Page 77 of Sins of the Son

He opened his eyes and rolled his head to the side to observe my brother and me. “I can’t say it was a conversation I was ever planning on having with her, but I will deal with any consequences.”

There was silence in the room for several moments. Then, an ice cube rattled as it settled in my drink. “I’m sorry, Papà. Milana has serious trust issues and knowing what I know now, I can’t fucking blame her. I couldn’t lie to her, not even by omission.”

“And how does she feel about your plans?”

I leaned my elbow on the leather sofa arm and rubbed my forehead. “She hates them. In hindsight, it might not have been the best course of action, telling her the full truth. She thinks I’m taking over her problem and handling it myself while being an overprotective bully.”

Enzo raised his eyebrows. “Well… yeah. You’re a Cavalieri man. It’s kind of our thing.”

I gestured toward him. “Thank you. Mind telling her that?”

He shook his head. “Fuck no. The way I see it, after tonight, I’ll be the last male in this household the women actually like. I’m not going to ruin that.”

“Traitor,” I grumbled.

Right at that moment, we heard a noise beyond the closed study door.

We exchanged looks.

Since he was seated closest to the door, Enzo quietly stood and moved silently toward the portal. He listened before quickly opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.

After a moment he returned, shaking his head. “I didn’t see anyone.”

I stood. “We should get going. Romolo lives in Palombaro.”

Enzo drained his glass. “Let’s go wreck his evening, shall we?”

CHAPTER 27

CESARE

Although my father and Alfonso would have liked to have joined in on the fun, it didn’t seem sporting to have four against one, so only Enzo and I made the trip to Romolo Castiglione’s house.

By the time we arrived, it was close to midnight.

We got out of the car and surveyed the modest villa.

Enzo leaned against the driver’s side door and lit a cigarette. “How do you want to play this? Want me to hang back and only come in if the screams get annoyingly loud enough to attract attention?”

I nodded as I cupped my right fist in my left palm.

Enzo placed his hand on my shoulder. “Try not to beat him to death until we get the name of the other male and the female.”

I nodded again. Too angry to speak.

We had already done some preliminary reconnaissance. Romolo was twice divorced and lived alone in the villa he'd inherited from his mother. The villa was too small for live-in staff, so there was a high likelihood he was alone.

I walked up to the door and knocked.

After several minutes, Romolo answered, wearing only a pair of boxers and a white T-shirt. “Cesare?”

He leaned out and looked up and down the street. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

I smiled. “I thought we would continue our meeting that was unfortunately interrupted today.”

He shifted to look over my shoulder. “Is that Enzo with you?”

Without taking my eyes off Romolo, I answered, “He’s just finishing his cigarette and a quick phone call.”

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