Luca shrugs noncommittally. “Took care of a nuisance.”
I laugh as I watch him. He is so possessive sometimes. I would be lying if I said I didn’t love it though.
Eventually people start to depart and soon we are the last people left at our table. I raise my eyebrows in silent question and Luca just shakes his head and keeps looking around the room. After another 15 minutes go by before he sighs deeply and stands, grabbing my arm to stand with him. We leave in silence, the tension in the air thick. I notice that Gio and a couple of other guys are now standing next to the SUV and give an all-clear signal. I guess they checked for bombs or any other defects someone could have done to tamper with our SUV.
No one speaks a word the entire drive home. When we pull up to the house Luca and I immediately head upstairs to our room. When we get there, I step in and go to sit on the edge of the bed while Luca slams the door shut.
“It doesn’t make sense,” he barks. I watch him, waiting for him to elaborate. He starts pacing and digging his hands through his thick black hair. “They were supposed to be there. The guy we picked up said they were just waiting for the opportunity. We appeared to be as vulnerable as possible and nothing!”
He shouts the last part and slams his hand on the dresser next to him. I jump slightly at the contact and look back up to him.
“What if they knew it was a set up?” I ask.
“What?” He asks sharply. I know the frustration isn’t towards me and I try not to take his anger personally.
“What if they knew it was a set up and that is why they didn’t show tonight?” I repeat.
“That’s impossible. The men were hidden hours before, they know how to move without being seen. And the only other way they could have known is if…” He trails off and a thoughtful look crosses his face. “Fuck!” He shouts and pulls at his hair with both hands, his eyes wild as he looks at me. I take a step back out of pure instinct from the violent look across his face.
“If?” I ask cautiously.
“If there is a mole,” he states, the anger building with each word.
“A mole? Like one of your men is telling the Farelli information?”
I never even thought that was a possibility. Luca is always talking about how loyal his men are, how they have been with the family for years, some decades. He gives me a curt nod and I blow out a breath. Shit. “Do you have any clue who it could be?”
He shakes his head. “No. If there is a rat it must be one of the soldiers. They are the lowest in rank, so they have the most to gain, plus there are so many of them it’s almost impossible for their Capo’s to keep track of all of them all the time.”
“So, how do you go about finding who it is then?” I ask.
“Very quietly. I don’t want to tip anyone off. I will only tell a few that I trust completely to keep their ears to the ground. Till then, it’s really not safe for us to go out anymore. I won’t risk your safety when I can’t even trust my own men. For all I know it could be Michael or Freddy. They could have hand delivered you to the Farelli tonight. I know it’s the last thing you want to hear but can you please just stay at the house for a little longer? I promise I will figure this out and take care of it for good. We will not live in fear.”
His eyes are begging me to go agree easily. He clearly can’t take another thing on his plate right now, so I nod.
“Of course, however I can help.” He leans against the wall and blows out a deep breath.
“Thank you,” he motions for me to come closer. I walk in to his arms as he wraps me up tight. “Well, I have some good news,” he says.
I lean back to look at him, “Yeah?”
“Gio is bringing Alessandro over tomorrow for dinner.”
“Really? I am excited, I can’t wait to meet him!” I say with a genuine smile.
He chuckles “You will like him.”
Luca pulls me in for a sweet kiss that sends sparks sizzling from my lips down to my toes. When he pulls away, he puts his forehead against mine and sighs heavily. “I have to go tell Gio and Mario about my suspicions, we have to come up with our next move. I am tired of waiting for them to strike.”
I nod my head and kiss him one more time. It honestly wasn’t all that hard for me to agree for a little longer of being isolated to the house. If the Farelli have someone inside our walls that is dangerous for everyone. I know Luca says that things aren’t always this bad, I can’t help but wonder if he lied though.
Chapter Nineteen
Luca
“You think the Farelli planted a Mole among our ranks?” Gio asks dubiously.
“I don’t know. Maybe one of our own turned on us and went to them,” I reply.