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“Stubborn. Hard-working. Competitive.”
Maybe that last one is because of the fact that she grew up with brothers.
“Surprising.”
I know I teased her about being pampered, but she’s not at all snobbish. She’s nothing like what I expected, not from the daughter of Simon Chandler or an FBI operative. And damn, did she surprise me in bed.
“Smart. Witty.”
Okay. That’s it. That’s enough. That’s too much, actually. I should have stopped myself after three adjectives.
Orso gives me a meaningful look. Is he pleased? Displeased? Does he now think I’ve changed? That I can’t do my job?
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do as you asked,” I tell him.
Orso shakes his head. “Don’t ever apologize for standing up for what you believe in, my boy.”
His words take me by surprise. So he’s not disappointed? And he called me “my boy.” It’s been a while since he did that.
“Frankly, it’s one of the qualities I admire most about you because it’s a quality I’m proud of, too.”
High praise. I don’t really know what to say.
“So what do you intend to do with her?” Orso asks me.
“Like I told Andrea, I’m going to stick with her,” I answer. “Find out what she knows.”
“And if she knows too much?”
I draw a breath. “Al… Agent Chandler trusts me.”
“Does she?”
“Yes.”
She surrendered herself to me last night.
“She listens to me, so I can tell her things to get her off track. I can point her somewhere else. I can keep her out of family business.”
“Like you did at Charlie’s place?”
So he has heard from Charlie.
“Yes,” I answer. “Though I didn’t know that was his place.”
“I heard.”
“We went there because Agent Chandler got a lead on Sergio Bianchi. Apparently, he used to own the place. Andrea said you knew him?”
“Knew him?” Orso’s lips curve in a sad smile. “He was like a brother to me.”
“But he left the family? Started his own?”
“He always had the money to do that, and thanks to me, he had connections. And he always wanted power. More power.”
I’m curious as to why they fell apart. What did Sergio do that Orso couldn’t forgive? But that’s family business. And I don’t want to get involved in it any more than I have to be.
“You never once asked me to kill him,” I say instead.
“I tried to do it by myself once. I failed. And he had a child who was like a nephew to me. I didn’t want him to grow up without a father.”
Orso’s soft side. I’ve seen it before. It’s what convinced me to work for him.
“I was hoping he’d return the favor and leave me alone,” Orso goes on. “But I should have known Sergio’s heart was stone. I should have known he would come after my family in the slyest of ways.”
My eyebrows crease. What is Orso talking about?
“The sciocco didn’t have the guts to face me, so he got another family to do his dirty work.”
Another family? What? He incited another family to mess with the Ursini family? Which one?
One comes to the forefront of my mind.
“Do you mean the Espositos?”
The surprised look on Orso’s face, like he just told me something he didn’t mean to, lets me know I’m right. But if I’m right, then that means…
“Sergio Bianchi told the Espositos we were coming that night?”
Then that means…
“Calm down, my boy.”
“Don’t call me that.” I get off the stool as my temper spikes. My hands clench into fists at my sides. “Tell me. Was Sergio Bianchi responsible for the events of that night? Is he the reason why Antonio is dead?”
“That’s enough, Cain,” Andrea says as he comes back into the room. “I will not let you take your anger out on a dying man.”
“Is it true?” I ask him as I turn to face him.
I have to know.
“Go on,” Orso says behind me. “Tell him.”
I wait for Andrea to start talking.
“Sergio Bianchi was working with the Espositos,” Andrea tells me. “He helped them get the paintings. And then he told Frank where they were.”
My eyebrows furrow. “Frank?”
Orso’s old underboss, Frank?
“Frank was working with him,” Andrea explains. “They knew each other.”
“Of course they did,” Orso says. “Sergio treated Frank like a younger brother.”
I look at him. “So Frank betrayed you?”
Orso sighs. “Guess I’m lucky with underbosses, huh?”
“He’s gone now,” Andrea says. “I took care of him.”
I give him a nod. That explains why I haven’t seen him. And here I thought it was because he was busy attending to family business with Luigi and Vito.
It’s good that Andrea took care of him, because if he hadn’t, I’d have to.
“So Sergio Bianchi told the Espositos we were coming and Frank led us into a trap?” I ask.
“Yes,” Andrea answers.
That means he led Antonio to his death, something I will not stand for.
“I’m going after Sergio Bianchi,” I say.
I have no time to waste hanging out with Allie when Antonio’s killer is on the loose.
