Page 161 of Empire of Temptation

My voice grew hard. “You contact me or Sergio. Then wetellyou what to do.”

“I know, I know. Mi dispiace.”

I stared at the wall, my irritation mounting. “I traded a favor with D’Agostino to find you, for fuck’s sake. His hackers caught you on camera in Munich, watching a Cosa Nostra warehouse, because you did nothing to disguise your appearance.”

“I didn’t think anyone was looking for me. And I was in a panic. I didn’t know what would happen if I returned empty handed.”

I slapped my palm on the table, rattling the flatware and glasses. “You should be more worried about what will happen now, considering all that has transpired because of your disappearance.”

He paled, sweat beading on his upper lip. “Per favore, Don Benetti. I’ll find a way to make this right.”

“Get out of my sight. I need to decide how I’m handling this. Go with Gabriele.”

My younger son left with Niccolò, and I swirled the wine in my glass, thinking.

“Papà,” Leonardo said. “He meant no harm.”

“Meaning no harm and causing no harm are two different things, figlio mio. Niccolò didn’t think and has caused a great deal of harm.”

“But Rossi put all this in motion to get Segreto and clean up his mistake with Palmieri. It seems Niccolò was just a pawn, no?”

“Yes. Rossi stole back his own truck and sent Niccolò into hiding. Then Rossi needed to force me to find Segreto, so he convinced me Niccolò was in custody. No one else has the contacts we do, so I was his best hope.”

Leonardo whistled. “You must admit, it’s pretty clever.”

Anger flooded my veins and my fingers curled into a fist on the table. “That old fuck. I don’t like being used.”

My son lifted his shoulders. “You wouldn’t be here with Val otherwise.”

Of course he would see it this way.

The swinging door leading to the kitchen cracked and mywoman’s face peeked out. A smile tugged at my lips. “We’re finished,” I called, beckoning her forward with two fingers.

She pushed through and started toward us. “I didn’t hear any yelling, so that’s a good sign, right?”

I scooted my chair back and patted my lap. “I never yell, fiore mio.”

My son made a noise, but I ignored him as my woman slid onto my thighs. She smelled like garlic and lemons, and her soft curves melted into me. I wrapped an arm around her back and held her close, my face pressed into her neck. All the tension from my body disappeared like someone pulled a string to unwind me.

“Leo,” she said, smoothing my tie. “Are you hungry? They’re wrapping the donation bags right now, but I’m sure you can grab something, if you’d like.”

“Donation bags?” he asked.

“Every night we donate the extra food to the shelter.”

“Grazie, but I ate earlier.”

My son didn’t move, just continued to scroll on his phone. I glared at him. “Leave us.”

That got his attention. His eyebrows flew up as he lowered his phone. “But you’re my ride.”

“Then wait in the kitchen.”

He smirked, but stood. “This is nice, seeing you two. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but you are a miracle worker, Val.”

“Careful, figlio.”

“Luca, stop,” my woman said. “Thank you, Leo.”

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