I fall silent as I contemplate his words. A few seconds later, the door opens.
Leo peeks in, but when he sees me, he frowns and goes away.
I sigh. “Leo still hates me, doesn’t he?”
“He doesn’t,” Orso tells me. “He just hates that he’s not as good as you.”
My eyebrows furrow. Really?
“He’s a good man just like you, though. I know he’s trying to be.”
That I don’t know.
“You’ll give him a chance?” Orso asks me. “After all, you’re the only brother he has left.”
I don’t answer at once, because I’m not entirely sure Leo is capable of growing up, but I nod because Orso’s right. He is my brother.
“Okay.”
“And one last thing.”
I frown. “I thought asking me to kill Allie was the last thing you’d ever ask of me.”
“This one’s for you,” Orso says. “And it’s simple. Find happiness.”
Simple, he says. If only it were.
Still, I nod to ease his mind. “Okay. I’ll try.”
~
“What did you and Orso talk about?” Andrea asks me afterward.
“Allie, mostly,” I answer truthfully.
He slaps his forehead. “I can’t believe I thought she was Sergio Bianchi’s daughter.”
“We both thought it,” I remind him.
“By the way, I learned that Sergio kidnapped Allie because he found out she was Orso’s daughter and was trying to use her to gain more power. Orso found out so he tried to kill him.”
I nod. “I figured.”
Andrea shakes his head. “That’s why greed is a deadly sin. Too bad Sergio got away.”
“True,” I agree. “But not for long. I’m sure Allie will put him behind bars soon enough.”
Andrea gives me a surprised look and nudges my arm. “Listen to you. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk of a woman so highly.”
I ignore him. “Sergio isn’t the only problem, though.”
His eyebrows crease. “What do you mean?”
“I think there’s someone else pulling strings,” I tell him honestly.
“What makes you say that?”
“Nero, the man who tried to kill Allie. We still don’t know who sent him. And Gil, the man who killed Antonio – before he died, he told me someone told him I killed Damian Esposito. And it wasn’t Sergio.”
Andrea scratches his chin. “Unbelievable.”
“Also, I think there’s a traitor among us,” I say. “Sergio, Gil and Nero knew too much.”
I pat his shoulder.
“You should be more careful.”
Andrea nods. “I will. And I’ll also watch Orso more closely. He may be weak now, but he’s still the boss. I won’t let anyone hurt him.”
I know he won’t.
I squeeze his shoulder. “Thank you.”
He pats my shoulder in turn. “Now, tell me more about Allie. Are the two of you staying together?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “To be honest, it’s out of my hands. It’s all up to Allie.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Allie
I still don’t know what to do about Cain.
I’ve somewhat decided what to do about my father. Since he’s old and dying, and suffering at that, I figure he’s already paying for whatever sins he’s committed, so I’m not going to arrest him or report him. I don’t have any hard evidence anyway, and I don’t intend to look for any. I will keep an eye on the other members of the Ursini family, though. And if they cross any lines? Well, I’ll decide what to do with them then.
It’s Cain I can’t make up my mind about, which is frustrating because I know I can’t just do nothing. I mean, if I do nothing, that’s the same as letting him go, and I’m not sure I want to let him go. I’m not sure I can keep him, either.
What’s even more frustrating? The fact that I can’t stop thinking about him. For the past few days, I’ve been trying to focus on work, but Cain keeps popping up in my head – his face, his voice, his body. It’s even worse when I’m here at home.
I rest my head on the back of the couch and slap my forehead.
What on earth am I going to do with him?
Just then, the doorbell rings. I go to the front door and look through the peephole to see who’s there. My eyebrows arch when I see Suzette Chandler.
What is she doing here? She’s never been to my house before.
I let her in just the same and make her feel welcome. I may not be her daughter, but I’m not a rude person. Even if she isn’t my real mother and she and I didn’t get along, she did raise me. By putting me down, she taught me to stand up for myself. Because she let me know what she expected of me, I learned who I wanted to be.
“You have a nice home,” she says before sitting on the couch.
“Thank you.”
She looks at me. “I haven’t heard from you since… you found out about your adoption. Did you get your father’s box?”
“Yes.”
“Did it help?”
I shrug. “Not really.”
I found out who my father is regardless of what was in the box. Oh, but the key did help.