Page 94 of Immoral

Gianni

Several Days Later

"We located Uberto but lost him,"Luca informs me.

"How did you let that happen?" I bark in a low voice then glance back at my tesoro.

She only fell asleep a few hours ago. Since I gave her the ring, we've not had a lot of sleep. And I don't know who's more insatiable, her or me. Any chance we get, we're wrapped around each other.

It's barely four in the morning. She needs to wake up at four thirty. I want her to get the extra half hour of rest.

Fashion Week starts today, and it's taking everything I have not to make any stupid moves. I assumed we would have found Uberto by now. The thought of Cara running around backstage and at all the events doesn't sit easily with me. I may have assigned more security on her than I'd typically issue, but I'm not taking any chances. Yet, the extra precautions still don't ease my worries.

Luca coughs and clears his throat. "The bastard is sneaky."

I move into the bathroom and shut the door. "He's getting help from someone. Find out who and bring them here."

Luca goes into another coughing fit. It lasts for about a minute. When he catches his breath, I ask, "Are you coming down with something?"

"Think I caught a bug upstate."

"Would only be worth it if you had brought him back," I mutter.

Luca lowers his voice. "Listen, Gianni. I think we need to pull the O'Connors into this."

My body stiffens. If Bridget's brothers or their men help us, her father Tully will want something in return. We have an alliance, and our families are close. However, Tully can hold favors over men's heads, and he always uses it to his advantage. He doesn't play that game with my papà, but the few times my brothers and I needed his son's help, he always got us to return the favor with something more complicated. He'll claim it won't be, but it will always be a task we'd prefer not to do. I reply, "You know how Tully gets."

"Yeah. There'll be a price to pay, for sure. But we need some more trackers. I spoke with Brody. He's in if you're good with it," Luca says.

I run my hand through my hair and stare at myself in the mirror, counting to fifty, debating if I want to owe Tully.

Luca interrupts my thoughts, confessing, "Until Giuseppe makes good on his promise to send over experienced trackers, we don't have the proper manpower for this caliber of a hunt. We would have gotten Uberto a few nights ago if I had more men. You have to give me some more resources. Brody's assured me he and his guys can focus on this with me."

Luca's right. He's needed more manpower for a while now. I curse Giuseppe in my head for continuing to not come through for us.

Luca adds, "If I don't show my face to the Abruzzos soon, they're going to suspect something. I can't be in two places at once. Your papà will go mad if anything happens to my cover. And you know we don't have anyone on the team who can run this while I'm away. We need Brody."

I release a breath, and it comes out in a groan. I'm going to owe Tully. I hate being in that position, yet I need my tesoro to be safe. "Fine. Pull Brody and his men in on this. But I want Uberto found now, Luca. You capture him and bring him to me."

"On it. Later." Luca starts coughing again, and then the line goes dead.

I pace the bathroom then open the door and step into the bedroom. I'm lost in thought, facing the window, when Cara slides her arms around my waist from behind. She presses her warm skin against my back, saying, "Penny for your thoughts?"

I close my eyes, reach behind me, and slide my palms over her ass. "You should try to get a few more minutes of sleep."

She laughs.

I spin and cup her cheeks, tilting her head up. "What's funny?"

Her eyes gleam with excitement. "There's no way I can go back to sleep. It's Fashion Week!"

As much as I'm concerned about her security, I'm so proud of her for this accomplishment. She's earned it, and I want her to enjoy every minute. Still, I tease, "No way! Is it?"

She rolls her eyes. "Funny."

I give her a quick kiss. "Go get ready. I'll have some breakfast brought up."

She beams. "Good. I'm starving after the workout you gave me last night. I'm sure I burned more calories than I ate."

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