Page 28 of The Strength Of A Woman

And Everett is not.

Maybe they went after the low-hanging fruit.

Yeah, maybe.

Maybe they didn’t want to make it look suspicious.

Whenever dead bodies start to pile up, some busybody in the FBI assembles a team and goes after the people responsible for it.

I have little information on Joseph O’Connor’s past.

Can’t tell whether he’d worked with the Gallos or not.They’re tight-lipped. And Bianca didn’t share much.

The only thing I got from her was that the man had a wild streak and a hard time keeping it in check.

Color me shocked. Not really. She never wanted to confess to who exactly called it quits.

She insisted it was mutual, which I find hard to believe. But her family spared his life.

So, there’s that.

Cosimo’s phone rings just as I finish my dessert and drink more wine.

He answers the call, and just as fast, he moves his eyes to me.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, his stare not leaving mine.

For the next few moments, he only nods and gives cryptic answers to the person at the other end of the line, who seems to be a woman.

“I’m not sure about that,” he says, his eyes drilling into mine. “Probably not,” he goes on, and I gesture at him.

“Who is that?” I ask.

“Nona.”

He palms his phone.

“Leilani needs to talk to you.”

“In what matter?”

“She doesn’t know the details. All she knows is that Leilani wants to see you here in town.”

“No,” I say quickly, tilting my head down and threading my fingers through my hair before massaging my neck.

This woman.

Nona speaks again, and I hear her arguing, trying to make a good case about it.

There is nothing good about meeting Leilani, though.

Sylvia Gallo is already looking at me with suspicious eyes. I spent too much time with Leilani last night. Plus, her granddaughter was practically naked in front of me.

Not to mention they’re looking to marry her away.

The optics are bad, and there is no good reason to let Leilani be close to me again.

If anything more than my running my eyes over her body happens, we might as well set our world on fire.