27. Matteo
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MATTEO
T he guy didn’t live here.
And I knew that because it was my fucking building and I knew every single tenant. They weren’t just regular people, everyone leasing a flat here had connections to our criminal world and worked in it. That guy didn’t.
I could say with certainty, despite the fact that I didn’t get a good look at him.
Then there was the fact that Ari was visibly shaken by the encounter. Not wanting to spook her, I discreetly messaged the building manager and demanded he send me the surveillance footage from the past hour.
Once we reached the penthouse, I turned the key and punched in my code, the elevator doors sliding open. My hand at the small of her back, I urged Ari inside.
“Want something to drink?”
Her eyes darted around, studying the space around us. “This place is huge. Very sleek and modern.”
“Francesca insisted on decorating,” I muttered. “It was during that stage when she thought that might be her calling.”
She chuckled uncomfortably. “Well, she’s going to be a lawyer now, so you can kiss the free redecorating goodbye.”
“We’ll see.” My lips twitched. “How about that drink, Ari?”
“Ah, sure. Whatever you have.”
I headed into the kitchen and poured her a glass of wine and myself a bourbon before heading back into the living room, where I found Ari standing by the large windows.
“Here.”
She took the glass, flicking me a look. “This view is stunning.”
“It’s the main reason I bought it.” The run-down building and surrounding three lots it used to sit on were unrecognizable once I’d torn it all down and had this skyscraper built. The top two floors had views stretching so far you could see the Statue of Liberty. It was the reason Francesca had muscled her way into owning the floor below me. Honestly, I didn’t mind because I wanted her close.
Not that we stayed here much.
“You okay?”
She turned to face me. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“That man in the lobby?—”
She waved her hand. “I told you. I don’t know him. He’s nobody.”
I watched her for a beat, waiting to see if she’d change her answer. She didn’t.
“Don’t you trust me, Ari?”
She shifted, lowering her head. That alone told me more than any of her words could.
“Of course I do,” she finally said. I conjured all my self-restraint not to call her bluff. There had to be a reason she was staying tight-lipped, and I intended to uncover it. “Did you handle whatever you needed to?”
I had to hand it to her, it was a smooth subject change.
“No, not yet.”
“Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here. Is that okay?”
If it wasn’t an item that required my immediate attention, I would have protested.
“Yes. If you need me, I’ll be just down the hall, first door on the right.” I started to head that way, then stopped. “Should I have dinner delivered or would you prefer to go out?”
Her back was to me, tension in her shoulders visible from here. “Dinner here would be perfect.”
Once in the office, I powered up my laptop as I dialed Nikola and Gabriel.
“Took you long enough,” was Nikola’s answer.
“What do you have for me?”
They got right to it, likely registering my abrupt tone.
“The money used to pay the guards… Get this, it came from a corporation called Belles and Mobsters. A shell company, based out of the Bahamas.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, yes and no,” Gabriel answered.
“Pull up the email I sent you,” Nikola chimed in.
My fingers flew across the keyboard as I set up my VPN and logged into my main server. Once inside, I opened the email and clicked on the link. The data started pouring in.
“Holy fuck,” I muttered as I stared at my screen in shock.
“My thoughts exactly,” Nikola grumbled.
“There’s an undercover agent in the FBI working with someone determined to restart the Belles and Mobsters with new and improved auctions,” Gabriel stated the obvious. “It’s uncertain whether the agent has flipped sides.”
“The question is who,” I said. “Who would benefit from it?”
“An heir to the late Benito King?”
Benito King’s only heirs were the children of Bianca Morrelli, Cassio King, and Luca DiMauro.