AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Just before midnight
BRUNO STOPPEDhis car at the gate and wound the window down. “Is Gianni back yet?” he asked the guy on duty. There’d been nothing from Gianni since the call to say Cheryl Somers had died on the way to a doctor. Bruno had called him several times after leaving Lenox, but there’d been no answer.
“Not yet, sir.”
What is Gianni playing at?He should have been back by then.
Bruno thanked him and drove through the gate. The house sat in darkness, apart from one light on the first floor, which meant Talia had already gone to bed. Sure enough, the space where Gianni’s car usually sat was empty.
Where are you?
Bruno switched off the engine and grabbed his phone. His call went straight to voicemail again. “Gianni, call me when you get this, okay?” He hung up.
Christ, what a mess.
Everything he tried to do to improve his family’s reputation and bury the past seemed to backfire. He’d attempted to help the senator because there was one guy who could do a lot of good.
But not if he’s tarnished by an affair—and manslaughter.
Bruno went into the house and headed for his den. He needed a drink.
He switched the lamp on, poured himself a shot of whiskey, then sat in his armchair, his mind turning over the evening’s events.
Why did she have to up and die on us?
Bruno firmly believed they could have paid her off. From what he knew of her and her father, Bruno could have set them up in a different state with no money worries.Anythingto keep Senator Cain in Bruno’s pocket.
It’s not as if I wanted to use him for some nefarious purpose, Bruno reasoned with the Lord.Couldn’t you just give me a break here?
Bruno had a feeling God wasnoton his side.
He heard a car engine and glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. Twelve forty-five.What’s he been doing?Bruno listened for Gianni’s key in the door, but instead of coming to find him as he’d expected, he caught the creak of the stairs.
Hell no.There was no way Gianni was going to bed.
Bruno wanted answers.
He switched off the lamp and quietly closed the door to the den. He crept upstairs and went to Gianni’s room on the third floor. As he reached for the door handle, he heard running water, and he scowled. Talking to his father took precedence over a shower, especially in the circumstances.
Bruno entered Gianni’s room and stopped dead at the sight of his crumpled clothes, lying on a sheet of plastic.
The patches of red made his stomach roil.
Oh God, what have you done?Bruno sank onto the edge of the bed and stared at the stained heap of clothing. Then he breathed easier. He was overreacting. Of course there’d be blood. Cheryl had a head wound; the senator had said so.
What troubled him was theamountof blood.
“Dad?”
Bruno jumped. Gianni stood in the bathroom doorway, a towel wrapped around him. Before Bruno could get a word out, Gianni scurried over to the clothes, bundled them up in the plastic, and shoved them into a bag.
That oily feeling in Bruno’s stomach worsened.
“Where is she?” he demanded in a low voice. His and Talia’s bedroom was directly below Gianni’s, and he didn’t want her to wake up.
“Better if you don’t know.”
“But Iwantto know.”
