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He pulled a folded piece of paper from his inner jacket pocket and tossed it onto the bar table between us. "Found out who has been leaking confidential information to the judge."
I snatched the papers and scanned them. "My father?"
He nodded, paying close attention to me. "Your father."
Not appreciating his assessing scrutiny, I turned my back on him and paced a few steps away.
I knew my father was trying to turn the board against me in an attempt to wrestle control of the House of Diamanti back, but…this?
I shook my head as I threw the stack of papers onto the ground, the pages scattering.
Pointing to them, I said, "This has to be a mistake."
"I don't make mistakes, my friend."
Anyone who was familiar with Benedict Cavalieri's more clandestine skills would never question the information he'd learned.
I ran my hand through my hair, tugging at the roots. "The shit in those documents would send him to prison for the rest of his life. Why would he hand them over to the judge?"
Benedict shrugged. "Apparently he made a nice little deal for himself. Anything that incriminates him will be blamed on you. He was also the one who tipped off the judge about Sabrina's schedule and movements for the kill team."
My father had never approved of my plan to marry Sabrina to keep the judge under control, always preferring to just hand her over to her father to be killed.
Christ. This was all my fucking fault.
The entire time I'd been fighting to keep the House of Diamanti, my own father had been planning its downfall. No doubt so he could play the conquering hero returning to save it.
I rubbed my hand over my jaw, the stubble rough against my palm, then lifted my glass to my lips.
Seeing that it was empty, I shouldered Benedict out of the way. "Fucking family."
He stood there in silence while I poured another drink.
Finally, he asked, "Is there something else going on that I should be aware of?"
"It's my problem to handle."
He picked up a ball and tossed it down the bocce court, where it struck the pallino with targeted precision. "Your problems are my problems. You should know that by now."
"I'm not my father. I didn't help your family so that you'd owe me a debt later."
"No one is suggesting you did."
I stared down at the amber liquid in my glass, rotating my wrist and watching it swirl. "It's…personal."
I wasn't going to tell him about Sabrina's refusal to marry me.
He smirked. "Got caught in your own honey trap, did you?"
Before I could respond, he stepped toward me and placed a hand on my shoulder, then winked. "It happens to the best of us."
I was fully aware of his initial animosity toward his now wife and his original intention of seducing her to gain information about her family's mafia connections, then ditching her. His plan had changed after meeting her.
"It's complicated." The understatement of the fucking century.
"Women always are, my friend." Sympathy resonated in his voice, alongside amusement.
I bent down to pick up the papers again.