CHAPTER 88 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
“COMB THE FUCKING PLACE from top to bottom. I want no stone left unturned,” I fume. “Every single inch is to be gone over three times, do you understand? I want the vehicles checked too: cars, vans, motorbikes - the lot!”
“You need to calm down. They know what to do.” Arianna reaches for my hand. I can’t stay still long enough for anyone to touch me, aside from her. I’ll always have time to accommodate her.
My breath hisses through my teeth. She’s right. My men do know what to do, but I feel useless. I feel like I did when Arianna was taken and there was nothing for me to do but tread water and wait.
I’m sick of waiting. Sick of people pulling stunts.
But what really blows my stack, what makes me sickest of all, and what I will never stand for, is anyone threatening my wife or child.
“Just find the fucking thing. I want to know who’s shafted us.
I want to know who else there is in this building - my fucking building - who’s stabbing us in the back. ”
I beat my hand against my chest, not caring if I look like a gorilla. I’m so furious I’d rip a tree up by its roots if I had a tree.
But I don’t.
It seems all I have are enemies on both sides of the fence.
Only increased pressure from Arianna’s hand stops me from bursting a blood vessel. I take a deep breath before continuing and look around my office.
Everyone is as knackered as I am, except Liam - he just looks pissed off. Apparently he was halfway through bedding one of the croupiers when my text came through, but I make no apologies. His sex life has no bearing on the safety of my family.
“It makes a huge difference which of the two scenarios this is,” Oscar says, forever the voice of reason. “If Dave planted more than one device, then that’s better than there being another enemy under our roof.”
“Better?” I snap. “Better for who? Better that we didn’t think to torture it out of the fucker about whether he’d stashed any other devices before killing him? Were we so fucking relieved to have found the mole to have sense?”
Jumping from my chair, I pace the room. Because of that fuck up, Luca or the Eredità della Luce have been made privy to countless other conversations that they need never have been. I spin on my heels. “Come on! Let’s get on with it. I want everywhere searched. NOW!”
“There’s no point in searching her room. She’s already had one in there and even Dave wouldn’t have been so stupid to plant two bugs in the same place. Why is she in this meeting anyway? What has any of this got to do with her?”
I grit my teeth. It really isn’t a great time for Liam to exercise his hate campaign against Maria.
“Hold on a moment. The only people who knew about my pregnancy before today were me and Red.” Arianna looks to me, then at the others. “I told him in our bedroom, nowhere else. That’s the only place we spoke of it.”
“She’s got a point.” I silently berate myself for not having worked this out already. “The bug has to be in our room. Oscar, you come with me. We’ll do that now. The rest of you sweep the rest of the place, and Arianna - you and Maria stay here.”
“I can search my room again if you like?” Maria looks around eagerly. “I know it was said that it’s unlikely there will be another one of those bugs or wherever they are in there, but I’d still like to make sure.”
“Yeah, what a great idea,” Liam sneers, a sarcastic chuckle escaping his lips. “What will you look for if you don’t know what these bugs are? A big green plastic beetle holding a microphone?”
“Do you have to be such a dick?” Arianna barks. “Maria’s only trying to help.”
Liam raises his hands in mock surrender. “Whoa! Okay, sweetheart. Well, if the additional green plastic beetle is in your and Red’s room, at least someone’s had a good time listening to you and my brother fucking! I get interrupted having a fucking wank these days, let alone anything else.”
I’m across the other side of the room in one pace. “You think this is funny? Because I don’t!”
Liam’s eyes widen a split second before my forehead connects with the bridge of his nose, the sickening crack of breaking bone cutting through the surrounding silence.
Liam’s hands fly to his face to stem the blood pouring from his broken nose. “Fucking hell!” he roars, his eyes streaming.
Dario pulls me away, holding Liam at arm’s length in the other direction. “Jesus Christ! What the hell is this? Sort yourselves out!”
I shake out of Dario’s grip, my chest heaving with pent-up anger and rage. I don’t look at Arianna. I can already sense her disappointment in both me and Liam. Dario’s right, but I won’t put up with Liam’s shit attitude.
“I’m going to check our room,” I mutter, turning on my heels and leaving my office before I do any more damage.