“Mariano!” I banged at his door, knocking until my knuckles ached. I had called him six times in the past five hours, and I was about ready to kick the damn door down.
I stepped back, cupped my hands around my mouth, and yelled. “Wake your drunk ass up!”
Nothing…
Just as I went for my keys, Vinni pulled up and hopped out of the car.
“Elio,” he pointed to my car, “follow me.”
“Not now, Vinni.”
“Elio.” He stood rigid, and his shoulders, like his voice, were stiff. “Please.”
I let out a long, frustrated breath and headed for my car, following my cousin up the road and deep into the vineyard. If he wasn’t family, I would have suspected something, but I knew better.
“What’s going on?” I slammed my door and met him between the two cars.
“Here’s what I know. After Sienna came to the house last night, Niccola followed Mariano to a party in the city. He got drunk, slept with a few girls, and started talking about this girl he’s seeing and how he’s itching to…” He glanced at me and decided not to finish the sentence. “Anyway, he’s not home. He’s still there.”
“Then why bring me here? That isn’t out of character for him.” I knew there had to be more for him to want this degree of privacy for a talk.
“Correct, but what is out of character for him is to vet her into our lifestyle.”
I studied him and pursed my lips, making sure I heard him correctly. “What?”
“I believe Mariano may have initiated your girl.”
A wicked shiver tore through me, and I saw red.
“Explain.”
“Dante said she saw the bracelet on the table, the one from the murder at the dockyard, and she said it was hers.”
I stood very still as everything flickered in front of me. I couldn’t get all the chips to lay into place.
“Impossible,” I whispered but knew it could still be true. “She never said a thing.”
“She hasn’t said a lot of things.” His comment brought me back to him.
“Meaning?”
“She’s still here. She didn’t race home after she witnessed it, right?” I nodded and waited for him to continue. “Do you know what this new lead is she’s working on for her article?”
“No.”
“Well, it was something big and interesting enough for her boss to let her do it. Maybe we better find out just what it is. After all, the last one she worked on was a little too close to home.”
“Shit.” I slapped the roof of my car, frustrated that I had been more focused onusthan what might have been happening behind closed doors. I ran a hand down my face, wanting to kill Mariano, but I knew his time would come once I knew exactly what was going on. “I need to talk to her.”
“I’ll book you a ticket.”
I dropped my hand. “What?”
“She’s in New York for work.” When he saw my confusion, he went on. “I dropped her off at the airport early this morning, I thought you knew.”
“No,” I hissed. “Yet another thing she had failed to share with me. Wait. When did you find out about the bracelet?”
“Only an hour ago,” he held up his hands, “or I would never have let her leave.”