Page 91 of Empire of Temptation

“Allora,” he continued. “When you find her, bring her to me first. Then we’ll decide how to deal with Roma, capisce?”

Allow Rossi to get his hands on Valentina? Absolutely fucking not. And why would he want to intervene, if getting Valentina to Palmieri was so imperative?

Again, more fucking questions.

“I need to go,” I told him. “We’ll keep you updated.” Then I disconnected.

“Rossi?” Sergio asked.

Nodding, I folded my arms and leaned against the far counter where I could see all my brothers. Their gazes werefilled with hesitation and worry. I addressed the Valentina issue head-on. “Don’t bother trying to talk me out of it. She’s with me and that’s all you need to know. And I won’t turn her over to Rossi or Palmieri, so that is off the table.”

“Are you willing to risk prison for her?” Sergio asked. “To destroy everything we’ve built?”

It was a fair question, so I smothered my irritation. “It won’t come to that. First, I don’t believe Palmieri ever had Niccolò. So if the GDF is building a case against me, it’s bullshit. Second, I know where Flavio Segreto is.”

Rico paused with his cup halfway to his mouth. “You found him?”

“He found me. He’s here, watching her. Watchingus.”

“Porca puttana,” Sergio muttered. “I thought she hadn’t talked to him in years.”

“She hasn’t.” I accepted the cappuccino from Aldo and took a sip. “He’s staying close but not interacting with her. She has no relationship with him.”

“Did he approach you?” Dante asked. “What did he say?”

“He called me,” I said. “Not sure how he got my number, but he knew I took her to Manhattan. He warned me away from her.”

“This is a small town,” Aldo said from the coffee machine. “How has he gone unnoticed?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Why didn’t you notice that we were being followed in the city?”

He had no response for that.

Sergio put down his cup and leaned on the counter. “By all accounts, Segreto was crafty. Smart. Did a lot of dirty work. No one had any idea he was skimming money until it was too late.”

“He has to know that no one ever forgets,” Rico said. “He’ll never be safe, no matter where he goes.”

I’d been thinking a lot about this. “He’s too smart to live openly. My guess is that he’s in hiding, but nearby, and he has someone watching her and reporting back.”

Sergio nodded. “Someone in town. That makes sense. Didn’t you say the mayor was too close to her?”

“The mayor is a coglione and too stupid to be a spy. She would notice him right away. No, it has to be a person she trusts.”

“The woman from the coffee shop,” Aldo suggested as he sliced open a brioche roll. “Or one of the girls from her book club.”

I considered this. “They’re not around enough. And I’m not sure a woman would work with Segreto.”

“Maybe she doesn’t have a choice,” Dante said. “Maybe he’s blackmailing her.”

“Maybe,” I allowed, still thinking. It didn’t feel right, though. Segreto was a hardened criminal. How would he get close enough to any of those women to blackmail them? The town was small and people talked. An association like this would be hard to keep secret.

“So if it’s not a woman, then a man.” Sergio asked. “Who is she close to? Male friends?”

“There are none.” My tone was brittle, like cut glass.

My brother put up his hands. “Calm down, I mean no offense. It could be someone at the restaurant.”

“We ran background checks on all of them,” Aldo said. “Even the ones she fired. They all checked out.”

---