CHAPTER 56 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
Two days later...
“IT’S DEFINITELY DESERTED.” Cal flips his phone around on my desk to flick through the handful of pictures he took at today’s recce at Carnforth House.
“The bodies have been removed.” I zoom in on the picture of the kitchen floor where the two guards lay and Arianna killed her brother. “There’s no trace of anything. It’s been cleaned and cleaned well.”
“Yeah, and it wasn’t us going around being Mrs Mop,” Liam sneers, “so who the fuck was it?”
I pull hard on my cigarette. “Other members of Matteo and Luca’s supposed ‘order’, I presume. But that there’s no sign of them now and the massive estate remains deserted and closed up leads me to the conclusion that they’ve disbanded.”
My brothers and Cal weren’t happy to learn that me and Arianna took the job on alone. Not being happy about that was an understatement. Liam especially was furious that I’d risked everything with “that inexperienced woman”.
That was until I told them that Arianna was the one who’d taken Matteo out and done so with a chilling panache to rival any of us.
News travels fast within my firm, and overnight my entire workforce has developed a triple respect for my gorgeous wife.
If only I’d removed Luca, things would be perfect, but Luca Bristoni still being in the land of the living is something that bothers us all.
“Regarding Luca... Do you think Arianna is right, and he isn’t dangerous alone?” Oscar asks.
I frown. That question has been needling me for the two days since the bastard evaded me.
And as for who else they have enlisted to work on their behalf is another thing worrying me.
They are nameless, and until I know who they are, despite what Arianna believes, I can’t rest. “I won’t pretend I wouldn’t feel better if he were dead, but from everything that’s been said, Matteo was the driving force. Luca is, well, a nobody.”
But a nobody who is still obsessed with my wife - and that grates.
“I’ve done some digging on the twat and there’s been no sign of him. He’s gone to ground, but he did that before, remember?” Oscar helps himself to a glass of whiskey from my decanter, leaving me to toy with having another glass myself.
“But Matteo was around then. What has Luca got now if the other members of their weirdo cult have jumped ship on Matteo’s death?” Liam shrugs. “It seems to me Luca was only involved due to this all-important bloodline crap.”
I nod. “I don’t disagree, yet I’d be lying if I said we’ll never hear from him again.”
“Well, that none of you are holed up in that terrace in Wimbledon anymore shows you’re confident enough that you won’t hear from him anytime soon.”
Liam studies me, almost waiting for me to jump down his throat, but he’s right. It is good to be back at the Scorpio and good that Arianna is now back where she should always have been.
Even Maria accompanying us isn’t enough to dampen my spirits because my connection with Arianna has gotten stronger every day. I never thought to have a woman as my equal in my bed or my life, but I’ve got one and I love it. I love her.
“Hey, just look at the dozy grin on his face!” Liam jibes. “Mr Loverman’s back!”
“Oh, fuck off!” I chuck a stapler at my brother’s head, but my smile remains.
“How is the sister now?” Cal asks.
“Still extremely irritating, I expect!” Liam makes no bones about his dislike for Maria Galvatore. He dislikes her almost as much as he originally disliked Arianna, but for different reasons.
“Maria’s okay.” I shoot Liam a suitable warning glare. “Obviously, she’s shaken up, and it took a day before the drugs they gave her were out of her system, but Arianna’s been keeping an eye on her. She’s with her now upstairs.”
“What sort of fuckwit chooses to hand themselves over to those cunts in the first place though?” Liam scratches his head. “That’s the bit that gets me. That chick isn’t right in the head!”
“Maria’s different to us, I agree. But Arianna told me the girl feels guilty as hell for putting us in that position. Naive maybe, but she’s got a heart. She thought she was helping.”
“Helping?” Liam chokes on his whiskey. “Fuck me! With friends like that, we can bin off our enemies!”
I shake my head in slight amusement. As much as it aggravates me, I’ve missed the banter. I’ve missed being with my brothers, men and back in the driving seat.
Cal looks up from his mobile. “I’ve just received further word from another of my scouts.
There’s been more mentions of additional men jumping Emiliano Galvatore’s ship.
That’s the third report today. Although nothing’s been publicly announced, it’s going around on the grapevine that Matteo is dead and that we’re behind it. ”
“We haven’t made a claim to it,” I frown.
Liam eyes me cautiously. “Then maybe we should. Or is that not what you want to do?”
“I’m happy to,” I shrug. “But as you know, it wasn’t me who killed the man. Arianna has that accolade.”
Everyone nods, their respect for Arianna at an all-time high after learning what she did that night.
“I haven’t heard from Galvatore senior, and I thought I might have done by now.” A slight smile breaks my frown. “Maybe he’s too busy at the job center recruiting replacement staff?”
Yeah, I’m joking, but how will Emiliano Galvatore react when he learns his golden son has been gunned down? And gunned down by a daughter he clearly resents.
What will that trigger?
I don’t know, but all of us here, although retaliation hasn’t been mentioned, are thinking the same thing. And we’re ready.