Page 112 of Of Murder and Matrimony

“I know,” I interrupted, saving him from embarrassing himself further. His groveling did nothing for me.

“You do?” he repeated. “How?”

“DiSanto.”

“Of course.” Luca blew out a long breath and practically fell into the chair I motioned to.

Diego appeared in the doorway, and I waved him inside. He sat next to Luca and tried his best to look impassive. “Good to see you again, Luca.”

“Yeah,” my cousin answered. “You too, Diego.”

I could feel Olesya’s body shake with silent laughter, even as she pressed her lips together. She knew enough not to say anything about what we’d witnessed in the hall. They were convincing, even with the knowledge I possessed.

“Thank you for listening to Don DiSanto,” Luca pressed on, wringing his hands nervously. “I’ve been staying with his men in New York. But yesterday, we got news, and I think it’s more important than he does, so I drove here right away.”

“What is it?” I asked, leaning forward.

“DiSanto got word from Dulce Delgado that a group of Irish and Russians had purchased weapons and explosives from her.”

I pressed my lips together, immediately understanding the implication. “Thank you for coming.”

“I’ve kept contact with men who worked for our fathers, gathering information since they still trust me and think I was working for my father,” he explained, running a hand through his hair. “There’s been talk about targeting family businesses. With the new information—”

“It’s a viable threat,” I finished.

He nodded. “Yes. I think an immediate threat.”

There was always somebody from the family present at all of our locations. I reached for my phone and texted my brothers, instructing them to gather as many men as possible and search the businesses. Then, I put the word out to my capos to do the same.

The atmosphere in my office was tense as we made meaningless small talk and waited for my capos to check in. Cosimo had the clever idea to have our tech guys go through cameras from the businesses in the past forty-eight hours to see if they could catch any abnormal activity.

An hour later, I’d heard from all but two of my capos, and my gut told me there was a good reason for it. They handled security at one of our warehouses and Romeo’s gym Flex. I called Romeo, but he wasn’t answering or responding to texts.

Luca started pacing when I shared the news with him, obviously upset that his cousin and best friend might be in danger. He looked at me pleadingly. “Let me go to Flex and find him.”

“I need you to stay out of sight,” I explained, knowing his connections with those who had betrayed my family to further my father’s agenda. “I need them to think you’re still with them. If I send you to Flex, I risk blowing your cover.”

Diego stood. “I’ll go.”

“You?” I asked. Obviously, he was volunteering because of his feelings for Luca, but I didn’t have a good reason to deny him.

“You’re here with Mrs. Neretti,” Diego pointed out. “The others are already spread thin. I can go find Romeo and clear the gym until the guys can search it.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Go ahead. Call me with an update when you get there.”

Luca stopped by the door, his palm landing heavily on Diego’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Always,” Diego murmured back with a half smile, rushing out.

My cousin paced relentlessly while we waited, and I felt exhausted just watching the nervous energy radiating off his body. Olesya offered him food and some wine, but he politely declined. When my phone rang forty minutes later, Luca rushed over, and I pinned him with a warning glare before answering Diego’s call.

“I can’t find him.” Diego’s voice filtered through the speaker on my phone. “I told the girl at the front desk to tell everybody there was a problem with the pipes, and they’re clearing everybody out now.”

“Have you looked everywhere?” I asked, my anxiety ramping up, my pulse racing, and my fingers going cold.

“His car is out back,” Diego echoed, probably walking through one of the halls. “One of the trainers said he was just on the treadmill, but he’s not in the showers or his office. I’m going to check the spa now. Have you tried calling his wife?”

“I didn’t want her rushing down there,” I admitted. My phone vibrated, and I lost whatever Diego was saying when I saw the text from Cosimo.

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