Startled out of his trance, Lincoln blinked over at him. “Hmm…what?”
“What is it, Linc?”
He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when they pulled to the curb in front of the popular pizza place. His security detail scrambled to secure his entry inside. Probably to Lincoln, his routine may have been a distraction. But for Victor, it was simply his way of life.
The back door of the SUV was opened, but Victor remained still. Lincoln hadn’t answered his question.
“Linc?” Victor prompted. He blew out a frustrated breath and nudged him with an elbow.
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something Donatella said.” Lincoln waved his hand toward the street.
“You plan on getting out?”
Victor narrowed his eyes at his brother. His behavior was evasive. But, since there were a handful of armed, attention-grabbing men and women standing just outside the door, he let it go and climbed out of the SUV. “Wewillfinish this conversation,” he warned when Lincoln joined him.
Lincoln shrugged and walked ahead of him into the pizzeria. A hostess led them to a small area for private parties. Victor Sr. stood at their entry and smiled. Victor smiled in return, noting that his dad was standing as tall as he and Lincoln. He still had a good head of their signature thick, dark hair, and his green eyes were still as luminous as they’d been in his youth.
Lincoln made it to their father first. As usual, they shook before hugging. Senior managed to be formal and affectionate at the same time.
“Good to see you, son.”
“You too, Dad.”
He kissed Lincoln’s cheek before releasing him. When Victor walked over to him, he was given the same greeting. Victor unfastened the button on his suit coat and took a seat at the table. Lincoln seemed comfortable, casually dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and boots.
“So, what’d you come up with?” Victor asked his dad, eager to get to the bottom of the bogus investigation.
Lincoln looked from Victor to Victor with confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“I asked Dad to looked into my so-called pending indictment.”
“Oh.” Lincoln frowned. “Have you talked to Storm?”
“Of course, I have. He put in some calls, and the indictment was suspended the next day. But, here’s the thing. He says he had nothing to do with it. The investigation concluded before he even made the first phone call.”
“And he didn’t know why?”
“Nope,” Victor responded, shaking his head.
“And, neither do I,” Victor Sr. admitted. “I’ve used every connection that I have to find out what initiated this investigation. Whatever it is, it’s bigger than me.”
Since his dad was a retired United States senator with endless connections, that was really saying something. Of course, Victor could just be grateful that the witch hunt had ended, but that wasn’t who he was. If someone was out to get him, he wanted to know exactly who it was.
