Page 108 of Empire of Temptation

Sergio had stayed back to watch the cameras, while a dozen men went out to search the area for Natale and Segreto. I texted with Gabriele earlier, who said all went smoothly at the bar with no sign of either man.

“Why?” Aldo met my gaze in the rear view mirror. “What are you thinking?”

“Something Valentina said this morning. It made me think she’s trying to keep me away from the restaurant.”

“Maybe she needs space. Women don’t like to be smothered by their boyfriends.”

Interesting advice coming from a man who’d never had a girlfriend or wife. “How would you know?”

“Women talk about it online. Don’t you ever watch any of those clips on social media?”

No, I didn’t. “I’m not her boyfriend.”

Aldo snorted as he turned a corner sharply. “You moved her in, spent a fuck load of money on her. You’re barely able to keep your hands off her, don’t want any other women. You let her give you love bites. All due respect, Don Benetti, but you’re herragazzo.”

I didn’t bother to reply. This was the second time the title had been brought up, but I was too old to be a boyfriend.

When we returned to the house, I found Sergio in the office. He was connecting his laptop to the big flat screen on the wall. He looked up as I entered and did a double take when he spotted my neck. Smirking, he said, “Nice hickeys.”

“Fuck off.” I dragged two chairs to face the screen. “Where are Dante and Rico?”

“In bed. I didn’t wake them yet.”

Suddenly, the flat screen came to life and sixsquares of video feed appeared. Sergio clicked a button on his laptop, then sat down beside me as the video feeds began rolling.

“I have them synched up,” he explained. “Is there something you’re worried about? Did something happen last night?”

I repeated my worries over Valentina’s comment.

Sergio knew me well enough not to dismiss my suspicions. My instincts were rarely wrong. So he remained silent and watched along with me.

It was hard to pay attention to all six squares at one time, especially when I didn’t know what I was looking for, so I followed Valentina in every frame. She stayed busy, dealing with the staff, greeting customers, talking to the diners . . . going, going, going. She did a little bit of everything, always moving and smiling.

Sergio watched the screen as intently as I did. “I can’t believe you allowed Gabi to bartend. Look at how much attention they are giving him.”

I switched my focus to the bar camera. My son was leaning over, elbows on the wood, and giving a flirtatious grin to two middle-aged women. More women were circled around, either openly ogling him or watching him through their lashes. One customer pulled out her mobile and took a selfie with him, which caused my brother to sigh. “This is going to be a problem.”

I rubbed my eyes with my fingers. “I’ll talk to him today.”

We continued studying the footage. Aldo brought us cappuccinos and rolls, and we had to stop the laptop several times when calls came in from Catanzaro. The whole process was slow and arduous. Nothing happened during the day as the entire restaurant prepped for opening. When we began the night footage, however, a familiar man walked into the restaurant and Valentina was there to greet him.

Mayor Lombardi.

My muscles clenched and I set my cup down carefully. “This man has a fucking death wish.”

Sergio paused the footage. “Who?”

“The mayor.” I gestured to the screen. “He came to eat at the restaurant last night.”

“I thought you took care of him. What is he doing there?”

“I don’t know.” I couldn’t believe the stronzo was stupid enough to show his face at the trattoria after I warned him away from Valentina.

“Maybe this is it. Maybe she didn’t want you to fight with the mayor again.”

No, I didn’t think so. “Restart it. Let’s see what happens.”

The older woman with the mayor had to be his wife. She clung to his arm with an air of familiarity and comfort, her expression filled with self-importance. The mayor glanced around nervously as he smoothed his tie. Good. I hoped he was nervous. Lombardi had no business coming to the trattoria for any reason.

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