I close my eyes, drawing strength from the sound of his voice. "Everything's fine." I need him to believe it. Just for tonight. "You get some rest. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Okay." A small, worried pause. "Please be careful."
He's too good, too caring by half. And he deserves so much better than this world we're living in. Better than me.
I need to be better for him.
"I will," I say roughly. "I'll be careful. Get some sleep."
I end the call but I clutch the phone for a long moment, listening to the silence. And then I make my way to the security room, and I call Sandro Castellani.
His phone goes to voice mail.
Just as I'm about to slam my fist down in frustration, Marco comes into the room. "Uh, Raf? I saw something earlier tonight when I was on patrol. Like, around eleven. I didn't think it had anything to do with Chops, but now, I don't know, maybe?—"
"Spit it out," I snap, my patience wearing thin.
"I saw someone moving around the grounds. Followed them a while, but then I realized it was just Julian Castellani, so I broke off. Didn't think much of it at the time."
"Julian?" I echo. "What was he doing?"
"He was coming from near the maze, heading back down to his new place."
"Was Leo with him?"
"Nah. Alone. But…he seemed like he was up to something."
Julian Castellani isalwaysup to something. But if one of those things was vanishing Chops Lollo, I'd be surprised. He and LeowantRoxy and Gino to come out on top after this parley. Removing Chops would put them in danger—unless he has something more devious planned.
But it still doesn't make much sense. Because if Julian was roaming around Redwood Manor at night looking to kill someone, it sure as shit wouldn't be Chops Lollo.
"AJ and Russo," I say quickly. "They're okay?"
Marco nods. "Not happy getting woke up in the middle of the night, but yeah. They're alive and kicking."
My phone starts buzzing, and I turn away to take the call.
It's Sandro. "DeLuca," he says, his voice rough with sleep. "You called me?"
"Chops Lollo is missing."
There's a long silence.
"Do I need to come down there?" he asks at last. Since we went into lockdown, Sandro has been staying close to Nero Andretti in another one of the guesthouses. Jack is sleeping out there, too. It means we sent some guys out to keep an eye on Teddy and Miller, but I know both Sandro and Jack still worry about their boyfriends. They've asked me for regular reports.
"No, Boss. I'm handling it. But I wanted you to know." I clench my teeth, listening to my own heartbeat as I wait for Sandro's decision. If he gets out of bed and drags himself down here, it means he doesn't trust my judgment.
It means I'm done as head of security.
"Alright," he says at last. "Thank you for informing me. Update me if things escalate."
"Boss—I've been thinking." I should let him go, but I need to flag it. With a sigh, Sandro tells me to go on. "There's a chance Chops is the guy we're looking for, and he's done a runner."
Sandro is quiet again for a while. "We cannot jump to conclusions," he says at last, but then admits, "Though if thatwerethe case, it would solve a few problems."
A non-Family member as the killer? Things would be ahellof a lot simpler.
"Keep me informed if things escalate," Sandro repeats. "Otherwise I will leave this in your hands for now."
