Page 6 of Deadly Sins: Greed

“And what is it you do for him exactly?”

He set the beer down on the counter and leaned forward, his eyes meeting mine. “You know what I do, don’t you?”

“Whatever he wants.”

“Basically. So, Giovanni keeps a photo of you in his desk drawer.”

I swallowed—hard. I loved Cade, but my history with Giovanni allowed the memory of our time together to creep into my mind on occasion. Not in a romantic way—in a realistic way. It hadn’t been a lack of love that pulled us apart; it was his lifestyle, and it couldn’t be helped or changed. It was who he was—who he’d always be. It was a lifestyle that didn’t work for me.”

“I was told Giovanni called you right before he went missing,” I said.

Falcon nodded, then filled me in on the details of their conversation. Pretty much what Daniela had already told me.

“Do you know why Daniela asked for my help?” I asked.

“She said you’re a private investigator, a family friend, and one of the few people she trusts.”

Close enough.

“I appreciate her confidence in you,” he continued, “and I indulged her request to personally retrieve you, but once we’re there, I need you to allow me to take the lead on what has happened. I’m good at what I do.”

“And I’m good at whatIdo.”

“We’ll see. I won’t stop looking until those responsible are ...”

He allowed the last word to trail off and instead turned, staring out the plane’s window at nothing.

“Go ahead, say it,” I said. “You won’t stop until they’re dead.”

“Our goal is aligned, but our definition of justice is not.” He cracked open another beer, held it into the air, and tipped his head at me. “Well then, I guess we’ll see who gets to them first.”

CHAPTER 4

I pressed my lips to Marcelo’s brow. Having met him only once before, I didn’t really know the child. But standing beside him in the hospital room, staring at his sweet, rose-colored cheeks and watching him sleep, I couldn’t help myself. He was a beautiful creature.

“I’m glad he’s going to be all right,” I said.

“Yeah,” Daniela replied. “Me too.”

“What about the other boy—Luca?”

“I don’t know.” She glanced at her watch. “I don’t know. He’s not out of surgery yet.”

Since the last time we had seen each other, Daniela hadn’t changed much in the looks department. Her face was still framed with long, flowing, dark hair. Her eyes were still piercing, but not as bright as they usually were. She looked tired and worn—afraid in a way I’d never seen before.

“Are you sure you can’t think of anyone who would have a reason to retaliate against Giovanni?” I asked. “The way this happened—it seems personal.”

“I thought hard about it all night,” she said. “Things have been calm lately. Giovanni hasn’t mentioned problems with any of the other families for a while.”

Calm didn’t mean life in paradise was sunny side up. Giovanni was a vault, a gifted keeper of secrets. And when I glanced at Falcon, who stood by the door to the room, keeping an eye on things outside, the look on his face gave me the impression he knew more than he was letting on.

Standing on the other side of Marcelo’s bed was Salvadore, a man who also worked for Giovanni. We’d met years earlier.

“Daniela’s right,” he said. “Everything’s easy these days.”

Easymeaning they didn’t have any enemies—not currently.

“Didn’t you say an anonymous call was placed to 9-1-1 about the boys needing an ambulance?” I asked. “But the caller didn’t identify themselves and the number couldn’t be traced. That’s strange.”

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