Page 36 of Conall's Reign

“You’re going to start tracking her now?” Angelo asked incredulously.

I ignored him and examined the necklace critically. It was small, discreet, high-quality, and fashionable. Nobody would be able to tell what it truly was. To the naked eye, it would just seem to be a beautiful necklace.

Paddy leaned back, arms crossed, amusement dancing in his gaze. “Nothing says ‘romantic husband’ like slapping a tracker on your wife, eh?”

I gave him a quick glance. “It’s for her safety.”

“Sure, sure,” he said, waving his hand. “And certainly not because you’re wound tighter than a goddamn drum.”

I pushed the box aside, no longer willing to indulge his nonsense. “Are you finished?”

“Nah, I could do this all day,” Paddy said with a grin. He glanced at Angelo and whistled softly. “Man, it looks like he’s two seconds away from rearranging your face.”

Angelo didn’t respond. He merely exhaled deeply and pushed himself up from his chair. He looked at me for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t like it. Did she agree to it?”

“She did, along with a bodyguard. Your sister is tough.” I wiped the condensation ring once more, feeling annoyed.

“My new sister had her own contract drawn up. Frankie is hysterical,” Paddy added with a chuckle, as if it were the highlight of his day. However, this news caused Angelo to brighten up.

“She did? Good for her,” he smirked. “She’s smart. All right, I’ll stay out of it then and let you two sort it out.”

Paddy leaned back in his chair, arms resting behind his head. “Well, wasn’t that just a heartwarming fucking moment?”

I ignored him. I had more important things to focus on, such as ensuring that Francesca remained exactly where she belonged.

With me.

“Might as well tell you now she was attacked at work yesterday,” I admitted, knowing that Angelo would go off the deep end all over again. I wasn’t disappointed. He came unglued, coming around the table and tumbling into me with all his Italian fury.

“And you didn’t call me? You fucker!”

Ultimately, we both landed a few solid punches and ended up with bloody knuckles. Angelo fought dirty, driven by the fury of a thousand suns. He had always been a scrapper. Sadly for him, I didn’t hold back just because he was a friend. My brother lounged against the wall, watching like it was pay-per-view, insisting he was neutral like Switzerland.

“You’re an asshole,” Angelo finally muttered as we broke apart. “You should have texted or called like a normal person. Tell me what happened.” He straightened his clothes, walked over to the sidebar, and poured himself a drink, wincing as the alcohol touched his lips.

I shrugged. Who claimed to be normal these days? It seemed overrated, anyway. Quickly, I reviewed the events surrounding the incident at the hospital and the limited information we had. I had assigned Paddy and Finn to investigate what they could find, but it resulted in a big fat zero.

“So you’ve got nothing,” Angelo said gloomily, swirling the liquor in his glass.

“Well, I wouldn’t say nothing.” Paddy opened the computer monitors on the wall to display the images we had recovered from the hospital stairwells. “These show the man we are certain assaulted, Frankie,” Paddy said as he clicked through each image.

Angelo peered at the screens. The man appeared to know exactly how each camera was positioned, enabling him to conceal his face. “This guy is a pro,” Angelo remarked.

“Definitely. Look here.” Paddy displayed another image of the same man exiting the hospital, his ball cap pulled low over his face.

“Frankie brushed it off as random?” Angelo’s brows furrowed in confusion as Paddy showed another image of the same man getting into an SUV that had pulled up to the curb. With tinted windows and a driver, it then sped away into traffic. “Do you have a plate for that?”

“Sure do,” Paddy grinned. “We’re running it as we speak. So far, it’s a dummy corporation, but we’ll track it down to see where that leads.”

“She believes it’s random, but I think it’s professional. Probably Vallone. I’ve asked Maxim and Ilias for their thoughts on it.”

Angelo let out a harsh breath, his grip tightening around his glass. “Vallone,” he muttered, shaking his head. “That bastard’s circling like a vulture. This wouldn’t be the first time he sent someone to test the waters, but going after Francesca? Low blow.”

I nodded, watching the screens as Paddy zoomed in on the SUV’s rear bumper, highlighting a barely visible mark. “No, it wouldn’t. But he just made the mistake of targeting Francesca, and that’s not something I’m going to let slide.”

Angelo placed his drink down with a sharp clink, his eyes flashing with barely contained fury. “Then we handle it. Quickly. I don’t want my sister looking over her shoulder whenever she steps outside.”

Paddy clicked his tongue. “I’m already working on it. Finn is tracking the vehicle’s route using traffic cameras. It shouldn’t be long before we have a clearer lead.”

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