Okay. I’ll talk to him.
Arianna:
What makes you think he has a mistress?
Elena:
Some woman came to the door looking for him. She sounded desperate, but didn’t want to wait for him. Something about it felt… off.
Ginevra:
I’m 99.9% sure Maximo loves you too much to have a woman on the side.
Sophia:
Talk to him about it. Get to the bottom of it. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation that doesn’t include adultery.
Ravenna:
I agree with Sophia. But if he is stupid enough to do such a thing, we will have your back. Let us know what happens, okay?
Elena:
I will.
Glancing at the clock, I realize that it could be hours before Maximo’s home. I can’t spend all of that time worrying and working myself up—potentially over nothing.
Elena:
You all want to meet up for afternoon coffee?
CHAPTER 45
Maximo
“He’s dead.” Lazaro’s words hit me like a stake through the gut. “His body was fished out of the river early this morning. Just to be sure, I sent someone down to the morgue to ID him. It’s Julius. Confirmed.”
Cazzo. I squeeze the phone against my ear. “Call everyone together for a sit down. Tell them it’s urgent. Five o’clock at the warehouse.”
“You got it, boss.” Lazaro hangs up.
I curse. Niall Bane needs to get back to me soon with any leads. I suppose I should call him and strike Julius from my suspect list. At this rate, Lazaro’s the only person left on it and I’m beginning to doubt my suspicions. Is he an arrogant ass? Yes. But as far as I can tell, he has no motive for destroying all four families.
It took Niall only a couple of days to clear Portia Rizzo, but I already knew she’s not who we’re looking for. That was just a precaution. Confirming her innocence put my mind at ease. Though I’ll never admit to her or my mother that I had Portia looked into. I’d never hear the end of it from them.
Family. Loyalty. Trust.
Lazaro’s a Pontrelli on his mother’s side. He’s practically family. Two dons have trusted him before me, so what gives me the right to question his loyalty? I don’t have a shred of evidence on the man.
Even if I did decide to forcefully question Lazaro, I’d need the other dons’ permission. There are rules, procedures for these types of situations. A boss turning against his underboss can create ripple effects through the entire organization. I can’t allow any suspicion of discord between us until I have more information—from a third party.
I have enough to deal with right now anyway. Julius’s death could destabilize my position if it’s not carefully handled. We need to find his killer. I also must choose a new consigliere.
By the time I get home late at night, I’m exhausted and worried. This is the first attack that’s resulted in death. Even though the other dons and I are not all in agreement that Julius’s death and our other recent issues are the work of the same enemy. I guarantee it is. I’d stake my life on it.
And if it is the same masked enemy, then they’re escalating and it’s only a matter of time before they take out other members of the leading council. Our families are being picked off from the top down.
All of this has to wait until morning. What I need right now is sleep.
