Page 105 of She Belongs to Me

We finished our food in near silence until the sound of Nico’s phone broke the tense mood.

He yanked out his phone, staring at the screen. “I need to take this. I’m sorry.” Without waiting for anyone’s reply, he got up from the table, taking long strides from the room.

“Whew,” Domino said under his breath.

“Asshole,” Isabella added.

I did nothing more than glance toward the door. Nico was suddenly extremely tense all over again.

Nico

“You have information,” I said as soon as I’d walked out of the dining room. My contact in Italy had been slow to return my call, but he was a busy man.

Fernando was completely reliable, someone I would trust with my family and that was tough for me to say. “Sorry it took a little while. I had to push aside business. I don’t know what kind of shit is going on, but Elio suffered the consequences.”

I bristled, closing my eyes. “He’s dead.”

“Yeah, his house torn apart. By the point I got there, it was obvious the police had already been there collecting evidence.”

“But there’s more.”

“Boxes. I noticed banker-style boxes in his office. I have no clue what the hell he was doing and as you might imagine, they were trashed,” Fernando continued. “But there was a single piece of paper I found under the man’s desk that was missed.”

“Saying what?”

“It had your father’s name on it and a list of some contracts. I don’t know if they mean anything, but I thought you should know.”

I found myself leaning against the wall. I was no longer angry, just resigned. “Are you certain Elio is dead?”

“Oh, I’m certain. The amount of blood in the place was unimaginable. On the walls, the floors. No one could have survived.”

The loose ends were being tied up. “Anything else you can tell me?”

“His wife found him. That’s all I know and I had to be careful getting that.”

“I appreciate you finding out.”

“No problem, but do me a favor. Don’t call me for a while. I like laying low.”

I completely understood. “I won’t.”

There was no need for other pleasantries or lamenting over something I couldn’t control. The man in question was dead and couldn’t offer any additional help. But his death and the single piece of paper did provide clues. My father had likely known about the push in America. He could have attempted to make connections of his own. My father had been so certain the old ways still mattered that all arguments to the contrary had fallen on deaf ears.

It offered more credence to my thought that my father had been murdered, but right now, I couldn’t go down that path.

After holding the phone for a few seconds, I returned to the dining room. Dinner appeared to be over. Domino turned in my direction, realizing immediately something was going on. Isabella was directing the catering staff to get ready for dessert, but my lovely Alexandra was positioned in front of the French doors, staring longingly toward the orchards.

She seemed even more beautiful in the waning late afternoon sun. Twilight would soon take hold, my favorite time of the day. I had no intention of spoiling the lovely evening or the time I would get to spend with the girl who’d turned into a woman right before my eyes.

Yet tomorrow would provide a new set of challenges.

Domino tried to stop me, but I pushed him aside, giving him a look that was expressive enough he immediately backed off.

I flanked Alexandra’s side, acting as if I cared about the view she was admiring. It took her a few seconds to glance in my direction. “Important call?”

“Nothing to worry about.”

Her laugh was lilting as always. “You always say that, which then worries me.”

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