Climbing behind the wheel, he pulled out of the restaurant, heading on the main road to Richard’s headquarters. Belle’s father making an appearance had screwed with his plans. He had no doubt that come the end of week deadline, he would tell Belle the truth. Diego didn’t want that to happen. There was so fucking much he didn’t want to happen.
Killing Charlotte wouldn’t solve things, only escalate them. Marrying Belle, if she’d taken him, wouldn’t work. Her family didn’t offer the affluence that The Boss wanted.
Either way he looked at it, he was well and truly fucked.
His men joined him as he parked the car and made his way up to the top floor where Richard liked to look over the city. His building was complete with all the latest technology. He took the elevator, straightening the cuff of his jacket while he waited. The instant the elevator opened, he stepped off and found Richard in his office, staring down at a document.
Closing the door behind him, he stepped up to the desk.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“You don’t have an appointment,” Richard said.
“What the fuck is this? You were supposed to be helping me bring Angelo down.”
“Yes, and in the process, we have absolutely nothing. The bastard has gone radio silent.”
“Yeah, well, he’s been stalking a little close to home.”
“What makes you say that?”
“According to my soon to be mother-in-law, he recommended a chef at Angelo’s Place. Need I remind you why I go to Angelo’s Place?”
“We’ve got men guarding Belle and your establishments. He would have come up on the scanner.”
“Not if your guys were sloppy or he has someone working with him. Check the security footage.”
“You ever think you’re being paranoid.”
“No. Being paranoid keeps me alive and Belle breathing. Just seeing it as a coincidence is what gets people killed. Believe me, I’ve been in this business a long time to know when someone is fucking with me.”
Richard grabbed his tablet with an over dramatic sigh. “How was the lunch with the fiancée?”
“Fuck off, Richard.”
His not-friend started to laugh. “You really need to get a handle on that temper. What would Belle say?”
“I told you she’s never going to find out.”
“And I still think you’re talking out of your ass, but what do I know?” Richard asked.
The main wall split open, revealing at least twenty different security monitors.
“Can you access all of the security feeds around the city?”
“I shouldn’t be able to as they are protected, but it just takes a little time. You want me to have a play?”
“Another time. Focus on Angelo and the restaurant for now.” He checked the time. He didn’t want to miss his date with Belle.
He needed to take care of business first, even if he did find it more inconvenient to deal with.
“How far you want me to go back?” Richard asked.
“Start from yesterday and go back. You got that facial recognition thing?”
“Already running it, baby. Yeah, that sounded weird to me.”
Diego shook his head, watching the screen. It showed Angelo’s main security cameras outside and inside the building.
Checking the time stamp, he saw they went back at least two weeks.
“Wait, stop,” he said, when something caught his attention.
“What is it?”
“Zoom in there. On that guy,” Diego said.
“I’m zooming in, but I can’t make out a face.”
“Because the son of a bitch has it covered,” Diego said. “He knew we were onto him. He’s been laying low. No one walks into a restaurant wearing a scarf. Not in this heat. Fuck! Why wasn’t I alerted to it?”
“Diego, you didn’t put any warnings out to your restaurant. You thought it would alert them, remember?” Richard said.
“This means he knows about Belle. He’s planning something.”
Richard held his hands up in surrender. “Whoa, hold on a minute there. How do you make that giant leap? You can’t just assume that because he’s gone to eat in Angelo’s something is about to go down.”
“It’s what I’d do,” Diego said. “I want your men nearby tonight.”
“Wait? Hold on a second, Diego. You’re not making any sense at all right now.”
“You want to get rid of Angelo, right?” Diego asked.
“I do, but I want facts. I don’t want to jump to conclusions.”
“I’m telling you right now, Angelo’s about to make a move. It’s perfect. He knows we’ve been following him, so he has laid low. He’s even covered his tracks. Going to Angelo’s with the pretense of talking to the chef.”
“Diego, I really think this is a stretch. We don’t know anything concrete. I can send the manpower, but what am I sending them to? We have nothing.”
“Which is exactly what he wanted! Fuck.” He yelled the word. “I’ve got a date tonight with Belle.”
“Then go on your date.”
“I can’t. Especially not now. Knowing Angelo is out there.”
“Diego, you’ve got this all wrong. I’m telling you. This is not what I’ve seen from Angelo before now.”