“Except one.” I lifted my head, suspicion nagging at the back of my neck. It was like when I knew someone was lying to me, or when they had more to tell. My intuition was rarely wrong. “One employee failed the background check.”
“Cazzo, I forgot about him,” Aldo said. “The former dishwasher. John Natale.”
Sergio stared at me like he’d never seen me before. “You let a man who failed a background check work in her restaurant? Ma che cazzo?”
I lifted an eyebrow at his tone. “The restaurant closed immediately after we learned about him. He hasn’t been around.”
“Not to mention we were busy with other things,” Aldo added.
Everyone in the room knew he meant me and Valentina. And Ihad no defense—I’d let her distract me. I ground my back teeth together. John Natale was a loose end, and I never left loose ends. “We need to find him. He’ll lead us to Segreto, I’m sure of it.”
“What do you know about him?” Sergio asked.
I dragged a hand over my jaw. “Late twenties, so not Segreto’s age. But he has tattoos that look done by hand, not a needle.”
“So prison?” Dante asked.
Rico slapped the back of his brother’s head. “Yes, prison. Pay attention,idiota.”
“Quiet,” Sergio told them, then turned to me. “What else?”
“I got the sense he felt protective of her. He didn’t like me eating dinner with her that first night. He offered to drive her home.”
“And you couldn’t find anything on him?”
I shook my head at Sergio’s question. “No records of any kind. No driver’s license. It’s a fake name.”
“Is he back at the restaurant?” Aldo asked and took a bite of his breakfast roll.
“Let’s find out.” Within a minute, I called Roberto at the trattoria and got my answer. I told my brothers, “Natale never returned for a dishwashing job. Roberto has no idea who we’re talking about, and all the current employees have passed background checks.”
“He has to be around,” Sergio said. “If he’s helping Segreto, he hasn’t left town.”
I could kick myself for forgetting about Natale. I slapped my palm on the countertop. “We need to fucking find him—today.”
Aldo reached for a second breakfast roll. “The easiest way to find him is to follow Val.”
This was true—and she needed security now that she was mine. “Let’s put two guards on her when she’s not with me,” I told Sergio. “Tell them to stay hidden and be fucking vigilant. I also want her house checked for bugs. Rico, you and Dante do that now.” If there were listening devices, my brothers would find them. All of us had been raised from birth to guard against being eavesdropped on.
“I’ll text you the address,” Aldo said as he found his mobile on the counter. “Key fobs are on the table.”
“We’re on it.” Rico finished his cappuccino and set the empty cup down. “Let’s go, D.”
My youngest two brothers left through the back door and silence descended. Aldo was busy chewing, while Sergio regarded me through his lashes. I scrolled on my phone and waited. Sergio would have his say sooner or later.
My brother stirred his cappuccino slowly, the spoon clanging lightly against the porcelain. When he set the spoon down, he said, “She’s beautiful.”
I slipped my mobile back in my pocket. “And?”
“And what happens after we find her father?”
“We get answers.”
“And?”
“And if I find out Rossi has lied to me, we take him out.”
“You’re going to kill the head of the region. Ma sei pazzo?”