I told them about the supposedly mistaken food delivery the day before.
“I’ll bet that was him,” Dante said.
“Are you sure he’s still in prison?” Sal asked.
“I don’t know. Jeremy never said he got a letter notifying him he’d gotten out.”
“Name?” Sal demanded.
“Paul Langer.” Oh fuck. It felt like all the blood drained from my face. My knees started to give out, and I would have gone down if Hunter hadn’t grabbed hold of my arm and guided me to the sofa. “The email Greg got was from someone calling themselves Paul Jameson.”
“Gio’s checking the police database.”
“How the…” I stopped and shook my head. I didn’t want to know. I was kicking myself. I’d never given my past cases any thought. It never occurred to me that it could have something to do with me. This was my fault.
“Nope,” Dante said emphatically.
I blinked and stared at him. “What?”
He shook his head. “I know that expression. You’re blaming yourself. It’s not your fault. This Paul guy is a sick fuck who should have never seen the light of day after he got caught.”
“But…”
“He’s right,” Hunter said.
“Found him,” Gio announced. “Paul Langer was released from prison on February tenth. His listed address is in Brooklyn. He has a criminal no-contact order for Jeremy Fitzgerald and the other two men he stalked.” He got up from the table, bringing his laptop with him. He turned it so I could see the screen. “Do you recognize him?”
My breath caught in my throat. It was the man from Central Park.
CHAPTER FORTY
TONY
I launched myself off the sofa. “I’m gonna kill him,” I growled.
Dante grabbed my bicep. “Easy there, Rambo. Let’s dial it back a notch. We have to find him first.”
When the fog of my rage lifted, I saw Gio staring at me wide-eyed, his laptop clutched close to his chest, and Alessandro glaring at me like he wanted to rip my head off. Sal was staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. My cousin raised a brow. “You done with the dramatics, Anthony?”
“Dammit,” I whispered. I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, I looked over at Gio. “I’m so sorry I frightened you. I was out of line.”
Gio nodded. “It’s okay. I know you’re scared.”
“That’s no excuse,” Alessandro snapped.
I was inclined to agree with him, but both Hunter and Dante stiffened, prepared to defend me. Before I could intervene, Sal stepped in front of me. “Anthony, go call your brothers. They should know what’s going on.”
“What? No,” I protested. “I need to make a plan.”
Dante put his right arm around my shoulders. “Boss, you brought us here for a reason. Hunter and I have experienceplanning this kind of operation. Let us do our jobs. You’re too close to this. You’re not thinking clearly.”
I wanted to object, I really did. But he was right. I sighed. “Okay. I’ll call my brothers. But you have to keep me posted about everything.”
“Of course,” Dante replied. “That goes without saying.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I’ll be in my bedroom.” Halfway across my living room, I turned back to Dante. “And don’t think you’re going to get away with managing me any time after this.”
He put up his hands in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it, boss man.”
