Page 34 of Love & Power

“Master Raffa has been Don of this family pretty much my whole life. He’s been one of the better leaders from what I understand, but in the past decade, Master Raffa hasn’t lifted a finger to stop the attacks on those who give their loyalty to the Raffa Family. We knew about you and that you were the heir to the Raffa line, but that was all we knew. So those who felt neglected and unheard turned to others who would hear them out. Since I’m a second cousin to you, Madam Raffa, I have grounds to put a claim on running the Family. To be clear, that is the last thing I want, but I wasn’t going to stand by either,” Zani admitted. “I believe you are the person who needs to lead this Family. With that being said, it would be an honor to work alongside you and your men to bring back the respect to the Raffa name.”

Okay, that had not been what I’d expected to come out of asking him to help. Holy shit, did Gramps know there’d almost been a coup within the family? Nope, no, no, there is only enough room for one crisis at a time between the two of us.

Reaching out a hand to Zani, I smiled as he took it. “It’s nice to meet you, cousin, and I look forward to working with you to bring those bastards down.”

After talking with the staff, I brought Zani to the sitting room the guys were hanging out in with far more comfortable furniture. Files scattered over the coffee table made me curious about what they were reading. Picking one up, I flipped it open to see a listing for a house in another city.

“Frediano gave us all the information on the Raffa properties since most of them were downstairs,” Luca shared. “Figured while you were busy, we could get started on this. He included the rental properties as well so we’re sorting through what’s occupied and what places we can use. Some of it is just land that’s been inherited over the years.”

I grinned as I dropped the file back on the table. “Could it be that you guys are getting bored?”

“Since we have to keep a low profile, it helps to have something to work on,” Ryker pointed out. “Who’s your friend?”

“Guys, this is my second cousin, Zani. I’ve asked him to help me with some information gathering,” I shared. “Hound, I need you and Zani to come up with a secure way for any Raffa loyal to send us information.”

Hound dropped his feet where they were sitting on the couch’s armrest and sat up. “I’m gonna need a little more detail than that. Are you wanting it to be a mobile platform or computer access?”

Deferring to Zani, I waited for him to answer. “Is it possible to have both? Most people have a cell phone, but not every area has great service, so a computer would be more reliable.”

“It’s possible but makes it a little more complicated,” Hound said, chewing on one of his lip rings. “I suppose if I set up an encrypted chat room for them to access, that could be done on either device. What is the goal of this communication?”

“Those loyal to the Raffa Family are having a hard time sitting on the sidelines, so I figured if they could be our eyes and ears, we could cover more ground. This needs to be a place where they can share the information they learn but not have it discovered or traced back to the people giving the info,” I explained.

Braxton let out a laugh, clapping his hands together. “Damn, that is fucking brilliant. God, your brain is so damn sexy. I love how you come up with these ideas. Are you going to include the Zuccaro people too?”

“Ah…” I started. “You know, I hadn’t thought that far just yet, but it makes sense to gather all the information we can.”

“Luna, can I suggest something?” Hound asked.

My brows shot up, surprised he was bothering to ask instead of just voicing his opinion. “Sure.”

“Let me build whatever it is that will work best and test it on people we know are loyal to the cause. Once we know it’s as secure as I can make it, then we bring more people into the mix,” Hound suggested. “I’m not saying our allies can’t be trusted, but I think it’s smarter to limit the chance of discovery.”

“He makes a good point,” Zani agreed. “I know these people. Many of them have come to me with various concerns that I’ve brought to Master Raffa. Even within our own group, there are some I wouldn’t trust to share this with simply because they will take it too far. We need to keep the fact we’re collecting information on those families close to the chest, ensuring people act normally, and some wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Nodding in agreement, Hound grabbed a file, flipped it over, and started to scribble notes. “We’ll need to send out specifically generated codes that allow a single person to share information. This way, we can track exactly who’s sharing what and where they’re located. I can link it to a cell number and IP address to their computer, making it impossible to log in on another device.”

I knew we’d lost the man for the rest of the day, but there wasn’t anyone else I would trust to make this happen. “I think it’s safe to say he’s all over this project,” I commented to Zani. “Do you live on the property?”

“Actually, I live on the second floor with my wife, Sienna,” he shared. “We were appointed to watch over this property since this location holds so much value to the Raffa Family. I’m just a man who prefers to be hands-on in his work, so I became the handyman of the place, if you will.”

“Oh,” I answered, completely caught off guard. “Why in the world haven’t you been joining us for breakfast or even seen you in the halls?”

Zani ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “Master Raffa ordered that only house staff could be in the house while you settled in. So we’ve been staying in one of the rental houses on the property.”

“Well, enough of that. You and your wife live here full-time, and I’m the guest,” I reasoned. “Who else did he kick out of their homes?”

“Just us,” Zani assured me. “All the others live in staff housing.”

“Thank fuck.” I sighed. “Does your wife work on the property too?”

“No, she is a local hair stylist in town. I came here as a single man who needed a haircut for my new role of estate caretaker and met the love of my life,” Zani shared, chuckling. “Talk about a small-town romance.”

That had to be one of the most wholesome love stories I’d ever heard. “I look forward to meeting her tonight. Well, I won’t keep you from whatever work you need to get done, but at least it will be easy for you and Hound to connect on this project.”

Zani grinned and shook my hand again. “I’ll admit you’re even more impressive than the rumors make you out to be, Lady Astin. Makes me glad I trusted Master Raffa to make the right choice for the Family. It would have been a huge mistake for me to take control when you are clearly the better option.”

Unsure how to respond to that, I just smiled and nodded, watching him leave the room. Atticus stepped up beside me and urged me to sit on the couch behind me. Once seated, he offered me a glass of water and settled next to me.