaze, looking for any signs of deception.
“No. I’ve only known of your four sons. It wasn’t until Alessandro reached out to my brother, Kai, for assistance. I’ll get our entire clan on this, but with need-to-know info only,” I say.
He quirks an eyebrow before his mask slips back into place.Fuck, he knows or at least suspects. I’ve been trained to watch for tales, the faintest reaction not recognized by most, and he definitely reacted. But he can’t prove it.
“Thank you, Lennon. I appreciate you coming over and your clan’s allegiance to our family. How has your transition been? Your men falling in line with the change?”
Surely, he knows that this isn’t something that I would disclose to him even if they weren’t. Our clan would never share the interworking of our business, just like his people wouldn’t. Is this a test of my gullibility? It’s an insult.
“The transition has been smooth as it could be when one simply didn’t retire. My father was murdered, but our clan remains strong with me at the helm,” I assure.
“I’m sure they are. It was smart for your father to groom you early. Will your brothers take their rightful place to fulfill their duties now?”
I stand, signaling this conversation is over. This has turned into a fishing expedition to gain insight on our clan and has nothing to do with the disappearance of his daughter.
“Our clan has much to discuss, but right now is the time for my family to grieve,” I generalize before changing the subject. “I’ll see what I can find out and let you know. Please keep me apprised of any leads I can help you navigate.”
He nods, and I show myself out. I drive straight to my place in the city in case I’m being followed. I take the lift to my high-rise and phone my brother Kai once I’m inside.
“How did it go?” He asks, knowing that I went to go see Matteo.
“Fine. He doesn’t have any leads, but I told him that we would check around to see if anyone has a vendetta against him or his family. Not many know she exists, so we can leave that part out. I’m going to hit some of the local spots to see if anyone knows anything?”
“Good idea,” Kai says, immediately catching on that I am speaking as if I don’t have her. My place could be bugged. “Want me to swing by to get you? We could go together.”
“That’ll work. How far out are you?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“See you then. I’ll meet you out front.”
I head down to the lobby of my building to speak to the doorman while I wait. Rodrigo hears and sees everything.
“Evening, Rodrigo. How is everything going?”
His face lights up when he sees it’s me. He knows nothing about our clan but knows I’m not your above-board businessman. “Good evening, Mr. Gallagher. It’s been a while since I’ve see you around here. Work been keeping you busy?”
We both laugh because he knows I don’t work a nine to five. My penthouse suite affords me the privacy to come and go via my personal elevator so nobody wouldn’t see me if I didn’t want them too. I come down however to retrieve my mail and chat with him routinely just to stay in the know of the comings and goings of this building.
“I guess you can say I’ve been keeping myself busy. Been spending some time with the siblings at our family home,” I lie. We do have a family residence in Jersey where Fergus, Flynn, and Aisling have chosen to stay after our father passed. But I haven’t been there since after the funeral. The memories are too heavy.
“Makes sense. Sorry again about your dad.”
“Any new faces around here lately? Any new tenants?”
“Actually, there was some potential interest the other day in the sub penthouse,” he says as he opens the door for some incoming existing tenants. The sub penthouse is the entire floor below mine.
“What makes you think that?” I probe.
“Well, a well-dressed Italian fella stopped by the front desk. He was a new face, so I was looking to see if he was a visitor or a potential new resident. The next thing I knew, Bobby was escorting him to the elevator. I saw him swipe the penthouse card, so he had to show him the sub penthouse since you own our only main one.”
“How long were they up there?” I dig.
