*Elio*
I wasn’t entirely sure what it was that woke up. Ever since that sudden phone call from Franky, my mind had felt like one distorted, foggy ss. The previous night ca back to in clips and fragnts. The first ti my sleep broke, it was because I thought I felt Cat shifting around in the bed too much for it to be considered nothing.
She claid that it was because she was too warm, but sothing in the pit of my stomach knew better. I let it go. I didn’t press for multiple reasons, one being that I knew things were still a bit tense between Cat and . I felt like shit for the way I treated her on the phone yesterday, and my heart had practically jumped out of my throat when I didn’t find her there when I finally got ho.
It was then that I made a ntal note to myself to find a way to make it up to her today. There were a few ideas rolling around in my head, but I knew that business needed to co first.
And although I was still semi-asleep, I felt and heard Cat rustle around the room to get ready for classes. Had I not been so tired from my previous night’s affairs, I would have easily slid my arm around her waist and tried to convince her to stay back with .
As my vision started to clear, I glanced around the room before reaching for my phone. There I saw a small folded up piece of paper with Cat’s handwriting scrawled over it.
I reached out for the paper to see that she’d left a note. ‘Off to school, I love you.’
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling like a complete fool. It was like whatever straining doubt that had been locked inside of my chest was instantly released. A small part of thought that maybe Cat would still be holding onto a grudge for my behavior yesterday.
But maybe that fact that I stayed with her during my call with Franky and that I confided in her was what had softened that tension between us.
Either way, I was glad for it. It gave that extra bit of energy I needed to get through whatever unsettling business I had to deal with.
I pulled myself up from the bed and went straight to the closest to gather so clothing. I headed into the bathroom, where I decided on a long, hot shower in hopes that it would wake up. It wasn’t often that I let myself sleep in. Usually, it left even more tired than normal, and this ti, it even gave a headache... and considering what went on yesterday, the pain in my head was stronger than usual.
As the stream of water hit my back, my thoughts drifted toward the information Franky told over the phone.
‘Another dead body,’ I thought. ‘It’s bad enough we were struggling to track down the n responsible for Franky’s guy. Now we need to get the details about Alessandro’s man.’
I didn’t know what to think. From what I could rember, Antonio didn’t have much luck when he was over in Italy. When he realized that no one would have anything to do with his bullshit, it basically forced him to return to the US. But clearly, the sa could not be said for Junior.
That asshole had actually managed to gain so form of traction overseas, or he wouldn’t have been able to send that ssage to us.
I rembered Cat asking why he’d go through that kind of trouble. But I knew why. It was obvious enough. This was Junior trying to send the ssage that he had the upper hand. It didn’t matter whether it was our n or Alessandro’s, whether it was here or overseas—he was determined to seek out his own revenge while killing his way to the top.
I finished getting ready and shot a quick text over to Leo, letting him know that I was on my way over the warehouse. For a brief mont, my eyes wandered down to the note that Cat had left . I snatched it back up with a second thought and placed it in my back pocket along with my phone.
I made it to the warehouse to find Leo and Franky’s cars already parked off to the side. As usual, I was greeted by two ard n guarding the door, who each gave a curt nod while remaining firmly in place.
I slipped inside and made my way straight for the center room, where I knew they were waiting on standby.
“Elio,” Leo greeted .
Franky glanced up from one of the multiple screens and gave a solemn look of acknowledgnt.
“Has there been any word?” I asked.
Both of them shook their heads.
“It’s good that you’re here now,” Franky said. “We have a call coming in from Venice. Alessandro wants to confirm the details with us and pass on any other information he might have on the case.”
I nodded my head and took a seat at the table. Leo tampered with a tablet before placing it in the center of the table. A few monts later, the tablet picked up an incoming call using so type of international caller ID.
Franky answered the call.
“Hello, Alessandro. We appreciate the call in.”
Whether it was cellular connection or the current circumstances, I wasn’t sure, but Al’s voice sounded throaty and sowhat strained.
“Francesco,” he said. “I take it that everyone else is there with you as well.”
Leo and I briefly chid in, making him aware of our presence. “We’re here.”
“Good. Good. It’s important that all of us remain on the sa page going forward,” he noted. “I take it that there have been no other strange, sudden disappearances since the last ti I was inford.”
My eyes wandered over to Franky, who firmly shook his head.
