Page 45 of The Demon

“That’s odd.”

Jasmine appears confused, and I nod.

“I thought so too at first. He told me he shouldn’t be there and that if Massimo caught him, he would kill him on the spot. He really worked for the person who arranged for me to care for Frankie and watch over him. My job was to make sure he was loved, cared for and protected as best I could and if there was ever any danger to us, he would return.”

“Wow, this is intense and so mysterious.” Charlotte says with a spark in her eyes, and I nod.

“It was better knowing I wasn’t alone in the madness. I asked him who he was working for, and he placed his finger on his lips and whispered,‘You don’t need to know that. It’s for your own protection, anyway, because the man who has arranged this is more powerful than all the mafia dons in the world and Massimo has made it his top priority to discover his identity’.That’s why it was best I knew nothing.”

“Wow, who is this man?” Louisa stares at the rest of us in awe and Jasmine nods in agreement. “Whoever it is, I would like to meet him because knowing what I do about Massimo Delauren, I’m guessing he must be exactly as the servant said, because that man wasn’t afraid of anyone.”

Winter shivers as she remembers the man she called her husband and hisses, “I hate him and it’s good knowing he was scared of something, at least.”

Charlotte leans forward. “What did he look like? The servant, I mean. Did he have an accent, any distinguishing features, a tattoo perhaps?”

“He scared the shit out of me.” I add, remembering the darkness in this man’s eyes.

“He had black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. His dark eyes held a lifetime of torture in them, as if he had lived and died a thousand times. He was familiar to me in a way that I have been surrounded by men like him all my life.”

“Mafia then.” Louisa says thoughtfully. “It must have been one of his soldiers, or this mafia supremo Massimo was afraid of.”

“I wonder how he got in if he didn’t already work for Massimo.” Winter says in confusion. “That whole place was wired with biometric shit that kept us all exactly where Massimo wanted us. I couldn’t have got out if I tried without his fingerprint, so how did the servant get into the nursery suite? It was guarded just the same.”

She has a point and I shrug. “I never questioned that. I guessed he was on Massimo’s payroll and just reported back to the other guy as a kind of spy.”

Louisa sighs heavily. “Well, this is an interesting puzzle that I’m convinced the guys will solve. I have every faith in them to bring Frankie home.”

Charlotte nods. “I agree. I mean, whoever has Frankie now doesn’t mean him any harm, that’s obvious. I wonder why he’s holding him, though?”

Winter nods. “I thought the same. I don’t understand why he won’t give him back to me. Massimo is gone. I am free, and Frankie is a small child. His father has no secrets to offer, and we are all searching for him. Surely, if this guy wants to remain hidden and off the charts, why is he prepared for others to find him?”

“Maybe he wants to be found by the right people. Perhaps there is more to this story and our own part in this is just a small part of the full picture.” I voice my thoughts out loud.

The air of defeat in the air is not good and I say brightly, “I suppose when you think of it, he did us all a favor. I am free. Winter is free, and Malik is now free.”

Charlotte says thoughtfully, “Do you believe he intended that to happen?”

Something hits me as she says the words and for a moment it stuns me a little as I cast my mind back on the conversation I had with this servant before I left him.

“He told me that somebody would come for me.” I blurt out, and the others look up.

“I guessed he meant I would be rewarded with a new identity and details of a new life. They would take care of me and make sure I was safe. But what if that person was Malik?”

The other women fall silent and stare around at one another with wide eyes, and I know what they are thinking. If Malik was the person sent to find me, then we have just led him straight to Club Mafia.

CHAPTER29

MALIK

Iwas grateful when Jasmine stepped up and took charge, asking the women to follow her so they could settle Eliza in. I’m pretty sure that was their plan all along, leaving the five of us to talk more freely. Not that we don’t trust our women, but some things are better kept between us and as Eliza follows the women out, her hand fixed firmly in Winter’s, I know she’ll be ok.

As soon as the door closes, Alessandro growls. “I’ll inform my grandfather of these latest developments. Perhaps he has heard of this Mafia King.”

I nod, grateful for any help at all because if anyone can discover his identity, Don Majerio is the most likely one for that and as Alessandro heads off to make the call, Flynn whistles slowly.

“This gets more interesting by the day. I can ask Louisa’s godfather Pedro Carlos if he has heard anything?”

I nod. “Put the word out. Somebody must have information.”

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