CHAPTER 71 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
THE ONLY LIGHT IN the room is the soft glow of my bedside lamp. “There’s no one on the premises.” My arm remains wrapped around Arianna. “The place has been combed four times.”
And it has. Not just by me, but by all of my men - several times over. The minute I heard that Luca Bristoni had got into my building undetected, it threw every defense I have in place to the wall.
Except Luca hasn’t been in here at all.
I’ve ripped the place apart with my bare hands. It’s a state and will take an age to clear up, but I don’t give a fuck. Nothing is too much hassle when it comes to the safety of my wife.
Adrenalin still throbs even though I’ve ruled out his or anyone else’s presence. No one has been in the Scorpio Lounge who shouldn’t have, and CCTV proves it.
My elation at learning that Dario’s condition has stabilized and that he’ll live is quashed by this latest revelation. Just when I thought today couldn’t get any worse, this happens.
“If no one is here, and no one has been in here, then how did the ring and note get there?”
Stubbing out my cigarette in the ashtray, I place it back on the bedside table. I told myself I wouldn’t smoke in here, but I’ve now abandoned that idea.
I’m loath to voice this, but it needs to be said. I massage Arianna’s shoulder, the knowledge that she could be lying dead or in the same shape as Dario, still raw in my mind. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but might it be possible Maria put it there herself?”
Arianna twists to look at me with disbelief. “You’re serious, aren’t you? Oh, Jesus Christ, Red! Why would Maria put that ring and note here herself?”
I’m starting to wish I hadn’t said anything.
I knew she wouldn’t like it, but it’s still a fact.
“Who else could it be? You said yourself that you fear Maria’s lost the plot and fixated on it being her wedding today.
Or should have been...” I shrug my shoulders.
“She refuses to believe what’s happened with Matteo and Luca and what they planned didn’t require neutralizing.
She’s not dealing with anything, Arianna. ”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she put those things there herself,” Arianna snaps. “Be realistic. What would that achieve?”
“Attention? Maria needs attention to breathe. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed.”
Arianna becomes quiet. I’ve offended her. “You can’t make excuses for your sister forever. Did you see Luca at the graveyard? Does he have the ability to become invisible on CCTV?” The ensuing silence speaks volumes. “Exactly. Maria already had that ring from her engagement.”
Arianna shakes her head. “She said not. It was one she chose but hadn’t yet received. And the note - that wasn’t her writing.”
“It’s not difficult to mimic another’s writing,” I sigh.
Arianna shuffles out of my embrace and moves to the side of the bed.
“Hey, come on,” I protest. “There’s no point getting the hump with me. It’s only a theory. Perhaps I’m clutching at straws.”
Arianna looks at me, her eyes challenging. “Or perhaps you don’t want to think it might be someone else?”
“What, that Luca snuck in even though my brothers and men were here?” It’s then that I remember the fire escape not being locked, and a tendril of doubt worms around my insides before I dismiss it as absurd.
“If Luca Bristoni got in here under everyone’s noses, then heads would roll. It’s impossible.”
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of your brother...” Arianna stares directly into my eyes. “Liam hates Maria.”
“Liam wouldn’t do that!” I snap, getting irritated.
“Wouldn’t he?” She raises an eyebrow. “It wasn’t long ago that you were banishing him from your life. He hated me, and now he hates Maria - maybe even more so. From what I can see, he’d do anything to get rid of her. Even this.”
“I don’t believe that. How would he have Maria’s ring for a start?
” I pull Arianna across the bed back into my arms. “Look, we know the war is ramping up. What happened today at the funeral proves it. We need to concentrate on that, not on our ridiculous theories. I’m not spending what’s left of a shit day arguing with my wife.
There’s an explanation for this. There has to be.
We’ll think further about that tomorrow, but in the meantime, let’s leave it there. ”
“Yes, you’re right. Let’s just be grateful that Dario will be okay.”
Much to my relief, Arianna relaxes back into my arms. “He can stay here as long as he needs to recuperate.” Kissing her on the end of her nose, I smile. “I owe him everything and don’t want to dwell on the alternative if he hadn’t been there.”
“I guess that means you’re stuck with me for a while longer,” Arianna says. Joking about what happened today is the only way of holding it together.
She snuggles against my chest and I listen to her breathing, leaving the gnawing possibility that, regardless of my denial and whether I want it to or not, my brother could be responsible for locating that ring and planting it along with the note in Maria’s room in a bid to get rid of her.