Page 51 of The Forbidden Husband

Uncle Giovanni gave me a disappointed look. “A quick temper won’t get you far.”

“It’s nonnegotiable after what he did to her,” I retorted. “And after that, we’re going after the Russians, and we’re going to make them pay for all of this.”

Uncle Giovanni didn’t say anything for a moment, allowing my anger to simmer beneath the surface. His calm tone cooled some of my rage when he finally spoke. “We need to manage the priorities. The Russians are and always will be hostile, but there’s no immediate threat right now. There are immediate risks on the home front, and we need to assess the situation without acting irrationally.”

“If we let this go too far, you won’t be inches from a bullet next time. You’ll have one inside your fucking head.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What happens if we take out the wrong threat and drive the true threat underground to fight us on a day we’re less prepared?” It was a risk, sure. But it was one that was necessary when we knew all the information already. “I have all of our spies working on getting information. Our inside source is prying just as effectively. He told me that he would know for sure if Alonzo was responsible within forty-eight hours. He’s escalating. That’s obvious. But we need to be certain he was the one behind the hit.”

I saw unspoken words behind his eyes. He was telling me almost everything…

“What else?” I asked.

“The source thinks there’s more. Something we’re missing. Alonzo has been smug about the information he’s getting, and he’s not revealing his channels. There’s something we’re all missing, and he’s trying to get to the bottom of it. The spies are in place to get information too.”

“It sounds like all we can do is wait, but that’s not an option.”

“It’s the only option.”

My mind flashed to Aria’s sisters and what she feared would happen to them if this went on for too much longer. But my priorities were here. I would do what I could, but we needed to keep ourselves secure on this end first.

“Alonzo first, then the Russians,” I agreed. Uncle Giovanni opened his mouth to reply. “ItisAlonzo, Uncle. I know it is, and you do too.”

“You know what they say about assuming…”

If we weren’t in such a precarious situation, I may have laughed.

Chapter Eighteen

Aira Bianchi

I ran my hand over the bulge in my pocket as Enzo walked into the room, dropping a briefcase beside the door. Jaimie gave her brief in record time before leaving. On the way out, she gave me a single nod that told me she would be working hard to find and retrieve Evelina and Livia.

Enzo approached with his impeccable posture, but his face told me that today hadn’t gone as he had expected.

“No good news?” I asked.

He shook his head from side to side briefly, not saying a word as he pulled a bottle of liquor from beneath the center island and poured a triple shot on the rocks. He held it up as if to ask if I wanted any, but I shook my head no.

I hadn’t decided how I would tell him about the pregnancy. I didn’t know how I would tellanyoneabout it. Enzo’s family wanted an heir, but he had not seemed keen on offering one to them. Would he be disappointed? Excited?

I cleared my throat, feeling the uncomfortable silence between us.

“I had Jaimie take me out today,” I told him. “I got you a present, if you think it will make you feel better.”

“Only if it will make me feel better?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Well, if it won’t, you can wait until your birthday.”

“I don’t know how I will ever make it through two days of not knowing.”

The sarcasm in his tone had me rolling my eyes. “Then I can wait.”

A smile pulled to his lips, some of the stress from today falling away. “I would love to see what you got me for my birthday, Aria.”

The encouragement had me hesitating. I hadn’t gotten him something wonderful. I had access to his entire household fund, so I could have done something extravagant, but I felt like a gift shouldn’t be paid for by the person receiving it, even if I knew that he would never miss a few hundred—even a fewthousand—dollars.

I had used a twenty that had been lingering in my totes of belongings that my father had sent over.

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