Is it the kids?
Their father?
Maybe it’s the family.
While Dom doesn’t have an issue with me, I know there are men who worked with his father who still look at me with suspicion.
They still see me as guilty and might see a relationship between us as disrespectful to her uncle’s memory.
The truth is, getting involved with Elena wouldn't just complicate my life.
It would create ripples throughout La Corona.
And I don’t give a shit.
I close my eyes, remembering the softness of her lips, the small sound she made before pulling away.
My chest fills with yearning so acute, I can barely breathe.
I know without a doubt that despite the years and distance and her children with another man, I can't walk away again.
Not without answers.
Not without her.
I realize that I've been passive, waiting for Elena to come around, waiting for someone to clear my name.
But Monti men don't wait.
We act.
If I want her back, I need to prove my innocence, show her and anyone else in the Vitale family who still harbors suspicions that I had nothing to do with her father's imprisonment and subsequent death.
Maybe I’ll go a step further and discover who really was behind her father’s arrest, who arranged his murder in prison.
I pull out my phone and run through the list of contacts I’ve copied from my father until I find what I’m looking for.
Joe Longo, Private Investigation.
In the past, Joe did a lot of work for my father.
Hopefully, he’s ready to work for me.
I dial his number.
“Joe Longo.” His graveled voice, probably from too much smoking, comes through the phone.
“Mr. Longo, it’s Luca Monti, Antonio Monti’s son.”
“Yes, I know who you are. How’s the old man?”
“He’s good,” I lie.
“Heard you live in Italy… The old buzzard is proud of you.”
My lips twitch upward. What son doesn’t like hearing his father is proud of him? “Yes, well, I’m back in New York and need help with something.”
“I can help,” he says confidently.
