AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She really was a brat.
But I wanted her to be my brat.
Natalia: Welllll, thank you for that. I reached orgasmic bliss. And now I need to go shower because I smell like sex.
I dropped the phone in frustration, then beat off like it was my first time. Too fast. Too hard. Out of control.
I grunted as I came all over my stomach, knowing the next time I found relief . . . it sure as hell needed to be with the woman who had me wound up and tense in the first place.
* * *
“If your brother was at a casino in Monte Carlo last week, it had to be an underground one,” Noah informed me, not wasting time after I answered his call. “We hacked all available surveillance.”
I was in the parking lot of Talia’s Tuscan Grille, waiting for her to leave. I’d considered hanging out at the bar until close, but I wasn’t sure if I could face her in public after our sexting exchange earlier without making her blush in front of customers.
“But we did get him on camera in the city to verify he was really there. He spent a lot of time at nightclubs with the model he was dating. And I located the hotel where he and his girlfriend, or whatever she was to him, stayed. He may have been freeloading off her. She’s uber wealthy. Family money, not just from modeling. But it looks like a friend of hers stayed over a few nights with them as well.”
“Great. Sex in pairs. How fucking Anthony-like.” I’d refrained from spilling that bit of truth to Natalia when admitting he’d cheated on her. There’d been two women in his hotel room in Tampa when I caught him that day two and a half years ago. I didn’t feel like painting that picture for her. Thinking there was one woman was already bad enough.
“Damn.” Noah paused as if unsure how to follow my words. “Well, the hotel lobby is the last place we have Anthony on camera before that snatch and grab by the debt collector. No trace of how he was taken to Ibiza, though. Not sure if he was officially dating this Bianca woman, but if he did disappear on her, she didn’t file a missing person report. Although, she did report jewelry missing from her hotel room.”
“Jeez. Knowing my brother, he stole it to try and pay back one of the loan sharks.”
“Well, she didn’t blame him if that were the case. Not in the report, at least,” Noah responded.
“I assume your guy there is also checking the underground casinos?”
“Yeah, if your brother was ever at any of those casinos and someone staked Anthony to play, he’ll find out. Give him two days tops.”
“Great, thank you.” I let go of an uneasy breath, hating the fact my brother was being held “hostage” and I was fishing around for more of a story. “Still no call from that burner phone. I’m starting to think Anthony won’t be calling. He’s probably scared I’ll pull the truth from him, and whatever that truth might be will piss me off.”
“To the point you won’t help him? I doubt that, but who knows.”
I focused back on the restaurant, my thoughts wandering to Natalia and her chef. “Any luck on the other thing? After you and I talked earlier, Natalia told me Enzo served in the military. That was a curveball I didn’t see coming.”
Noah was quiet for a moment. “You sure you want me to dig into his past, then? Maybe she’ll open up more? Also, what if you find out something you don’t like? I get the feeling Natalia won’t be so responsive to you ordering her to stay away from her chef.”
“And if Grace was working alongside someone dangerous, reformed or not, how would you feel?” Nah, I knew Noah, and like hell would he allow his wife to be around any potential threats.
“Point made,” he returned without hesitation. “I should have something for you by tomorrow.”
“And speak of the devil,” I said at the sight of Enzo exiting the restaurant, walking between Natalia and Maria.
Her eyes connected with mine as I told Noah I’d call him tomorrow.
I got out of my truck and made my way over to Maria’s Mercedes where the three of them had gathered.
“Rossi,” Enzo greeted me, ice in his voice.
“That kid’s hands still attached to his wrists?” I asked him.
“I convinced him to let it go,” Natalia spoke up.
“She’s relentless and wouldn’t leave me alone about it until I promised not to go near the fake Backstreet Boy,” Enzo said glibly, disappointment in his tone.
“Sounds about right. She’s a persistent little thing until she gets her way.” My eyes were on her now, and she knew exactly what I was talking about. I wasn’t sure if she’d shared Anthony’s predicament with Enzo or her sister, and my need to fake date for money, so I decided to change the subject. “About the party tomorrow, I went ahead and booked three rooms at the hotel where the event’s being held.”
“Three rooms?” Maria asked, sounding confused. “Not two?”
