Amaranthe touched Geno’s mind. He didn’t really think his brothers believed he wasn’t able to keep a woman interested, did he?Any woman would want to be with you.
For my money. I have a lot of money, Amaranthe. My name. Our family name comes with quite a bit of prestige.
Women want you, silly. But they don’t get you becauseyou’re taken now. Your brothers love you and want you to be happy. They have complete faith in your ability to keep me. They just want me to know they accept me into their family. It’s nice. I love how they love and champion you.
She did. She thought it was wonderful the way his brothers loved him. She felt their love. They surrounded him with loyalty—with love—the same way he did them. She couldn’t believe that from such a terrible tragedy, she’d found happiness. She just had to keep believing in herself, that she fit with Geno. It didn’t matter that his world was so different from hers; here, in his home, with this side of his family, his brothers and Geno close, she could fit.
•••
The Ferraro family called it breakfast, but Amaranthe was certain it was brunch and then some. She’d never seen so much food or such a variety. They acted as if it was normal. Immediately, the talk turned to business—and she realized that was normal as well. They seemed to switch easily back and forth between teasing one another and sliding into talking about murder.
“What did your investigators find out, Geno?” Stefano asked.
“There are three families of riders in Australia. It’s a big country for them to cover. The Taylor family is in Sydney. Five boys, two girls. Lucky family for having daughters. The structure is sound. They have a good reputation. Greeters are their retired parents. A few cousins to help carry the load,” Geno answered.
Amaranthe happened to be watching the others around the table and she caught a strange look between Taviano and Nicoletta. She couldn’t quite interpret the look, but Nicoletta dropped one hand under the table, as did Taviano. Amaranthe was certain they linked their hands together. Neither changed expressions, but they definitely shifted in their chairs minutely, so they were closer to each other. Anything out of the ordinary was always a red flag to her.
She glanced at Stefano. He was stone-faced, which didn’t surprise her in the least, but his gaze had touched, for one brief moment, on his youngest brother and then slipped back to his cousin. She filed that away as significant. Whatever Taviano knew and was withholding, Stefano knew as well.
She didn’t call attention to either one of them but wondered if Geno had caught the nearly indiscernible byplay. She couldn’t imagine that he hadn’t.
“The Ryan family of riders are in Western Australia, residing in Perth.” Lucca took up the report as Geno ate Italian sausage. “Seven boys, no girls. Not a hint of a problem with the family. The parents retired from riding and are the greeters. A tremendous number of cousins, just as in our family, so plenty of investigators, bodyguards and other help with their territory. It’s a big territory. They have a very good reputation among all the riders in other countries.”
Amaranthe kept her gaze on Taviano, Nicoletta and Stefano without seeming to. She’d perfected the art over the years, thankful for her long lashes and diminutive size. Often she could appear to be looking down at her food, or somewhere else, because she was so much shorter than most people. In this case, she was between Geno and Salvatore, and if she pushed back into her chair, she nearly disappeared, giving her a natural observation site as she appeared to eat.
Taviano had all but ceased eating. He drank his coffee but continued to hold Nicoletta’s hand, his gaze fixed on his cousins as they reported on what their investigators had uncovered in the little amount of time they’d had.
She swept her gaze around the table to see if any of the other Ferraros or Elie, Dario or Valentino had the same reaction as Stefano, Taviano and Nicoletta. They didn’t. The others appeared to be eating and paying attention to Lucca while they did so. There were no strange looks being passed back and forth. She turned her attention back to Stefano’s youngest brother as she carefully ate strawberries and French toast.
Salvatore was next. He indicated the map of Australia that they had put up on a large screen on the wall across from the view of the water. “The third family of riders, the Thomas family, resides in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The parents died in a small plane crash when the oldest boy had just turned sixteen. He took over as head of the family and riders. There are four boys and one girl in the family. An aunt and uncle serve as greeters. They also have an excellent reputation.”
Geno waved his hand toward the map. “Australia is huge for three families to cover. They do a good job of helping one another, and riders come in from other countries to aid them when necessary.”
Elie nodded. “The Archambaults help out when they can.”
“The families have always helped to train young riders,” Lucca added. “Our investigators couldn’t find that any of them were out of the country when any of the murders took place. Not a single family member. Their planes were on the ground, and no cousin was in our country. Obviously, we’ll need to investigate more thoroughly; there wasn’t time to really check each family the way we needed to.”
There was silence as those at the table got up to replenish their plates from the warmers. Amaranthe didn’t understand how they could possibly put away that much food. Geno remained sitting beside her. He sat back in his chair, looking relaxed, but he didn’t feel that way. Inside he was coiled like a snake about to strike. She dropped one hand below the table to place her palm on his thigh, showing solidarity. There was no doubt he’d caught the exchange of looks between Taviano and his wife. He was also aware Stefano was withholding information.
Be very careful, Geno, she cautioned. She couldn’t help herself. Stefano was a force to be reckoned with. He was also a man Geno respected and loved. If there were a falling out, it would hurt. She didn’t know why the head of the Ferraro family would hold back crucial information, but there had to be a reason.
His hand covered hers. He took a sip of coffee, his gaze moving around the table, touching each of his cousin’s faces and then Elie’s. Finally, he settled on Stefano. “No doubt you put your investigators on this as well. Considering that my parents were victims of these murderers, I think it’s a good idea to pool all information and see what we have.”
Amaranthe was proud of him. There was no threat in his voice. Geno sounded the way he always sounded. Still, Stefano flicked him a quick, very sharp look from his dark, piercing eyes. He knew. How, she didn’t know, but he was aware of what Geno was asking.
Stefano didn’t look at his youngest brother. He kept his gaze fixed on Geno. “Naturally, we did investigate. I’m certain Valentino and Dario had their own investigators on it as well. Elie’s wife, Brielle, is amazing with a computer.”
Elie nodded. “She came to the same conclusion your investigators did, Geno. We have the report for you. She and Bernado Macaluso were very thorough, and they included more on the families, but nothing that is going to change what you already know.”
Geno nodded but didn’t take his gaze from Stefano. “I have a gut feeling Stefano’s investigators may be able to point us in a new direction.”
Stefano didn’t so much as blink. “I’m not certain why you think my people would come up with anything different on these families that your investigators couldn’t come up with.”
Amaranthe listened to the cadence of his voice. Stefano had chosen his words very carefully. He wasn’t lying, but he was misleading. It wasn’t the most intelligent thing to do when he knew his cousin so well. At once she felt the difference in Geno. That ruthless quality in him rose like the tide. Did Stefano really think he was going to deter Geno? He had to know him better than that.
The room slowly filled with tension—with a dark antagonism that pushed against the walls despite the room being so spacious. One by the one the others became aware of thestorm building between the two powerful cousins. The banter stopped and everyone fell silent. All eyes turned to the two men.
Geno and Stefano continued to stare at each other, locked in silent combat, neither giving an inch.
