Page 130 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

“No problem.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “You know how this works. One day, I am going to call in this favor.”

“And that day, I’ll be ready to do whatever you ask.” I release a breath.

Getting the Italian mob involved in my revenge plot was a risk. But without Santino and Rex’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to bury the Senator so quickly.

“Gardenia tells me you’ve been to the Senator’s beach house?” I ask him.

“Yes, I followed a lead that brought me to the Hamptons and that house in particular.” He cocks an eyebrow. “The place was hosting an orgy that night. I’ve seen a lot in my line of work. That one shocked me a bit.”

“Nothing the Senator does shocks me anymore.” I shake my head. “After tonight, I want him out of our lives.”

“How does your darling wife feel about that?” Santino smirks.

“She’ll have to get on board.” I cut him a glance.

One way or another, Paloma will have to understand that her father can’t be a part of our family. For fuck’s sake, he’s five houses down from us right in a place that hosts orgies. What kind of a sick fuck keeps a place in the Hamptons for such a thing?

“We have a problem.” Gardenia strides across the lawn to join us by the pool terrace.

“Where’s Luce?” Santino’s gaze cuts to the house looking for his wife.

“No, relax.” Gardenia puts up her hands. “She’s getting us drinks. She’s fine.”

“If you knew my wife, you’d know she’s not fine. She’s a magnet for trouble.” Santino furrows his brows, standing at attention. “I shouldn’t have brought her with me. But she insisted.”

“And you can’t say no to her.” I finish his thought.

“Something like that.” He scans the house still not convinced his wife is okay. “What’s going on then?”

“We did a quick recon.” Gardenia puts up her hands again when Santino makes a growling sound. “Relax. We were perfectly safe. I just wanted to check out the house and get some cameras going.”

“And you figured getting my wife involved was a good idea?” Santino glares at her.

“She wanted to help.” Gardenia shrugs, not at all concerned that Santino looks like he’s about to murder someone. “Anyway, the house isn’t empty like we thought it would be. There’s a party going on. Lots of cars and people dressed in black tie.”

“So much for our quick grab-and-go plan.” I run a hand through my hair. “Can we still get in? Maybe blend in?”

“I think so. I mean, you’ll need a tux. But we can still gain access through the beach like we planned.” Gardenia nods. “Only problem is how are we going to walk out with four paintings when there’s a bunch of people there?”

“I have an art carrying tube. We’ll have to cut the canvas out of their frames. But I can make it work.” I came prepared for carrying paintings out of the house. Even if the town is fairly empty during the off-season, I still didn’t want the locals to see me leave a house with five sixteen-by-twenty-four heavy frames. “I didn’t bring a tuxedo though.”

“You can try one of mine.” Santino still has his gaze trained on the house. When he doesn’t spot Luce in the living area, he gestures a goodbye. “I’ll be right back.”

“He’s never going to get over it, is he?” Gardenia ogles Santino as he strides back to the house.

“Why? What happened?” I ask.

“Last year, after they got married, Luce was kidnapped from this very house.” Gardenia faces me, her eyes wide. “Santino killed a whole crew trying to get her back. I mean the guy has a license to kill and he’s not afraid to use it.”

“Can’t blame him.” I take in a breath, knowing deep in my heart that if anything ever happened to Paloma, I would go to the ends of the Earth to get her back.

“So what’s the plan?” Gardenia looks up at me. “Do we go home and regroup or just go for it?”

“We go for it.” I meet her gaze. “My business with the Senator ends tonight.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” She beams at me. “I know you wanted to bring Paloma with us tonight, but I don’t think she’s ready to see things our way.”

“You might be right on that.” As much as I hate keeping secrets from my wife, tonight was unavoidable. “But soon, she’ll see the Senator for what he is.”

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