‘Well, that was decent enough at least,’ I thought to myself. ‘At least his plan to pair everyone up into small groups of three has been working so far.’
I cleared my throat before speaking up.
“No. No other sudden disappearances have occurred as of late,” I told him. “What about on your end? Aside from the one man we’ve discovered here, have any other of your n gone missing?”
“Thankfully, no,” Al answered. “But that’s not to say that this little spectacle hasn’t caused quite the stir among the family here.”
I leaned my head back, suppressing a groan of dread while Leo shook his head in frustration. The last thing we needed was for this to beco an international issue.
“Are we one hundred percent certain that this is the work of Antonio’s bastard son?” Franky asked bitterly.
Alessandro humd with confirmation.
“Oh, yes. It’s definitely him.” His voice grew thicker with noticeable disdain. “While we’ve kept him at the top of our suspect list, we still made it a point to look into any other possible options. We ca up with nothing. No one else holds a severe enough grudge against the Valentino family.”
“What about the Russians? Are they still holding up their side of things over there?” I questioned.
“Believe it or not, things have been working out just fine with the Russians. Business has remained peaceful and productive, without any sort of complaint or scuff up. The past has very well been forgotten here.”
From what he was telling us, it sounded like our family didn’t have any other major enemies at this ti, which only left Junior as the number one suspect.
“So, Junior really is our guy then,” Leo muttered.
“Undoubtedly.” Alessandro went on to explain. “Even if there were those that stood against the family for whatever reason, none of them had the resources to pull off a stunt like this.”
I wasn’t entirely sure how all this information made feel. Yes, I was glad that we could at least put our suspicions to rest on who was behind everything. But it wasn’t like it brought us any closer to find a solution as to how to end it.
If I’d learned anything through my unfortunate encounters with Junior, it was that the bastard was slick and devious as all hell. Just when we thought we had found a way to end the threat, he managed to slip away at the last mont.
It infuriated beyond belief. My hands curled and clenched into tight fists till my knuckles were on the verge of turning white.
“What can you tell us about the guy he snatched from your team?” I prompted.
“His na was Niccolo Oliveri. He wasn’t your high-level guy, but more of a basic bodyguard,” he said. “If he wasn’t placed on surveillance, then it was normal for him to be assigned to acting as an escort for extra security.”
“What was the case of his disappearance?”
“Much like your man. Oliveri was alone as well at the ti of the kidnapping, and there was absolutely no evidence of who took him.”
The weight of rage that was simring inside of made sink further into my chair.
“Alright,” I murmured.
“I can’t imagine him striking again so soon, especially since you’ve just discovered the second body. But look, I have my n out searching for Junior, too. We will find him.”
I knew that it was in everyone’s best interest that I try to keep a level head and so sort of positive attitude through this shit storm. But I felt as useless and trapped as a rat in a maze. Every turn I’d make, I was forced to et another dead end.
“You’re right, we will,” I affird.
“Elio, call if anything happens. I’ll be in touch.” Alessandro ended the call.
I went on to take several deep breaths in and forced myself to refocus my thoughts. No matter how I tried to see so kind of different angle of this situation, I wasn’t feeling too great about it. What I needed was Cat.
I swiftly got up from the table. “Leo, I need you to take on this next eting with our client without ,” I told him. “And Franky, as usual, keep in the loop should anything new be found.”
They both nodded their heads, and I turned back toward the entrance. I was in waiting mode again, and I needed sothing to distract from all this. There was only one person in the world who could do that.
The corner of my mouth curved upward into a knowing smile as I made it out to my car. I was going to surprise Cat at school.
As soon as I pulled onto her campus, I quickly spotted her car and strategically parked behind it. I glanced at my watch and knew that she’d be coming out of her class in just a few monts.
The second I spotted her among the other students, I quickly got out of the car and made my way around to lean against the side.
By the spaced-out look on her face, she looked purely distracted and nearly walked right past . But she stopped. Cat blinked back the dazed look in her eyes and suddenly realized who was standing right in front of her. I watched in delirious delight as her features lit up with excitent.
It really made wonder if I was ever going to grow tired of seeing her happy.
No, absolutely not.
Cat let out an enthusiastic squeal and jumped into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled into a deep-hearted kiss that sent an arousing shiver straight down my spine.
I hugged her tightly to and wasted no ti returning her passionate kiss until both of us were desperate for air.
“What are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly.
“I didn’t see you enough yesterday. I’m here to make up for that.”
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