Rodrigo's jaw tightened. Inside job again. The thought was a cold knife in his back. "Do you have an ID?"
"Working on it," Leo muttered. He zoomed in further, but the figure's face was obscured by a hood pulled low, the features lost in pixelated shadow. "Male, roughly six feet. Athletic. Moves like a soldier."
"So it's one of the mercenaries and not a servant?" Dante asked.
"Highly possible," Leo conceded grimly. He switched screens, pulling up the roster of Colleoni soldiers currently stationed at the villa. Faces and names scrolled by. "Cross-referencing height, weight, known skills, and who had access or opportunity during the shift change near the East Wing service corridor. I have a shortlist of three possibilities."
He highlighted three faces on the screen: Marco Conti, Giorgio Bianchi, and Luca Moretti. All capable men who were trusted enough to patrol the inner perimeter.
Rodrigo studied the faces. Marco, a veteran with a steady gaze. Giorgio, younger, ambitious. Luca, quiet, efficient.
Any one of them could be the leak.The thought curdled in his gut. Betrayal from within always hurts the most.
"Whoever he is, we need to know where he went and who he could be meeting."
"Agreed," Leo replied, scratching at his stubble. "But if we send a team after him now we risk spooking whoever he's reporting to. We will blow the chance to trace whoever's pulling the strings."
Rodrigo nodded, the strategist in him overriding the furious impulse to hunt the traitor down immediately. "Discreet surveillance. Eyes only. We track him, see where he leads us, and extract him and whoever he is with."
"Send Dario and Fred," Dante suggested. "They will be able to get in and out without alerting anyone else in the compound that there's a leak. If we send other guys, then they could be friends with Luca and call him."
Rodrigo considered it. Dario was his best tracker, resourceful and adaptable, and Frederica was a highly paid assassin, lethal and untraceable. Their simmering antagonism might actually work in their favor, keeping them sharp.
"Do it. Tell them to maintain minimal contact until they can tranquilize him and whoever he is meeting. I want to know where he's off to and why he would risk my anger. If it's just a tryst with a lover, that's one thing, but if it's something more serious, I need to know."
Leo nodded. "Let me get a proper ID, and then I will go wake up Dario."
Rodrigo stared at the three faces on Leo's screen. The Colleoni mercenary core relied on loyalty, ruthlessly enforced. This felt like a personal failure of his leadership.
Rodrigo pushed back from the table, the chair legs scraping harshly. "Keep me updated."
"Rodrigo." Leo's voice stopped him as he turned to leave. His brother's gaze was knowing. "Your bedroom door isn't locked, you know."
Rodrigo stiffened. He didn't need Leo spelling it out.
"I have work to do," he growled, the lie tasting bitter.
Leo just raised an eyebrow, Dante hid a smile, and even Iz paused her card reading, her dark eyes flicking toward him with quiet understanding.
"She's probably asleep," Leo offered, his tone softening fractionally. "Besides, the performance includes cohabitation, remember? The hacker's probably expectingsomedomestic bliss on the internal feeds by now."
"Especially after that show-stopper of a pash you two had," Dante added.
Rodrigo scowled. He knew he couldn't avoid his rooms, or it would look suspicious.
"Fine," he muttered. "Wake me up if Dario finds anything."
"Go get her, tiger," Dante teased.
"Idiota." Rodrigo flipped him off, but it only made his future brother-in-law laugh like a hyena.
The walk back to his room was unnervingly short. He paused outside the door, his hand hovering over the handle.
What if she's awake and furious? What if she looks at me with disgust now that the heat of the moment has passed?
He, Rodrigo Colleoni, who faced down armies without flinching, was terrified of one beautiful woman.
He took a slow, deep breath and turned the handle. It wasn't locked after all. The door swung open silently on well-oiled hinges.
