Page 23 of The Forbidden Husband

Of course.

I had gone into this believing I could find the information I needed and get out of here quickly, but I hadn’t anticipated thatEnzo would keep me so distanced from all the dealings of his family.

If I wanted in, I needed him to trust me and see me as useful.

And if I wanted him to see me as useful…

I would need to open up parts of myself that I hadn’t ever planned on offering him.

Chapter Eight

Enzo Rissi

“Does she know that one of your jobs is to report back to me?” I asked as Jaimie expressed all of Aria’s requests over the line.

“I decided it would be in your best interest to leave that information out. Do you want me to accept this job or turn her down?”

Jaimie had always been loyal to the person who signed her checks; right now, I was that man. And the checks in question were substantial enough that I expected nothing less than complete dedication.

Noemi Bianchi.

She wasn’t just important to Aria. She seemed to be a mystery to all parties involved. Alonzo’s reports of her being held for ransom were too meticulous. He had too much information on the situation for it to be the entire truth.

Whether or not Aria’s sister was one of our greatest enemies was an essential snippet of information I never would have hired Jaimie to gather. It would have been too much of a risk to send her there and learn that Noemi was, indeed, plotting against her bloodline.

This was an interesting loophole, though.

“Do whatever she wants you to do, but give me the information first. Send your invoice to me for payment, but don’t mention my name when you’re in Russian territory unless you want to get yourself killed.”

“I know what I’m doing,” she said hoarsely before ending the call.

I exhaled loudly before leaning back in my seat and scanning the room around me.

Uncle Giovanni leaned forward. “Everything okay?”

“Just some more of the Russian bullshit. We’re getting some intel in the next couple of weeks on the other Bianchi girl’s involvement with them.”

He nodded, but one of the top soldiers—a spy who went by Owl—cut in. “The Russians haven’t made a move since shortly after Mauro and Lia’s deaths, and all the reports we’ve received have confirmed that their killer was a traitor, and he was taken care of appropriately. The conflicts seem centralized to the Bianchi territory now.”

“With the new alliance, if they become too prolific, we’ll be expected to provide backup,” I reminded him. “We have to present a unified front.”

“We can only be so unified when Alonzo is escalating,” Uncle Giovanni replied with a huff. “That’s why I called this meeting with all of you. We have vital information regarding this alliance and its potential to sour.”

There were only the most trusted advisors and made men in the room around us. All of them had proven themselves over the years, and I could trust each with my life. Owl stood in theshadow at the back of the room. He had spent so long spying for us that it seemed to be second nature for him to hide himself these days.

The twins, Bartolo and Matthew, had been around as long as I had been alive. Bartolo did the dirtiest dealings—strong-arming when necessary and killing people who stepped out of line—and Matthew offered a lighter counterpart to his brutality with a genuine smile and phenomenal negotiation skills. They did most of the checks on our allied businesses, and Bartolo convinced others to join our cause.

Kole acted as our local drug expert and scientist. He was responsible for the launches of all lab-modified narcotics, though he didn’t look the part. His glasses were the only indication of his intelligence. The rest of him had been covered in head-to-toe tattoos and piercings.

The final part of our group couldn’t be here.

The final man wasn’t here. He never was, and while the men around us knew there was a fifth man, nobody knew his name.

Uncle Giovanni continued when he had all of our attention. “We have word from our inside source that Alonzo is planning a coup. He’s keeping the information close to his chest, and it’s impossible to know how many steps he’s taken.”

“That’s nothing new. He’s been wanting to be capo dei capi for years. Maybe it’s time you take the title you’re owed, Uncle.”

And he was. In assets and manpower alone, he could have taken out Alonzo years ago, and he knew it. But he’d always been fond of a split system. Too much power for one man could get to his head, and Uncle Giovanni had never wanted all the power for himself.

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