I wait in silence for him to finish, and when he does, his gaze lifts to mine with shock painting his expression. "So, this means your father didn't trust him either?"
Son, be wary of the snake that lies close to me. He will attack when the time is right. And I fear it is when you will rule.
The warning against my father’s advisor is clear in his confession, written in ink, never to be doubted. "That is what's been bothering me. Why would my father tell me to watch the people closest to him? Not me, not us, but him." I pull up my email again, hoping I'll have an email from my father's lawyer about the reading of the will, but there's nothing. "I haven't heard from Romano yet," I tell Mario, concern niggling at me once more.
Mario’s concern is etched on his face. We have both known the old man all our lives. He came here along with my father, and they were very close, closer than Dad was with Valentino, which makes me nervous. "Do you think something's happened?"
I pick up my phone, hitting dial on his number before I answer Mario. Pressing the device to my ear, I settle back and glance at Mario. "He's not answering." I'm on my feet in seconds, with Mario hot on my heels as we make our way down the hall to the elevator.
In the car, I'm tense. It's not a long drive to Romano's office, but gut instinct tells me what we're about to find isn't going to be pretty. By the time we pull up to the offices, I'm pushing open the door before the engine dies. Racing up the steps and through the front door, ignoring everyone around me. Mario is close behind me. In the elevator, we stare straight ahead in silence. The ride up to the top floor is anxiety-ridden, and I'm about to lose my control when the doors slide open.
When I reach Romano’s office, I step over the threshold to the stench of death. "Fuck," the curse falls from my mouth unbidden. There, behind his ornate wooden desk, in his expensive office chair is Luigi Romano. In his hand is an envelope, his grip on it tight as his corpse cools. I’m across the room in seconds. Touching his neck, I find nothing but ice-cold flesh.
He's been shot right through the head between the eyes. His lids are shut, and it looks like he's sleeping. But the hold he has on the document gives me pause. I pry it from his fingers, and find my name scrawled on the front. A wave of nausea hits me as recall my father's body. This was staged.
"What's wrong?" Mario asks, dragging me from the dark thoughts in my mind.
I glance over my shoulder at my friend. "This was done on purpose, for a reason. To send me a message." My voice is husky, rage has taken hold of me, and I'm ready to torture this bastard for what he's done. I have a feeling it has something to do with the will. It doesn't make sense, no matter who reads it, nothing will change. I still take over from my father. "Valentino did this."
He steps forward, stopping beside me. "How do you know?"
I turn to face Mario. "Because he was the only other man in the room when I found my father's dead body. Dad was holding a note that confessed he’d done something. The posed position, the way the eyes were closed, everything about it was exactly like this." I gesture with my hand toward Romano.
"Then it's time we take Valentino to the warehouse," Mario says what I'm thinking. The warehouse has always been for criminals who tried to hurt the family. For those who went against us, who tried to hurt us in some way, but this time, it's for one of our own. And I don't think he'll make it out alive.
I nod slowly, before I deliver my order, “Call the capos, I want them all there."
Chapter 16
Luna
I haven't seen him since our kiss, and my gut instinct is that he's hiding from me. Not because he's afraid, but because he's angry. He doesn't want to want me. The same way I don't want to feel anything for him, but the small glimpses of a man underneath the Boss I've seen have me intrigued.
I should be dancing or studying, but all I can focus on is how his body felt against mine and how his hands gripped me as if he was finally laying claim to me. The other thing that's been bothering me is our upcoming nuptials. He hasn't mentioned it again, and I haven't brought it up from fear he'll throw me out. I have nowhere to go, and I doubt Tommaso is going to welcome me back. He got rid of me the first chance he could.