Page 75 of Memento Mori
“A little but I’m all right,” I said, intertwining my fingers with his.
After nodding, he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. Lately, exhaustion had weighed heavily on me, making it challenging to conceal my pregnancy from Tony. However, once everything was resolved, I could share the good news with him.
“Have you been able to get in touch with Alessandro?”
I felt he needed to be a part of this. He needed to confront the woman who had killed Laney, a woman who held a significant place in his life, despite us not knowing anything about their relationship.
I’d become close with Alessandro, and he was like the brother I never had. We kept in contact with one another just like he kept in touch with Antonio. But he was in a really dark place after Laney was murdered and he was distancing himself from both of us. Tony felt like he just needed his space, but I didn’t like not knowing where his head was.
“It’s been a while,” Tony said. “He was actually in California the last time we spoke. I was going to send him a text letting him know what was going on once we touched down.”
“I’m worried about him.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do,Bella.” He let out a sigh, filled with frustration and exhaustion. “He’s hurting but I can’t take that pain away for him. He has to be able to move on from Laney in his own time.”
“Who’s the woman he’s been seeing in California?” I asked.
Alessandro had already been spending a significant amount of time in California even before Laney’s death. In my opinion it had to be a woman or maybe multiple women. With Alessandro anything was possible. But I’d come to the conclusion whatever happened between Laney and him before her death kind of sent Alessandro into that dark place where he tried to chase away what he lost with countless faceless and nameless women. Now that she was gone, he’d sunk deeper into the abyss.
“I don’t know,” Tony said. “And I don’t believe it’s just one woman either. Alessandro is not going to settle down. I thinkhe had that chance with Laney, now every woman he’s with just won’t measure up to her.”
“I think he needs to be a part of this so he can heal, Tony.”
“I hope he’ll answer my calls when we reach the airport.”
“How much longer?” I asked.
“We have another couple of hours if you want to take a nap,” he said. “The private room has been prepared.”
A smile spread across my face. “As long as you join me.”
I knew if he did join me, we wouldn’t get any sleep even though I did need to catch a couple hours.
“You know damn well if I join you there’s no way in hell, we’d get any sleep.”
I couldn’t help but laugh before yawning again.
“Go take a nap. I’m going to finish things up with the guys, and talk to Abel for a few minutes, then I’ll come to you.”
As I nodded, I rose from my seat and Tony stood in the aisle to let me pass. After pecking him on the lips, I made my way to the back of the plane to the bedroom. As I entered the spacious suite, I kicked off my shoes and sank into the plush bed. With a deepsigh, I closed my eyes, desperately wishing that when I opened them again, we would be free of Celia Calderon.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
WE’RE HERE
Antonio
I thought about leaving Aaliyah on the plane so she could rest because she had been so tired lately, but I knew she’d hand my ass to me if I did that. She deserved to be there when we took down the Ghost since she’d been working non-stop to find her.
I couldn’t believe we’d been able to track the legendary assassin down and even find video footage of her. She had always been able to travel under the radar, but she made a mistake taking the contract against my family.
Not too many people in the mafia knew Aaliyah was a computer genius and the work she did for Abasi. While she beat herself up for the amount of time it took to track the Ghost down, she’d done what no other person had been able to do.
“Has Alessandro returned your call?” she asked, stifling a yawn behind her hand.
She looked absolutely stunning in her sleek, all-black leggings and shirt. It may not have been the catsuit from when she killed Agent Grasso, but the outfit she wore was just as sexy.
“No, he hasn’t. He’s probably with some woman and doesn’t want to be disturbed.” I gently pressed the back of my hand to her forehead to see if I could feel heat radiating from her skin. When I looked at her concerned, she arched her brow in response. “Are you sure you’re alright,Bella? You’ve been really tired lately.”
