Once again, he reviewed the conversation he’d had with Giuseppe about tonight’s meeting. Giuseppe had claimed he’d made the connection, so he had completed his participation. Even though Enzo had personally spoken to the thief, neither of them wanted to divulge too much. Enzo didn’t blame him. If he were in the other man’s place, he wouldn’t be chatting with the person who had Ernie either.
He had a strong sense the thief was just another intermediary. Too many players involved made Enzo uncomfortable. He didn’t like negotiations when it wasn’t really negotiating with the person involved.
He’d learned the hard way that those could go wrong.
One thing about being part ofLa Famiglia, dealing directly always brought a better result. In fact, he was rather infamous for it. He had a reputation for being a very slick businessman, and if you didn’t do his deals or went against him, he was known for enforcing punishment as well.
Realistically, he was just a mirror of Jameson Drake, only on the illegal side of things. It didn’t change the business. The sametypes of rules applied, and he and Jamie discussed them over plenty of drinks.
He didn’t have the money Jamie had… Not many people did, but Enzo was wealthy in his own right. He’d accumulated more money than he’d ever thought he’d make, and more than he’d ever really spent. But he figured he would look forward to spending it in his retirement. Retirement, however, was turning out to be far more boring than he anticipated.
Maybe it was because he’d spent all those years working his way to the top and he’d had to multitask all the time, but he just couldn’t seem to fill his days. He sighed. That wasn’t true. It was more because he’d grown accustomed to living life on a knife’s edge, and he wasn’t sure what to do now that he didn’t have to, or at least it wasn’t as fine an edge.
He thought back to his last conversation with his former ‘boss.’ What a joke. Everyone knew it was actually Enzo who ran the Rinaldi family. He had the former head of the family’s ear and blessing. Massimo not only liked Enzo but trusted him as well, which is more than could be said for the grandson who took over the family when Massimo decided to get out.
Rocco Rinaldi was a disaster. He was too unpredictable. too volatile. He had a quick, violent temper and no affinity for patience. Enzo had planned on getting out when the old man had, but Massimo begged him to stay and help Rocco run things. Reluctantly, Enzo had agreed and then lasted under six months. That was all he could take. He’d had nightmares more pleasant than Rocco. The man was not fit to run the family, and everyone, including his grandfather, knew it. No amount of guidance Enzo could provide would change that.
Rocco did not fight him on his retirement. As a matter of fact, he was happy to see the back of Enzo. Rocco considered Enzo a threat, which made for a very difficult situation, one Enzo was lucky to escape from with his life.
At least he had the rest of his life to do something else. That’s what he kept telling himself. That’s what Jamie said: try something else, but a legit business. So, he bought wineries. While they were fun, it wasn’t really enough to keep him busy.
It struck him how similar he was to Kathleen as far as being alone in a crowd. In all honesty, he had never thought of himself as lonely, and it wasn’t that he was lonely for female companionship. He had as much of that as he could ever want. What he lacked was friendship. Family.Realfamily.
Although he had acquaintances and friends within his crime family,they weren’t true friends, and he didn’t trust any of them. He’d been thinking for a while about maybe moving back to America. He hadn’t lived there in years and years, but maybe that was the answer. Build a life over there. He hadn’t really decided.
He glanced at Kathleen. Of course, if he were there, he could spend more time with her. That thought smacked him out of left field, and he inhaled sharply. He needed to put the brakes on that train of thought. Kathleen was the sister of the only man he considered a true friend. Screwing that up was not an option.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and took note once again of a black SUV. It had been with him for the last five miles. This wasn’t an overly busy road, but it wasn’t deserted either. The SUV could easily be going to Milan or any point in the south, just as he was. But it made him nervous, and he vowed to keep an eye on it. His primary goal was to keep Kathleen safe, and he was willing to do just about anything to make that happen.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sunlight flashed between the trees in blinding bursts. A lake shimmered silver-blue. Idyllic. The type of drive he loved if there wasn’t someone following them.
Enzo kept the wheel steady, eyes fixed on the asphalt. The mirror confirmed what he already knew. The black SUV was still behind them. Only now it was starting to gain on them. They’d lost the other car that had been between them at the last village. Now the road was empty except for the two of them.
He pressed the accelerator and the car leapt forward, engine growling. The SUV matched him, its glossy black shape looming larger with every turn.
“Someone’s following us, aren’t they?” Kathleen’s voice was tight.
“Yes. Hold on.” He didn’t want to frighten her, but he had no choice. The SUV was coming fast. Thirty seconds later, his head jerked forward as their bumper was rammed. The jolt rattled the frame. Kathleen gasped, clutching the dashboard, but Enzo didn’t flinch. He pressed harder on the accelerator, forced the car into the bend, carrying serious speed. Sunlight flaredoff the guardrail as it rushed by mere inches from the mirror. Thankfully, his car sat on the curves like a hen on a nest.
The SUV dropped back as the driver started to skid in the turn. He swung wide in a spray of dust and gravel, then corrected. Enzo grimaced. It would’ve been so easy if the SUV had gone over the side. Life never worked out in the easy way.
The road pitched down, curling toward the lake. Enzo kept the accelerator down and braked late for the next turn, rear tires skimming the cliff’s edge before gripping again. They shot toward the middle of the road. The SUV copied the maneuver. Sloppy, but it stayed with him.
Then, just ahead of them, the glare of headlights. An oncoming truck roared toward them, sunlight glaring off its chrome grill.
Enzo cut back into his lane, engine roaring. The truck’s horn blasted the air as it thundered past, close enough that the slipstream rocked the car sideways. Kathleen cried out and grabbed the oh-shit bar over the window.
The SUV swerved behind them, trying to match Enzo’s maneuvers. Sparks flew as it scraped the guardrail, then swayed back into line.
Enzo swore and forced his speed higher. Afternoon heat shimmered off the road, turning the asphalt into a wavering mirage. The SUV used the straight-away to close in, then lunged alongside. Metal shrieked as the SUV’s front bumper clipped their rear quarter, shoving them toward the drop where sunlight glared off the lake far below. The guardrail loomed. One more push and they’d go over.
“Enzo!” Kathleen’s voice cracked.
He snapped the wheel to the left, slamming their car into the SUV. The jolt shook through his arms, tires screaming against the pavement. The SUV skidded wide, rear tires spitting gravel into the sunlit void. For an instant, it hovered on the precipice,and then tipped, and slid out of sight down the embankment, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
“Oh my God! Enzo!” Kathleen yelled as she looked back over her shoulder.
