“Toss him overboard,” I say. “We’re done here.”
Andrea salutes. “Aye-aye, Captain.”
We’re miles from the shore for anyone to suspect anything but deep-sea fishing at night.
Luiggi wraps Dante with a rope he attaches to weights. He and Andrea toss the body overboard, sending our temporary informant to a watery grave.
“Feel better? Or do we need to go back to shore for someone else to kill?” Andrea chides.
“We got what we needed,” I say, ignoring the temptation to spear him with my harpoon. “Did we get an ID on who was with Tino?”
Luiggi shakes his head at his phone. “None of our cameras picked up his face. Only his back when he went to the VIP area.”
Fuck.
“I’ll set up a meeting with Renata,” I say. “There’s something she’s not telling us. Trouble informed me—“
“Trouble.” Andrea grins. “You two have nicknames?”
I glare at him to shut the fuck up. “Women have been disappearing from Eden. There might be a connection between the hits on our warehouses and whoever Tino’s new partner is. Bianca agreed to help.”
“Can we trust her to stay quiet?” Luiggi’s green-gray eyes slide to mine. “We don’t know her. What if she’s working for the Preda, or another of our enemies?”
“She checks out.” Andrea’s mouth is half full of sandwich, like he didn’t just throw a dead body into the sea.
“So we let her into our operations?” Luiggi spits. “We know better than to let pu—“
My hand is around his throat before he can finish the sentence. Luiggi is taller than my six feet, but I have him on muscle. His face flames under strips of moonlight when I squeeze tighter.
“Say it again. I fucking dare you,” I growl.
Luiggi’s brows draw. He drops his hands and stares. Bianca should be just pussy, one of many women whose names I’ll forget over time. Allowing her to see any part of this business exposes us to unnecessary risks. I don’t believe in coincidences, but I believe in fate. There’s a reason she found her way into my life.
Luiggi stumbles when I release his neck. He coughs and straightens his fishing gear with a glare. Our ten-yearpartnership will not save him if he challenges me. My word is final.
“Bianca’s ability to appear trustworthy while extracting information is an asset.” I keep my tone low. “We’ll find out who is working with Tino, make their deaths painful, and continue with our operations. She’ll return to the States.”
Forgotten.
Are you sure about that?
Luiggi shakes his head. “Keeping her is a mistake, Salvatore. I don’t want what you’ve built to fall over…a woman you don’t even love.”
He brushes past Andrea and me.
My phone rings, flashing the number Bianca called when she’d snatched it during our game of hide and seek.
“Ciau.”
“Ciao,my ass! Where is Bianca?”
Andrea’s frown deepens at Stephanie’s shriek. She’s still in the States, per her background check. She bought a ticket to Napoli for next month, likely to stay with Bianca. They’re best friends who grew up together, which means a package deal once she demands to come here.
I hit the speakerphone.
“My girl called me out of breath from this number. Her phone is off, and our grace period to not bother each other should we be put through a mattress is up. Where is she?”
“I assure you Bianca is back at my residence,” I say.
