“Sorry. I wasn’t exactly close,” he says in lieu of an apology.
“I know where you were,” I say. “I sent you there.”
“Then why do you look annoyed?”
“Because these damn people wouldn't get out of my office until you got here.”
“I apologize for not teleporting.”
Tomasso looks over. “Weak excuse.”
Matteo gives him a flat look and takes his place near the wall.
The room quiets, and everyone turns to Diego.
My family. My blood.
I look at Diego. “Now.”
“We found Bellandi,” Diego starts.
Every muscle in the room seems to tighten at once.
“Once his attempt on Victoria at the park failed, he moved fast,” Tomasso says. “Jumped locations multiple times in a few days, burned all his regular contacts. He used a new one he probably thought no one could connect him to.”
“But we did,” Diego says.
“Where?” Ricardo asks.
“Safe house near the edge of the city,” Tomasso says. “Industrial stretch. Not much around it. Easy road access. Cash inside. False papers. He was planning to skip town.”
My hand closes over the arm of my chair.
“And where is he now?”
Tomasso looks at Diego.
Diego looks at me.
I already know.
“Dead,” Tomasso says.
Silence.
I tilt my head slightly. “Dead.”
“Yes.”
“I specifically said I wanted him alive.”
“We are aware,” Diego says.
My voice lowers. “Then explain why he’s dead.”
“We did not make him that way,” Tomasso says.
Lorenzo’s expression hardens. “Then who did?”
