Nothing could be done, not now. The threat of losing everything he’d worked for and the paranoid fear that if his friend did have the evidence on him, he could blackmail his entire family, once Bruno was headed back home, thoughts lead him to the only solution that made any sense to him.
Traitors get what they deserve.
The countdown on Antonio’s life had begun.
Chapter Eighteen
A curse and a blessing all his life…
36 hours later…
Rolling over in bed, Bruno looked at the clock and saw that it was only 8 am.
Seething, he got out of bed and dashed to the bathroom to throw cold water over his face. Slowly, his eyes rose to meet his own reflection in the mirror above the washbasin. His squinting eyes widened when his cold reflection looked back at him. The color from his face had vanished completely.
Bruno growled. He didn’t want to hear shit about Antonio today. He wasn’t so soulless as to leave his wife on her birthday.
Dabbing his face with a hand towel, the cold water cooled his searing skin but did nothing to relieve any of his tension. He slumped in the bathroom chair, shaking his head as he contemplated what he’d do with the jackass. When he finished, he threw the towel onto the bathroom floor.
Bruno swore. Leaving the bedroom, he flicked on the hallway lights and went downstairs. The entire house was littered with pink rose petals, candles, and lilies. And it made him proud, knowing that his wife had friends who loved her enough to do this for her special day. All that shit, it wasn’t his thing, but Annie would love it.
With Annie sleeping, Bruno left the house for a while and took a walk through Balboa Park then called his driver asking him to pick him up outside the florist.
“Nice morning for a walk, Mr. De Luca.” The driver jumped out of the car and opened the back door for him. “Everything all right? I couldn’t reach you by phone this morning.”
“Everything is perfectly fine. I just decided to sleep in this morning.”
“Sleep in?” He stared at Bruno, puzzled. “Really?”
Bruno huffed. “Get in the goddamn car, Ernie.” He slipped onto the back seat.
“Of course.” Ernie closed the door.
As he drove, Bruno switched on the limo phone, hitting the red button each time somebody called him. When Marco called, however, he answered. “This better be good,” Bruno grumbled.
“I know it’s Annie’s Birthday, but I got something you need to know. I think Antonio got suspicious and he’s planning to run. Bones saw him clearing out his whole locker last night when he thought everyone was gone.”
Bruno swore. “Alright, I’ll get it done.”
“You want me to make the order?” asked Marco.
“No! I’ll handle this personally.”
“With Annie’s Birthday party this evening? Come on, Bruno. Let me help you.”
“I said no!” Bruno growled, his voice catching suddenly in his throat.
There was a short, uncomfortable pause between them before Marco spoke, “Alright, Bruno. Good luck.”
Cutting the call, Bruno looked down at his watch. He couldn’t have his wife waking up to an empty house, but he couldn’t let Antonio live either. He wasn’t his friend anymore. He was a bad man, who’d disrespected the family. He couldn’t do it now, but he’d have to do it tonight.
In front of the mirror, Bruno adjusted his tie and checked himself over in his black tux.
It was ten p.m. and the party was in full swing. A shit ton of Annie’s friends and relations were there, more than enough to cover him for the hour or so he’d need to disappear for tonight.
When he was done, he went out into the hall and searched for Annie on the floor below. Spotting his woman in the middle of the floor, rocking a sexy little red number, he marched to the staircase. One leisurely step at a time, he descended the marble staircase towards his woman, watching her every move.
The whole place smelled of perfume and champagne.
