"No games," Luca says from the doorway. He walks inside, followed by Adrian, who shuts the door behind him and walks over to stand on the side of the bed opposite Massimo. Luca positions himself at the foot of my bed.
I glance from Luca to Adrian, then finally rest my gaze on Massimo.
"The fuck is going on?" I ask in a hard voice. "Why the hell are the three of you in my room? And where is Elsa?"
"Firstly, let us reassure you, again, that Elsa is safe," Adrian replies.
"So why isn’t she here?"
"That’s what we’re here to talk to you about," Adrian says in a calm voice.
"Gesù Cristo." I try to sit up again, then gasp when my entire body seems to seize up. "Cazzo, if any of you have harmed her—"
"She’s safe, Seb," Massimo rumbles, "I promise you."
"You’ll see her soon,fratello, but first there’s something you need to know." Adrian leans forward on the balls of his feet.
I train my gaze on Luca, who hasn’t spoken a word since he entered the room. "I assume you’re behind this?"
"I’m the Capo, but the decision was not mine alone. Michael agreed to it."
"Where is she, youtesta di cazzo?"
Luca’s features harden, but he doesn’t rise to the bait. Imagine that. Apparently, even he has to grow up some day. Too bad he’s chosen me to fuck with on his first piece of business as Capo.
"She knew who shot you."
"What?" I blink. "That’s not possible. Besides, it was a drone that shot at me."
"She mentioned that." Luca folds his arms across his chest. "She also told us who was operating the drone."
I shake my head. "There’s some misunderstanding here. Perhaps you put pressure on her. Did you?" I glance from Luca to Massimo, then Adrian. "Was she coerced into this confession?"
Adrian shakes his head. "She volunteered the information to Michael."
If there’s anyone I believe, it’s Adrian. Not only is he the most level headed of all of us, he’s also the one with the least to lose. He’s never been interested in theCosa Nostra.He’s always been clear that he’s there to support Michael, but doesn’t want a stake in the business. He’s built himself a life separate from ours. At one time, I’d thought he was being disloyal to us. And yet, I’d envied him for it. I’ve never been able to tear myself away from theCosa Nostralong enough to follow his example. And now, when I’m about to carve out my own path, with the love of my life at my side… Turns out, she’s been an illusion all along.
No. What am I actually thinking? I trusted her. My instincts couldn’t be that wrong, could they? "I don’t believe any of this."
"Better believe it. She confirmed that her ex is the person behind the shooting. Turns out, she was colluding with him all along. She only agreed to marry you so she could spy on you and on the rest of the family. She was using you to get close to thefamiglia. She was going to pass information to him that would have put us behind bars," Luca states blandly.
"Hold on." Sweat beads my hairline. My head spins. I take a breath, then another to try to clear my mind. "So she was working with Fabio to put us away?"
"So it would seem," Massimo murmurs.
"And she thinks he’s the one who set the drone on me?"
All three of them nod.
"So why didn’t he kill me? Why am I still alive?"
"That is the question." Luca rubs his jaw. "For whatever reason, the drone did not fire to kill you."
"And Antonio, and my bodyguards?"
"They’re all alive. Antonio escaped with a wounded knee. Of the other three, one’s in a coma, and the other two have already regained consciousness." Massimo widens his stance.
"So, no deaths?"