"Jesus," Alessandro whispers, scanning the pages. "He thought all these people were working with the Russians?"
I lean closer, searching for Pyotr's name. It's not there.
"No Pyotr," I confirm, frowning. "That doesn't make sense. If he wasn't on Dad's radar, why was he so desperate to get this file?"
“Maybe he didn’t want us to see who was on it," Alessandro suggests.
“And to protect his partner, although I don’t see anyone on this list who was here tonight.”
“I wonder if this is why he was killed?”
“I imagine there are many who wanted him dead, but there’s no reason this might not be it.” We need to investigate these names to know for sure. “Let me take this. I’ll figure out who they are. What Dad was into.”
At first I think Alessandro is going to refuse to let me have the list.
“You charged me with finding the mole,” I remind him.
“Fine.” But I still see a storm in his eyes.
“What?” I ask, not in the mood to deal with his suspicions. “You don’t think I?—”
“Not you. Katerina. She and Pyotr were close. I know you’re fuck?—”
“Watch yourself,” I growl in warning.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “The point is, she could know more than she’s let on.”
He’s not wrong, although I can’t bring myself to believe it. “If she did, she’d have said something when Enzo was taken. She might have been close to Pyotr, but Enzo is her son.”
He studies me. “And yours. What do you plan to do about it?”
I frown. “What do you mean? I’m going to be a father.”
He tenses. “So you’re staying?”
“I didn’t say that. And for fuck’s sake, stop worrying that I’m going to challenge you. I don’t want to run the family.”
He relaxes as he goes to sit in his chair, scanning the list of names on the paper again. “You might have to if whoever is after us succeeds in killing me.”
I shake my head. “Prepare Adriano if you’re worried. You’re family and so I’ll always have your back, but no offense, this place isn’t home for me.”
Alessandro’s expression almost seems regretful. Apologetic even. Almost, but not quite. “Right now, we need to focus on the mole.”
“They know they failed, so they’ll likely lie low for a bit, but I’ll find him.”
His brow furrows as his finger stops by a name near the bottom of the page. “What the fuck? Eva Santoro?"
I glance at the name that caught his attention.
It means nothing to me, but Alessandro's reaction tells me I should.
"Who is she?" I lean in, studying the cryptic notes beside her name. Dates, locations, and one word circled repeatedly.Compromised.
“Adriano's girl. The one who vanished three or four years ago."
"Adriano was involved with someone on Dad's watchlist?" The revelation is shocking.
Adriano has always been the most loyal, the most dedicated to family, and definitely not one to fall in love.
