Finally, we had Ella, David and Lena’s daughter. She was in college right now, and honestly, I had no clue how much she knew about the family fortunes. She wouldn’t be the first girl in love to attempt to scam her rich family out of a few million dollars, except the request for money never came.
I picked up the phone again, and Luca picked up on the second ring. “Enzo.”
“We need to dig into Lena and David,” I said without preamble. “I mean really dig. Deep. If either of them has complained to a coworker, a book club, anything, I want to know about it.”
Luca let out a long, slow exhale. “David,” he asked on an incredulous laugh. “You think he’s got the balls to be behind this?”
I huffed a short laugh. “Everything is easy when you don’t have to execute it yourself. Giving an order is a lot easier than pulling the fucking trigger.”
David didn’t have the stomach to run an organization; that much I knew. He was good at numbers, but he wasn’t capable of management. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be useful to someone who only wanted to take down the family.
“Just to be safe,” I added. “I don’t want to eliminate anyone based on my gut or yours.”
“Got it,” Luca said. “So how are things going with Ren?”
I closed my eyes. “Getting harder every fucking day.”
He laughed loud and hard. “That’s not what I asked.”
“She isevery-fucking-where,” I admitted. “In my house. In my head. With Matteo.” I watched her brush crumbs from Matteo’s shirt, heard his laugh through the glass. “And every instinct in me is screaming that she is a fucking liability.”
“But?” he added, because he’d always been able to read me so well.
“But I can’t stop thinking about her, and I want her as bad as I ever have.”
Luca kept quiet for a long minute, and when he finally spoke, he was careful. “You know how that ends.”
“Yeah,” I knew exactly how it ended. “But I didn’t love Sofia, and it ended that way anyway.” And I’d had to deal with a heartbroken toddler, which wrecked me. “Knowing that doesn’t make menotwant her, Luca.”
“Didn’t think it would. That’s why it’s a liability.” Luca wasn’t a man for lectures, just practical advice. “Just make sure she knows the danger and takes every precaution. No shopping trips because she’stired of being stuck inside.”
Fuck. “Yep.” That was the last word I said before ending the call, returning my gaze out the window where Ren and Matteo had packed up and were probably in the kitchen making a mess they would happily clean up afterward. Together.
Joining them was tempting, but temptation was dangerous.
Fuck that, hope was worse because hope disappointed.
And with two possible threats against my family and my business, I couldn’t afford to let hope or temptation in right now.
Chapter 15
Serenity
Sleep refused to come.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The house was too still and too quiet, and my nerves were stretched thin from a day spent constantly on edge. I’d felt Enzo’s gaze on me and Mattie all afternoon while we did lessons, played, and even enjoyed a picnic lunch. He watched—I imagined longing in his eyes—from afar, on and off all day. I’d seen him pacing the length of his office, his brows dipped in concentration and his jaw clenched with tension. At dinner, he’d been quiet and distracted, barely paying any attention to his food.
I hadn’t asked. I wanted to ask, badly, but I figured if he wanted me to know, then he would’ve told me. My priority was Mattie, not Enzo or his emotions, and right now Mattie was safe.
As long as that was true, I could manage everything else.
Eventually, I gave up on sleep since it didn’t want to be bothered with me anyhow.
I slipped out of bed and padded downstairs, making my way to the kitchen on the off chance a warm mug of tea would help settle me long enough for sleep to claim me. The lights in the kitchen were low, bathing the room in a warm golden hue thatwas oddly comforting. I went through the motions of filling the kettle, pulling out a mug, and picking out a teabag before I plated a few of the cookies Mattie and I had baked earlier today.
The air grew thick and charged slightly before the whistle of the kettle even sounded. My heart pounded as anxiety crept up my spine.
“Ren.”
