Page 102 of Single Malt Drama

Marco

The jet leveled off,and our pilot made the required safety announcements. Normally, I tuned Sanford out as he droned on, but after the night and morning from hell, everything grated on my nerves. Including the sat phone, which started ringing the second the seatbelt signs turned off.

The flight attendant answered the call with the same bullshit smile she’d used to greet us. “Which Marchionni are you calling, sir?”

Gabe set his laptop aside as if he assumed the call was for him.

“May I ask who is calling? Yes, sir. One moment, please.” The flight attendant’s smile faltered as she turned to me. “He refused to give me his name.”

“Thank you.” I spared a glace around the cabin. My brothers watched me, but my mother licked her lips and turned toward the window as if nervous. I walked to the master suite and closed the door. “Marco Marchionni.”

“Ah, so it is safe to tell my sister you survived the bump on the head.” Giancarlo’s laughter made my head ache. “You’re a hard man to track down.”

Show no weakness. Be strong for Nico.“That’d be because one of your men sent my cell for a swim. Put Nico on the phone.” The fact my voice came out as solid as it had surprised me. Between seeing double and the lump in my throat, I’d expected to sound like a twelve-year-old.

“She’s resting.” He went quiet for a couple seconds. “No need to worry. She’s safe and sound.”

“I want to hear it from her.”

“Big threats from a man who could not protect his wife.” Laughter erupted behind him.

Threats? What the hell? Is he trying to impress his security team?“You’re seriously pretending to insult me so your men don’t think you’re a pus—”

He laughed again. “Try all you want to flush out the rat. You’ll never figure out which of your men betrayed you.”

My brain stuttered. “You’re speaking in code? Call me pretty boy if I’m right.”

“You pretty boys are all the same. All looks and no brains. I bet you need a guard to hold your dick when you piss.”

“One of my security team is a rat?”

“That’s right.”

It dawned on me this could all be a ploy to throw me off balance by causing me to doubt my men. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“You Marchionnis make me sick. All that money, and you force my sister to wear a secondhand dress on her wedding day.”

I pressed my hand to my mouth. My God. He’s telling the truth. There’s no way he could know that. I ran through my personal guards, and my blood ran cold. There was only one who knew the location of the cabin. “It’s Stuart. Isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Giancarlo laughed again. “Don’t worry. My brothers and I will raise your son to be a real man.”

I grappled for the nightstand to stay upright. “Nico’s pregnant?”

He made a strange half-choke half-gasp sound and disconnected the call.

“Son of a bitch.” I hit redial, but the call went to voicemail. After four more tries I gave up.

Gabe knocked on the door and stuck his head inside without bothering to wait for me to answer. “Was that about Nico?”

“Yeah.” I sat on the edge of the bed, with my head in my hands, trying to figure out if Giancarlo was trash-talking or if he was sending me a message about Nico.

“Is she okay?”

“Close the door.” I waited for him to come closer and lowered my voice. “We have a problem. Stuart is working for the Lazios. He’s the one who took Giancarlo to the cabin.”

Gabe let loose a string of curses. “Did Nico tell you this?”

I relayed the bizarre conversation I’d had with my brother-in-law.

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