Anni had definitely been lying.
I spun my chair back around to my laptop screen and pulled up the security footage for the garage. Neither Aloysius nor Anni had said what time they went to the store, so I started the footage from when I’d left the house this morning.
I fast-forwarded through the recording until I saw Anni enter the garage and get into my SUV. Aloysius and my soldiers were nowhere in sight.
I didn’t even bother trying to calm my rage as I switched to the gate footage.
From the time lapse between Anni getting into the car and then going through the gates, I could tell that she had deliberately waited to leave until the gate guards were switching duties.
Those fucking soldiers shouldn’t have left the gate unattended even for a second. I’d be showing them my displeasure after I’d dealt with my wife—a cracked rib or two would serve as a reminder of how they should be performing their duties.
I carried on forwarding through the recording, drumming my fingers on my desk while I searched for when Anni returned home.
When she came back, though, she wasn’t in the same SUV. Instead, she was in Aloysius’s vehicle. What the fuck?
I snatched up my cell and speed-dialed my brother.
“Lorenzo,” he answered.
“You just lied to me,” I spat out. I didn’t even bother with pleasantries.
“Look, calm down. She went out without a bodyguard.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was coming over to your house and saw your SUV. It was parked in the strip mall on the main road. I’d just left you at the club and knew it couldn’t be you, so I checked it out. She was grocery shopping and hadn’t taken one of the soldiers with her, so I stayed with her while she finished shopping and then drove her home.”
“You shouldn’t have covered for her. Why the fuck would she go out without a guard?”
“I don’t know…but she said she wanted some space. Maybe she’s finding her new life a bit much? Lorenzo, you need to relax. She's taken on a lot. She's young and she's suddenly a wife and looking after two young kids who are pretty traumatized after losing their mom.”
At least Aloysius had the sense to bring her back. “Thanks for bringing her home. But next time, don’t lie to me.”
“I won’t.”
I hung up and went upstairs to read a bedtime story to the children.
Once I’d kissed them goodnight, I went to find Anni who was in the master bedroom, putting clean laundry away.
I came to an abrupt halt as soon as I stepped into the bedroom. There was a suspicious white fluffy mound on my bed.
“What the hell is that cat doing on the bed?”
“He likes to sleep here during the day. Don’t worry, he’ll go back down to the kitchen tonight.”
“I’d rather he spent all his time in the kitchen. I don’t want him in or on my bed.” After shooing the animal off the bed and out of the bedroom, I clenched my jaw, thinking back to the reason I’d wanted to speak to her. “I know you were lying to me before. You went out without a bodyguard, but Aloysius saw you and brought you home.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How…did you find out?”
“I’ll always find out if you lie to me,” I growled as I stalked over to her.
CHAPTER 22
LORENZO
Anni had asked how I’d found out that she’d lied. “You said it was a coincidence that Aloysius was there when you needed a guard. My job has taught me that there’s no such thing as a coincidence.”
“You really are paranoid,” she murmured.