“Right, party time.” He rolled his eyes, hating attention just as much as I did.
“You only turn twenty-seven once.” I smirked.
“That’s true.” He chuckled and slid in behind the wheel. “See you soon.”
I waved and headed inside.
I was soon deep into Stefano’s notebook, trying to make sense of his random scribbles and marks. His writing looked like that of a serial killer, which was ironic, as he was one. With the book in hand, I moved about the kitchen to fix myself a drink and noticed Sienna hadn’t responded to my morning text. It wasn’t like her not to.
Elio: Bella, how was your day?
I enjoyed the sharp bite of the rum as I made my way to the window. I stared out at the stream of headlights that approached the house. I took a moment to appreciate the way our property was designed. The way the winding road provided us protection and allowed us to see cars as they approached from miles away. It gave us time to prepare. Or, in this case, to see just how many people my aunt had invited to the party. Vinni was a great guy, and he deserved a night off, especially with all that had been happening. We all did.
My vison blurred, and I focused on the book in my hand, back to scanning the messy cursive handwriting. As I’d seen on the front cover, I once again saw the name “Mikey,” only this time there were tally marks next to it. Seventeen marks in total. Maybe they were kills? I wasn’t sure, but before I let my mind go any further, my phone buzzed. Mama reminded me I should have already arrived. I snapped the book closed and locked it away in the safe, then hurried off to the party.
As always, when we held an event, I slipped through the back entrance to avoid the guests who were getting their names checked at the front door.
I greeted my mama to assure she knew I had arrived. Niccola was at the bar with two drinks in his hand.
“Hey,” he handed me one, “at the risk of having you bury me at the bottom of the hill, check out the goddess in white.”
“Who?” I scanned the faces in the crowd and nearly choked on my drink when I caught sight of Sienna and Wyatt surrounded by a sea of men. She had left her hair long and straight, brushed to one side to tumble over her bare shoulder. Her white dress barely covered her breasts and had two very high slits. Gold strings zigzagged under her cleavage and wound around to tie behind her back. The gold in the strings paired beautifully with her gold-bangled cuffs. Though it was revealing, it was incredibly classy. Niccola was right; she did look like a goddess.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too.” He chuckled into his glass. “So, the suspense is killing me. What was in the notebook?”
“The name Mikey came up a few times, some addresses in their territory, and some dates that are coming up. I want to cross refence them with our shipments and see if that’s when their next move might be.”
“Wow,” he shook his head, “nice job, Val.”
“Indeed.”
“Elio,” Aunt Noemi wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheeks, “looking handsome as always.”
“Thanks, Auntie,” I found my gaze shifting back to Sienna.
“Did Mariano find you?” That pulled my attention away.
“No, why?”
“I just know he was looking for you.” A deep burn burst through me with the idea of him being here and not at the dockyard.
“I’ll keep an eye out for him.” I kept my voice even.
“Niccola,” she addressed her son, “I spotted a lovely brunette over by the door, who, I just so happen to know, is single.”
“Thanks, Mama, but I can handle finding my own dates.”
“Can you?” I teased him. “Because you seem dateless tonight and, despite the last party, you’re not coming home with me.”
“First, screw you, and second, don’t act like you don’t love my company.”
“What’s not to love about your bare ass on my new couch or your shit tossed everywhere throughout my place?” I shook my head at Auntie. “He’s a mess.”
“I’m sorry I brought it up!” She tossed her hands in the air, exasperated, and Niccola and I smirked at one another as she muttered, walking off. In our family, you had to wear the mothers out or they were relentless with finding us a woman. They all pictured the grandkids on their knee. Luckily for me…my woman was right here across the room.
“I know that look.” Niccola chuckled at me, and I rolled my eyes.
Making my way through the crowd, only stopping to greet a few friends along the way, I joined the sea of gawking men and smiled when Sienna spotted me.