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He still stands at attention in front of my desk. I invite him to sit and offer him a drink, but as usual, he refuses. He likes to maintain a certain formality between us. He’s an excellent second, so I indulge him in his need for little formalities. As well as his slightly cringeworthy love of all things military.
“They are all dead ends so far,” he adds drily. “I’ve never had so much difficulty tracking down an individual. Are you sure…”
He swallows back whatever else he was about to say.
I lower my eyebrows and stare at him. “Speak your mind. You are my second. You are allowed to question my judgment—though only in private. What is it, Danelli?”
“I just wonder if we’re chasing a ghost, Boss. Someone who doesn’t exist.” He runs an agitated hand through his hair.
It isn’t often that my second shows his frustration so clearly.
I share both his frustration and his views on this matter. “I have been thinking the same,” I confirm. “The name Antonio came from one source in the first instance. It is easy to start rumors once an initial story is out there, is it not?”
His lips thin, and he nods slightly. “That source being…Rossi.”
“Indeed. We always come back to him. I want the man kept alive a little longer. Because I want to dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding my parents’ deaths, as well as those of my wife’s parents. My instincts are telling me Rossi knows more than he has let on. I think it is time to change tack on our saboteur investigation, Danelli. Look into Rossi instead. See what you can find. And do it fast. My gut is screaming at me that we’re running out of time. Whatever is brewing will soon come to a head. I am certain of it.”
He rubs his arms, as if my words have made him cold. “I think so too, Boss. I’m on it.”
When he leaves, I steeple my fingers and stare at the drink on the desk in front of me, considering pieces of the puzzle. Pieces that make no sense. Not yet, anyway. Danger is on the horizon. It is circling our family, and I have not been able to identify the source.
Only one piece seems to sit right in the center of the puzzle every time. Carlos Rossi.
It is time he and I had another talk. A talk on my terms, not his.
But first, there is something I need to do—something I should have done months ago. I pick up my cell and dial my lawyer. He answers instantly—I pay him enough on retainer that he knows never to keep me waiting.
“I need you to draw up some papers, Carnarvon. Have them ready by tomorrow evening, and meet me in my office above the club.”
* * *
Bianca
Rio is unusuallyquiet at dinner. He is naturally taciturn, rare to smile or laugh, but even for him, it is noticeable that his thoughts are elsewhere. At first, I wonder if it may be because of my inadvertent meeting with Felicity, which I’m sure his team told him about. But he grunts and shakes his head when I ask.
“I am not concerned about that, Bianca. On the contrary, I am very proud of you,” he says. “You did well today, by all reports. You showed your loyalty to our family.”
I pout at him, mock-annoyed. “That’s a little condescending, Rio. Do I deserve a little pat on the head, too?”
I would never have had the nerve to say such a thing to him even a month or two ago, but there’s a growing ease between us that emboldens me sometimes.
Especially when he’s pensive, like he is now. I want to snap him out of it, ease whatever worries are keeping him mentally locked away from me. It seems I’ve succeeded when he releases a small huff of laughter.
“I told Danelli you would call me out for my patronizing attitude. You proved me right.”
His mouth is still lifted at the corners in a show of good humor, and I laugh, too.
“Thank you, Rio. I’m glad I could be of service.”
“Oh, I can think of a much more interesting way you can be of service, little bird.”
The sensual words roll over me, and I am about to jump up from my seat at the table and sashay around to wriggle onto his lap, but I pause in the act of rising. There was something hollow in his tone that doesn’t ring true.
So, instead of responding to his teasing comment in that way, I lower back into my chair and frown at him. “Is everything all right, Rio? Are you all right? Are…we?”
“We are fine, Bianca. I just have several things on my mind at present. Which reminds me… I will have Danelli’s men bring you in to the club tomorrow evening. I have some papers to go through with you regarding Emilia’s future. We need to ensure her financial security so that if anything were to happen to either of us, she will be well looked after.”
“I… Well, okay. That sounds…sensible.” It doesn’t sound sensible. It sounds terrifying.
