AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You are lucky Antonio gave me the task. Otherwise, you would’ve had our men dragging you back weeks ago,” he explained. “Thanks to Lily and her knowledge of technology, I found you two weeks ago. I just wanted to give you the time to come on your own.”
“Youdid, or Antonio?”
His nose scrunched up at my question. “Antonio doesn’t know I found you. He’s been too distracted with Ramona and Elias Mariani.”
I straightened up in my seat. I didn’t know if I wanted to feel relieved or not.
“That crazy bastard still trying to get his hands on her?”
Bruno chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, you’ve missed too much while playing house. Ramonamarriedhim. You missed the wedding. That woman is going to kill you the next she sees you.” He then drifted his eyes toward Frankie. “That woman might be a saving distraction.”
“Her name is Frankie,” I grounded out, not liking the lack of respect, “and I haven’t beenplaying house. I’ve been hunting down Jimmy Lawerence. Well, the fake one, anyway.”
I might’ve not gotten far, but I hadn’t given up.
Bruno’s confusion left me filling him in on all the details and the lack thereof.
“Leonardo Stupes,” Bruno stated with a long sigh. “The Guarini family got their hands on him up north. He pulled the same stunt in one of their strip clubs. The guy had been using multiple false identities.”
I stiffened at the knowledge. “So we’ve been searching for what, a ghost?” My fists clenched as anger flourished in my veins. All that hunting just to have such an unsatisfying ending? “How can I return home empty-handed?”
Bruno tapped his fingers against the table, thinking. The lug never used his head. “You can always have your girlfriend stand up for you. She’s a fierce one.”
“She was shaking in her boots,” I corrected, “she’s good at putting up a front. Don’t let Frankie fool you, she’s as shy as they come. While she might’ve been able to look you in the eye, she’d cry if she met Antonio.”
“Between me and you, I’d take the risk. Outside of the Mariani drama, Kelsie also found out she was pregnant. He’s been a nervous wreck since. If it wasn’t for Elias being the one to happily put down punishment, our family wouldn’t stand a chance.” He scratched at his bearded cheek.
“I don’t want to leave Frankie,” I admitted. “That fucker has every family in the state making visits. Dead or not, I doubt they’ll stop coming altogether.”
“So bring her with you?” Bruno suggested much to my surprise. “Lily might be Kelsie’s sister, but Antonio allowed her to move in. After she got kidnapped–” He paused as if remembering something important. His scowl instantly returned. “I forgot to mention, Elias bought Lily from her father. Why in the fuck weren’t you watching her Frank?”
I grimaced at his anger. Right. Frank Peterson. The scum that apparently broughttwowomen into our lives. The guy who happily passed his debt onto his eldest daughter and apparently sold off his other one to a madman. I was starting to understand how Bruno and Lily came together now.
“While you had the easiest job in the world, watching that thrift shop, I was watching a man drink away all his sorrows. After a while, I got tired of babysitting a drunk.” My explanation only agitated Bruno more. “I skippedonenight. Apparently, the guy had either been waiting, or an opportunity popped up. I don’t know.”
Lily appeared at the perfect time, resting her hand on Bruno’s shoulder. “If Elias hadn’t kidnapped me and threatened to murder us all, Ramona wouldn’t have fallen for the guy,” she explained before letting out a satisfied sigh. “I hope our wedding is as beautiful as theirs.”
Yeah, that didn’t sound healthy. Maybe there was more to that story.
“Your family sure is eventful,” Frankie mused by the sink. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t look as horrified as I expected her to. Then again, when I told her I was a part of the mafia, she brushed it off then too.
If I’d actually shot my best friend, then maybe she would be feeling a bit indifferent.
Frankie moved away from the sink, approaching us with intertwining fingers. “If it’s possible, I don’t want him to get in trouble for being away so long. It’s technically my fault.”
Before I could stop her, she flooded the room with the truth. Explained the parts that I purposely left out. Starting right off with that log she beat me with.
Bruno barked out a laugh. While foreign, it still left me feeling humiliated. He got a good chuckle at my situation.
The intelligent Marco Franzolli was bested by some defenseless woman. Well, there were two sides to every story. Even if she spoke the truth, I still denied it, promising him that I let her knock me out.
“Yeah, Antonio might get a laugh out of that,” Bruno offered. “Let her come. Worst case, Antonio will send her back here. Once you get back in his good graces, you could come and visit her. I went weeks secretly visiting Lily before bringing her home. He was pissed, but accepting after a while.”
My boss being forgiving sounded too good to be true. The last time I saw him, he’d been swooning over his new love. Still, he was one angry bastard. Even I feared him.
“Wait, if there’s an option, I definitely want to come,” Frankie insisted. Of course she wanted to come. Maybe she was more fearless than I originally thought.
I didn’t know what the outcome would be by the end of today. While I knew what Iwanted, being hopeful could only get a person so far.
