Page 68 of Finn

“Could it have been Carlo?”

Alessia is silent as she considers my question. “It could have been. Honestly, Finn, I’m not entirely sure. I wasn’t exactly in my right frame of mind. Plus, I’ve only met Carlo a few times. Even my father couldn’t stand him, so he was rarely invited to any functions my family had.”

That makes sense. The Cataldis weren’t well liked by the other families if the word on the street was accurate. That’s why I’m confused as to why Farina is helping him now.

“I need to make a couple calls.”

I pull out my phone. Normally, I would walk out of the room. But the thought of leaving Alessia alone is too much. I know she won’t be attached to my side for every move I plan to make against Cataldi and Farina, but I need more time next to her before I’m willing to let her out of my sight.

Dialing Luca, he answers right away. I usually wouldn’t make contact with him on the phone he uses when he’s at the Cataldi estate, but this can’t wait. “Hey. Hold on a second.” I hear him tell someone he’ll be right back and to not even think of leaving the house. “Okay, I’m back.”

“Fun times babysitting?” He’s been on guard duty for Carlo’s little sister, Giada.

“You have no idea. She’s being a pain in the ass for the simple sake of getting a rise out of me.”

I chuckle, thinking of Alessia and me the first few weeks of our marriage. Shit, she still likes to get a rise out of me for the hell of it.

“Have you seen Carlo, or has his sister heard from him?”

“Haven’t heard anything, and as far as I know, he hasn’t been in touch with Giada. Why?”

“There was an attack on my house tonight. Alessia’s bodyguard was shot, and it looks like they were there to try to take her.”

“Fuck, man, is he okay?”

“It’s still up in the air.”

“It might be time to get out of here. Sounds like you need the help over there. He hasn’t been home in weeks and his men haven’t been around either. There’s no one here who would know anything.”

I think about that for a few moments. I haven’t wanted Luca to join us for several reasons. He wanted revenge on Francesco, Carlo’s father, and I wanted an inside man. What better way to kill two birds with one stone? He gets his pound of flesh, and I get the information I need to take down their organization. Unfortunately, since Francesco went to prison, Carlo has been MIA.

“Stay there a little longer. At least until we can figure out where Carlo has been hiding. He might decide to come home, and if he does, I want a shot at him.”

“As long as Giada doesn’t get caught in the cross fire, you can have whatever you want. She may be a pain in the ass, but she isn’t part of this.”

“Trying to protect the princess?” A smirk plays on my lips at Luca’s protectiveness over his sworn enemy’s daughter.

“Someone needs to. It certainly isn’t going to be anyone here.”

“Alright. Keep me updated.”

We disconnect the call, and I look at my wife.

“Your inside man is Giada Cataldi’s personal bodyguard?”

“He is now. Having him in the house gave us some useful information about their operation, but with Carlo on the run, it’s been hard for him to stay there. He fucking hates those bastards.”

“Why? Other than the fact that Carlo is a piece of shit, of course.”

“Long story that goes back years. But they were responsible for the death of his parents.”

She blows out a harsh breath. “They’ve been responsible for ruining countless lives. Especially Carlo.” She’s referring to the sex trafficking ring Carlo set up under a lot of our noses. It was up and running for some time before I caught wind of it. Just one more reason to want the man put down.

“We’re going to stop him, Alessia. Make no mistake. He isn’t long for this world.”

My wife nods and rests her head back on my shoulder.

My thoughts keep trailing back to what she said about possibly recognizing one of the men’s voices. Carlo takes a sick satisfaction in inflicting pain. Makes me wonder if he was one of the masked men and wanted a front-row seat to them hurting my wife. But it doesn’t make sense why he would still be hiding his identity. Unless he doesn’t think we’re on to him and Orlando working together yet. When Cillian heard from the stripper, she only mentioned Carlo. She didn’t say anything about Orlando. Carlo has proven he likes flying under the radar until he tries to make some big move. Maybe he would have revealed himself if their plan had worked. What he fails to understand and what will eventually be his downfall, is we’re smarter than he is. I kiss the top of my wife’s head.

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