Page 26 of His to Hold

“A bit.”

As Isabella sips her wine, I try the calamari. The greasy residue left on my fingertips reminds me why I prefer to use a fork and knife. Although I enjoy the taste of the calamari, the texture is rubbery. It’s been overcooked. I resist the urge to complain. Isabella seems to like it here and I don’t want to bring down her mood.

I’m about to dip a second piece of calamari into the lemon and herb dip it came with when my cellphone buzzes. I take it out of my jacket pocket and see that it’s Dante calling. Since I asked him not to call unless it was for a very important reason, I know something’s come up that I have to deal with.

“Excuse me a moment,” I murmur to my wife.

Getting up from the table, I swipe to accept the call and head outside where I can have more privacy. My guards, who occupy the two SUVs in the small parking lot, sit up a bit straighter as they spot me but I wave a hand dismissively to let them know they’re not needed.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Rico Mancini’s old man just came to see me.”

“Paolo? Why?”

“Rico’s missing.”

“What do you mean, missing?”

Although Dante is my closest friend outside of the family, I haven’t told him what happened between my wife and Rico. Some things should be kept between my brothers and me.

“Nobody’s heard from him for a couple of days. He missed his mother’s birthday.”

“So? He’s probably out fucking some whore and lost track of time.”

“That’s what I said, but it was Carmela’s fiftieth and apparently he’s never missed a birthday, especially not a major one.”

I scrub a hand over my face. “So what do you want me to do about it?”

“I don’t know, Tony, but Paolo was making noises about the timing.”

Sensing a headache is coming my way, I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“Get to the fucking point, Dante. What is Paolo saying?”

“That it’s strange you took Isabella back at the same time the man in charge of her security disappeared. He claims they were having an affair.”

I grit my teeth. “Paolo’s barking up the wrong tree. Isabella wouldn’t cheat on me.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.” My tone signals an end to that topic of conversation. “Anything else I need to know about?”

“Yeah, Enzo’s now the proud papa of a healthy baby boy.”

It seems I did the right thing leaving him behind. “Get in touch with Jenny at my office. Tell her to send flowers to Alicia and something for the kid.”

My assistant will know exactly what to get.

“And tell Matteo to watch the Mancinis.”

As I end the call with Dante, a sinking feeling comes over me. I already knew that Rico’s disappearance would raise questions, but I thought there would be a bit more time for Isabella to get over what happened before people realized he was gone. I just hope she’ll be able to deal with the inevitable scrutiny that will fall on her when we get back to the city. If she fucks up and suspicion lands on her, I’ll have to take action. I don’t want to start a war within my ranks, but I will if I have to. Isabella is mine and I will protect her, even if she’s hiding things from me.

CHAPTER 10

Isabella

Since Antonio took that call at the restaurant, he’s been distracted, but not in a way that suggests he’s repressing anger. It’s more of a contemplative silence. The vibe he’s giving off is one of concern. Whether he realizes it or not, he keeps shooting me these strange looks. His mouth pulls into a hard line, yet there’s no softness in his eyes. Something is troubling him. He’s worried about me.

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