I knew Sophia, and she was hiding something from me. And if she wouldn’t be honest with me, then I would find out by myself.
It was the only way we…
Mid-thought, I stopped and made my way to the nearby wall. I had run further than I expected, completely lost in my own thoughts as I pounded the pavement.
Pulling my cellphone from my sweat pants pocket, I swiped through the numbers until I came to the one I wanted.
It rang and rang. Grumbling, I redialled, and this time someone answered on the third ring.
“This best be fucking important. It’s not even…” a grumpy male voice snapped.
“It’s Matteo, and I know what time it is, Simeon,” I said in my usual calm, don’t-fucking-mess with me voice.
Instantly, his tone shifted from angry to apologetic. “What can I do for you, Matteo?”
“I want you to dig into Sophia…”
His sigh was exasperated. “I’ve looked. There’s nothing. She left New York two months after her parents were killed. Coach, not first class. She lived on her trust fund for a little while and got her current job eighteen months later.”
I’d heard all of that before. Groaning, I pinched the skin between my eyebrows. I didn’t know what bothered me about it all, but something did.
Why did she get a job? And why so long after she had arrived halfway across the world? Eighteen months seemed very specific.
Unless, of course, she had run out of money, but that didn’t make sense, either. She should have had more than enough.
Unless…
Gio. Had her brother somehow cut her off? But why would he send her away for her safety and then cut her off? Gio idolized his baby sister.
“Yeah, I know. Can you check her financial records?”
Another sigh. “Look, if you want my opinion, the girl is innocent. She’s not up to anything. She’s completely and utterly clean, and no amount of digging up her past is going to change that. You are looking for something that isn’t there, Matteo.”
“I don’t want your opinion,” I snapped back. “Sophia might be innocent, but her family?” I gave a sarcastic laugh. “I don’t trust Gio. I want you to check them all. Look into every single associate they have. He’s up to something, and he’s using his sister as a way to get it.”
The silence was thick.
“You think she’s part of the plan?”
I didn’t answer him. “Maybe. But honestly, I don’t know. She’s hiding something, and Gio is most definitely up to something. I need to know what those things are, and I need to know now. So dig into everything. Money, personal life, even medical records. I want to know what is going on.”
“You got it.” He ended the call without even a goodbye, but that was fine with me. I wasn’t one for pleasantries anyway.
I typed up several quick texts and then headed home. Maybe if I asked nicely on my knees, I could get Sophia to be honest with me.
Chapter Eighteen
Sophia
I woke up alone. The side of the bed where Matteo had been sleeping was cold, the sheets still rumpled.
But what did I expect? He always left. It was like a pattern. We had a few moments of togetherness and then bam…he went back to hating me.
Which should make my plan easier, but didn’t.
He was infuriating and I…I…
Damn him.
