Rodrigo was happy to see that his brother had finally found someone who understood him. He wondered what it felt like to have that, but he closed that longing down. Just because Giana hadn't killed him yet didn't mean she wouldn't in the future.
Once the coffee, juice, and pastries had been delivered, Leo pulled up a mug shot of a thick-built man with a shaved head.
"This is Vincenzo's lieutenant, Bruno, the one who took a dive off the farmhouse balcony. He was in charge of Luca, andLuca was feeding him patrol schedules, perimeter weak points, specifically targeting the East Wing service entrance."
Rodrigo's gaze sharpened. "The gap."
"The gap," Leo confirmed, pulling up a schematic of the villa grounds on the central screen. A section near the old stables was highlighted in pulsing red.
"Turns out Marco Conti, one of the East Wing patrol leads, wasn't just sloppy. He was paid off. Luca handed him cash packets during shift changes in the blind spot near the old well house. Conti created the 'routine' gap Luca exploited to slip out last night."
"Conti's location?" Rodrigo's voice was dangerously quiet.
"Locked in Cell Two," Dante supplied smoothly. "Pissing himself. Claims he didn't know it was Falcone getting the info, just that the money was good, and Luca promised it was just to see his girlfriend. Bullshit, obviously. He knew exactly whose payroll he was on."
Rodrigo stared at the pulsing red zone on the screen. A small, exploitable weakness had turned into a near-fatal vulnerability because of greed.
Gabriella would have flayed Conti alive and hung his skin on the front gate as a warning. The impulse roared within him, primal and dark. He would keep it in mind.
"Bruno is definitely Vincenzo's man?" Rodrigo asked, forcing the rage down.
"One of his top lieutenants," Leo confirmed. "Handpicked for the job, and Luca was terrified of him. Said he reported directly to Vincenzo, but also mentioned Bruno seemed jumpy lately. Like he was answering to someone else breathing down his neck too. Could be internal Falcone politics. Could be bullshit. Luca wasn't high enough in the chain of command to know for sure."
"But Bruno is dead thanks to Fred and Dario," Dante stated. "So whatever chain Luca was part of, it's severed at the Palermo end."
"And we have Luca and Conti," Rodrigo mused. "Vincenzo knows that and that we know about the betrayal and Giana's torture."
He paced slowly before the screens. Vincenzo would come for them soon. He could feel it in his bones.
"Seal this gap," he ordered, stopping his pacing. "Double patrols on all sectors. Full electronic sweep for any other vulnerabilities we might have missed. No more performance art for whoever is watching. Kick them out of our systems. I want this place locked down tighter than Gabriella's vault."
Leo didn't question it. "Done."
"Conti stays in the cell. Make sure he's comfortable and fed. No more slapping him about. Luca is also a potential future bargaining chip or a source of deeper intel." Dante gave him a curt nod.
"What about the Sicilians?" Leo asked. "Vincenzo won't take Bruno's death or Luca's disappearance lying down. Especially after that call."
"Let him come," Rodrigo said. "He steps onto Colleoni ground, he dies. Send that message through back channels. Make it clear: the engagement stands. Giana is under my protection. Any move against her is a declaration of war against me. I am done playing fucking games with them. Tell the Edgeworths, Altun, and Julian that if they want out, now is the chance to go because I'm locking this place down."
Dante snorted. "You really think we are going to leave when shit is getting interesting? You're dreaming, Rodrigo."
"The offer to go is still there. If the others want to stay, they will be paid," he replied and got up. "I need to go and check on Giana."
"Wear a cup!" Dante called cheerily after him. All things considered, it wasn't bad advice.
Rodrigo foundGiana at her laptop in his lounge room, her eyes fixed on the screen, lost in whatever she was working on. Her hair was out, still drying from her shower, and he wanted to run his fingers through it.
"You are staring," she said, looking up from her screen.
"I was patiently waiting until you were finished," he replied, leaning against the door frame.
"Patient. Rodrigo Colleoni? Doesn't sound right."
If only you knew how patient I've been.
"I wanted to see if you were up for a short walk," he said, suddenly nervous that she would reject him and go back to being angry.
"Is this about the mysterious present you mentioned?" she asked and stretched. Rodrigo did his best not to stare at the shape of her breasts under the T-shirt she wore. "Okay, I'm working on a plan, but I could use a break."
