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After a moment, Giancarlo gets up and beckons me to follow behind him. My stomach is stuffed and I'm moving sluggishly. If there's one thing I can say positively about Rosie, she sure did know how to make a feast.
I'm sure that by the time I make it home tonight, I'm not going to be able to do anything besides go to sleep.
I follow Giancarlo into a small study room. The walls are lined with dark brown spined books. Clearly, nothing here is meant to be read for enjoyment. More to be read for knowledge. The red and black carpet is lush and my shoes sink in at least a quarter of an inch. There is a large window on one side of the room but it's covered with light-canceling curtains. I don't see anything overly valuable in this room but it's obvious Giancarlo really doesn't want anyone to know what he's got going on in here.
"You look like you could use a drink." Giancarlo walks across to the other side of the room, he opens a small case, and inside is a decanter of whiskey, he pulls the stopper and right away I can smell the richness of the liquor.
"If it helps you get through this any faster, then sure, give me a drink." I heaved a sigh and waited for him to come over to me with my tumbler of the dark brown liquid.
The second he gave me the drink, I tossed it back while he only took a sip.
"I think father is going to set you up to marry one of the Caprini daughters."
Fire burns up my throat, and the smooth liquor that I just gulped down steamed in my gut. My eyes bulged for a second while I stood there stuck between speechless and unable to breathe. My face felt like it had just turned a deep red color as the blood continued to force its way to my head.
The next instant, I was coughing and trying to suck in a deep breath at the same time.
"Easy, brother. Now you see why I didn't want to tell you this over the phone. Who the hell would be there when you fall over and die?" Giancarlo's smug voice grates at my ears as he swings his large hand and beats down on my back. Trying to help me not choke, or to kill me himself, I'm not sure.
I pull back and smack his hand away when I can finally take in a deep enough breath. "What the hell are you talking about? He'd never risk sullying his name by trying to hook me up with that family. Our truce with them is shaky at best." My eyes don't leave Giancarlo's face, if I see any bit of uncertainty in his expression I'll dismiss this. The problem is I don't see any uncertainty. He seems sure.
"Where did you get this information?" I ask.
"Christine, she walked in on the tail end of a meeting Babbo and one of the Caprini men were having. She tells me that our father believes there is one of his sons who is too far on his own. Needs to be brought back into the fold."
My heart drops, that's me. Without a doubt. Everyone else in the family is on Babbo's tight leash. With my job, I can go months at a time without him knowing where I am. I never wanted a place at the table and Babbo feels like that makes me unambitious.
"I don't have time for this." I push a hand through my hair but then immediately smooth the strands in place.
"Well, I'm thinking you better make time. I think he's going to announce it at the next table meeting." Giancarlo takes another sip of his drink. My muscles clench again as I watch him calmly drink his whiskey.
"I'm going on a hunt," I say hoping that'll be enough to get me out of the next meeting.
"A hunt? Where? I haven't seen any contracts come down." My brother squints his eyes at me. He's trying to figure out if I'm lying. I'm not technically lying. I mean I am going hunting but it's just not something my father would approve of. In his mind, I've already lost this battle against Stella. He wouldn't approve of me running after ghosts.
"It's an old contract. One I never closed out."
His eyes go wide and if I didn't know any better I'd think that he was laughing at me. "Stella Spiro?"
I nod my head once and my brother answers with a shake of his own. "You know you're not going to be able to magically get her to appear right?"
"Don't I fucking know it. I've been searching for her all over the place and I can't get a lead to save my life." I admit.
"What about the forums, any of the other contractors have a bead on her?" Giancarlo asks.
"No, it's been too long since she's been on the scene. No one wants to waste their time. Like you said. She's a ghost."
Giancarlo takes a few steps away from me before he turns and looks at me again, "What if you made it worth their time? Offer a bump in the bounty. Money will always bring the dark to the light."
I scoff at his idea, "You want me to pay another assassin to find her and kill her? That's going against the point don't you think?"
He raises an eyebrow and continues to stare at me, "Well, well, well, brother, seems like you're not as confident in your skills as you seem to think you are. I'm not telling you to pay someone else. I'm telling you to raise the price so others will be interested in finding her again. More eyes and ears for you. Then once you get a lead, you make the kill and you won't have to pay anyone. It's a win-win to me. That is if you're sure you'll be the one to take her out."
I can't stop the smile that creeps up my face. The idea is genius. I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself. If there's one thing death contractors are known for is the fact that they can't keep their mouths shut. Once the price goes up on Stella's contract they will be itching to take her out once again. And in their need, they'll let important information drop like Stella's last location.
I'd be hesitant about putting up that kind of money but I know without a shadow of a doubt that no one wants Stella dead more than I do. If I must up the ante to find my girl then so be it.
Before I got here I was going to have a bad night, but now it seems like tonight may turn out to be much better than I'd ever anticipated.
