Page 73 of Stealing His Christmas Present

Chapter 28

I PACED UP AND DOWNmy room. Days had gone by, and Pablo hadn’t returned.

He hadn’t even called me, and I hadn’t remembered to ask for his number or a way to contact him, so I couldn’t call him either.

What if something had happened to him?

What if he was hurt?

What if he’d changed his mind about us again?

I heard Lorenzo’s voice coming from the hallway, and I rushed out.

“Hey,” I said, just as he slipped his phone into his pocket. “I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know anything about Pablo? Do you know if he’s okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. I received news that he met with a mafia boss recently.”

“What mafia boss?” I furrowed my brow.

“Giacomo Trovato.”

“Who the hell is that?” The name didn’t ring any bells.

“Dad nicknamed him Pest.”

“Oh! I remember. It’s that guy who controls that small area in the south. The one Dad said was not worth fighting.”

“Yeah, that guy. His family used to be important decades ago in Italy, but they weren’t really successful at establishing themselves here. Giacomo still hasn’t gotten married and doesn’t have any official heirs.”

“Why would Pablo be meeting with him?”

“I wish I knew. Giacomo has been working with Benjamin Romano too.”

“What?” I gaped at him.

What the hell did that mean? Why would Pablo get involved with someone like that, especially after he’d framed Benjamin for my kidnapping and helped me save the twins from the traffickers?

What was he doing? Trying to take on the traffickers on his own?

But why?

“Don’t worry about Pablo. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. Actually, you still haven’t told us how the traffickers got you. We tightened our security, but we don’t know if we missed something. I know it’s easier to get out of the house when you can just press your palm to a panel, but I’ll add a security code and an emergency code, so that no one can force you to disable the alarm for them without us knowing.”

“Um, yeah. Good idea.”

“I don’t know what’s going on between Pablo and you, but you should be careful around him. Giacomo has always had plans of expanding and ruling the city, especially because he wants to prove to everyone who laughed at him that he can do it. The Red Eagles want more power too, and I suspect that Pablo is very high up in the ranks, if he’s not the boss already. Has he told you anything about it? I know you said you didn’t want Dad or me to go after the gang, but maybe that’s exactly what Pablo expects so he could team up with Giacomo and Benjamin.”

“I don’t think he’d do something like that. Why team up with Benjamin of all people?”

“All of this could’ve been a part of his plan. Maybe the traffickers kidnapped you and the twins so he could heroically save you. If we trusted him, he could do a lot of damage. He could get both us and Dante. Then he and Giacomo could split the city between them, and Benjamin could use their territory as he pleased under their protection since he only cares about keeping his business running and was never interested in crowning himself king of any territory.”

I didn’t believe Pablo would harm me. But after what he’d been through, it wouldn’t be so surprising that he wanted more power and control to make sure no one could ever hurt him again.

“You know what?” Lorenzo said. “If Pablo cared about you, he’d be with you right now. You don’t just leave and don’t even bother to call to let your girlfriend know you’re okay if you love her. Business is important, but look at Stella and Dante. There’s no way Dante would disappear for days of his own free will and not even call her. Not if he wanted to live, anyway.”

I sighed.

What if he was right?

What if Pablo cared about me, but it just wasn’t enough?

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