“With the Altera family or Vincenzo?”
“Both.”
“I need to find out what Arturo has overPapà. Now that things are stabilized here with the Chamber and we’re no longer warring amongst ourselves, I can afford to kick the hornet’s nest and reveal that my signature was forged on the document.”
“You’d have to outPapàthen.” Then he sees where I’m going with this. “To prevent that from becoming public knowledge, he’d be forced to tell you what’s really going on and what’s at the root of all this.”
“Hopefully.”
“And Vincenzo?”
I glance at my watch. “I imagine he’s en route here as we speak. Arturo would’ve called him like a little bitch to expose that I have Gina. He knew she was missing, and Vincenzo was looking for her.”
“I can’t believe that he would want Gina for the reasons Caruso told her. Not that I’m doubting Gina; it’s just that…none of this makes sense.”
“And it won’t make sense in the next four to five hours.” I incline my chin toward the door. “Go get some sleep.”
He reluctantly stands. “You need some rest, too. You have to bring your A-game with Vincenzo andPapà.” He walks over to me and pulls me in for a hug. “I have your back in whatever you need, Tommaso.”
“That means the world to me, Marco.”
“You need to get some sleep, too,” he repeats before leaving my office.
I stare at my closed door before I reach over my desk and grab my phone and dial Johnathon, even though it’s the middle of the night.
He answers on the second ring, “Tommaso? Is everything okay with Gina?”
“She’s sleeping. I need you to be over here, though, by seven.”
“In the morning?” he asks, clearing the sleep fogging his mind. “If Gina needs me, I can come now.”
“She’s fine, but when she wakes, I want a tracker put in her.”
Silence meets me before he exhales heavily. “Did Gina agree to this?” But he adds before I can reply, “Never mind. I know how this works. I’ll be there.”
“Thank you. Good night.” I hang up my phone.
It doesn’t matter if Gina agrees to having a tracker or not.
Because I have four potential threats against her—Arturo, Caruso, Vincenzo, and possibly my own father. Inserting a tracker in my wife is the least of the bad things I’ll do to keep her safe.
Because when it comes to protecting her, nothing is off the table.
Chapter 37
Gina
Isiptheorangejuice, not having much appetite as Etta tries to coax me to eat. I’m trying to ignore the ache in my hip where Johnathon inserted a tracker at Tommaso’s insistence.
At least he didn’t have to slice me open; it was some spy-worthy kind of tech that could be inserted with a needle. But I’m still salty with Tommaso.
A part of me swoons that he isn’t stopping at anything to keep me safe, while another part argues that he’s trying to manipulate and control me, and I’ll never be free of him.
Not that I want to be free of Tommaso, but what if heislying to me about everything? That we really aren’t married, and that he still plans to marry Rosa.
My self-doubt is crippling.
I’m sitting on the balcony off our bedroom, wrapped in a blanket. Yesterday’s storm is over, but it’s still overcast and cool. Etta sits across from me and pushes the plate of fruit toward me, and I shake my head.
